Northern Quarter, Manchester

Creative Tourist

Last Updated 22 August 2018

Manchester’s most characterful, independent district is a jumbled network of streets to one side of Piccadilly Gardens – once home to busy textiles warehouses and even the occasional umbrella factory. Now, the red brick buildings with their New York-style fire escapes are regularly used in film sets, and the streets are bursting with independent cafés, shops, bars, and cultural hotspots.

The Northern Quarter has become a destination in its own right, with the laid-back, bohemian vibe during the day transforming at night into teeming pavements of people in search of good food, craft beer, pop-up events and live music.

When walking around, keep your eyes peeled for public art, including the sculptures of birds high on a wall on John Street (reflecting the area’s reputation in Victorian times as a ‘pets paradise’), the illuminated, 12 metre-tall Big Boys Toy on the top of the NCP car park, and the artistic graffiti on the outhouse in the middle of Stevenson Square.

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Chinternet Ugly at Chinese Centre for Contemporary Art

Exhibitions 8 February–12 May 2019, FREE

Chinternet Ugly at Centre for ChineseContemporary Art

CFCCA presents Chinternet Ugly – a group exhibition that offers a rare glimpse behind the biggest digital boundary in the world: the Great Firewall of China.

Literature 9 February 2019, FREE

Peter Barlow’s Cigarette #30 at Gullivers

Regular ‘afternoon of alternative poetries’ Peter Barlow’s Cigarette kicks off the new year with #30 and heads to the Northern Quarter with a special showcase of four poets: Dan Eltringham, Ágnes Lehóczky, Denise Riley and Gareth Twose.

Music 23 January 2019, from £15.50

Songhoy Blues at Band On The Wall

Mali natives Songhoy Blues are bringing their blend of African rhythms and vocals with blues guitar traditions to Band on the Wall on the 23rd of January. A perfect way to dance off the post-Christmas blues.

Exhibitions 12 October 2018–20 January 2019, FREE

Mandy Barker: Hong Kong Soup at CFCCA

Centre for Chinese Contemporary Art (CFCCA) presents a selection of photographs from the award-winning series Hong Kong Soup: 1826 by photographer Mandy Barker (b. 1964, UK). The series demonstrates in an ironically beautiful way, the extent of plastic pollution in our oceans.

Exhibitions 12 October 2018–20 January 2019, FREE

Charwei Tsai: Bulaubulau at CFCCA

For her first UK solo exhibition, Taiwan-born artist Charwei Tsai presents ‘Bulaubulau’ – a body of work that demonstrates her devoted interest in spiritual traditions and research in indigenous tribes in Taiwan.

Activity 6 October 2018–6 March 2019, from £40

Northern Quarter Taster Walk with Manchester Food Walks

We are lucky to be spoilt for choice when it comes to fresh, delicious and independent food choices in the centre of Manchester. Nowhere is this presence felt more than in the Northern Quarter. Join John Ryan on this taster walk as you eat your way through the back streets learning about the local history and culture as you go.