May

Open Up Sheffield 2021

One of the largest and most successful open studio events outside of London, Open Up Sheffield is taking the party online this year with a diverse range of artists and makers from across the South Yorkshire region opening their practice to the public online.

Fledge: A Year of Birds at Contemporary Six

Contemporary Six presents a very different kind of portrait of the last year focused around the peace and solace nature can provide.

Between the Layers of… at PAPER Gallery, Manchester

Between the Layers of… is a unique collaboration between PAPER Gallery in Manchester and Execute Project in Dallas, Texas.

Jade Magenta Williams: A Smart Price way of Life at PAPER Gallery, Manchester

A Smart Price way of Life is the first solo exhibition by Manchester artist, and recent graduate of the University of Salford Contemporary Fine Art Masters, Jade Magenta Williams.

Dean Atta online at Queer Contact 2021

Hear Dean Atta discuss his works and read some excerpts from his award-winning novel The Black Flamingo in this Queer Contact live online event.

Queer Contact 2021: Outspoken curated by Ella Otomewo

Showcasing artists who have an innovative approach to literature; expect to see poetry expressed through rhythm, movement and sound.

The Luna Drive In Cinema at Tatton Park

Outdoor movie specialists The Luna Cinema are back at Tatton Park this Spring with their big screen set to showcase a variety of classic and cult films alongside some more recent hits.

Queer Contact 2021: An Evening with Cheddar Gorgeous and Friends

For one night only, join drag legend Cheddar Gorgeous and some guest stars for a special evening of cabaret and live conversation.

Queer Contact 2021: RebeccaNeverBecky Presents…Closing Party Kiki!

Say farewell to Queer Contact 2021 with feel-good vibes and classic sounds from the RebeccaNeverBecky collective.

From Mcr with Love: Jenna G & Werkha and Meat Free

Escape to Freight Island presents a socially distanced all-dayer featuring Jenna G & Werkha plus local techno collective, Meat Free.

Suzannah V Evans online book launch with Eleanor Rees

Liverpool-based poet Eleanor Rees will be reading at the online launch of Suzannah V Evans’s new pamphlet Brightwork, out with Guillemot Press.

Sutapa Biswas: Lumen at BALTIC, Gateshead

Sutapa Biswas’ major solo show explores the artist’s role in illuminating the imperialist structures that still exist within British society.

Short Story Course with Désirée Reynolds Online

Embark on a short story exploration of your own writing with Désirée Reynolds to help guide you on your way. Learn technique, structure and other writing ‘tools’ that will allow your stories to come to life.

Psappha: Music for Sitar (In Focus) at Hallé St Peter’s

Spotlighting an instrument that usually remains in the concert hall shadows, Psappha invites sitar virtuoso Jasdeep Singh Degun to join them at Hallé St Peter’s.

The Festival of Halifax – POSTPONED

This event has been postponed and will now take place from 11 – 15 May 2022. The line-up is subject to change and we will bring you up-to-date information as soon as we have it.

Top Secret: From ciphers to cyber security at the Science and Industry Museum, Manchester

TOP SECRET: the Science and Industry Museum digs into the history of British national security over the last 100 years.

Mothers Who Make: May 2021 with HOME

Mothers who Make welcomes all types of mothers who work in creative worlds, to gather and share their experiences of balancing motherhood and creative exploits.

Chapeltown Picture House Re-Reopening Week

Chapeltown Picture House is a relative newcomer to Manchester’s cinema scene, but this small movie theatre hits all the right notes with its re-reopening week programme this May.

From the folks behind street food sensation Grub, Chapeltown opens up with a bit of Nazi-hunting in Quentin Tarantino’s explosive Inglorious Basterds (Mon 17 May), before a dedication to the power of the big screen in tough times, in the form of Giuseppe Tornatore’s Cinema Paradiso (Tue 18 May).

For those who’ve really missed the communal cinema experience, how about Peter Jackson’s epic The Lord of the Rings trilogy? Screening over three nights (Fri 21 – Sun 23 May), fans can follow Frodo and company from the Shire to Mount Doom with screenings in pristine 4K resolution.

In between, there’s a little of something for everybody, with a 4K double bill of Lamberto Bava’s cult horror films Demons and Demons 2 (Thu 20 May), joined by a bit of bombast in the form of Arnold Scwarzenegger in John McTiernan’s Last Action Hero (Sat 22 May), before the sheer exuberance of Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly’s Singin’ in the Rain (Sun 23 May).

Open Air Theatre in Manchester and the North

Open air theatre shows are happening across the north over the next few months – we’ve collated our top picks into a neat guide for you.

Portable Sculpture at Henry Moore Institute in Leeds

Portable Sculpture will explore sculptures from 1934 to the present day that are designed to fold up, pack down or dismantle.

C-o-n-t-a-c-t at Salford Quays

Hailed a “gripping thriller” and “pacy outdoor odyssey” – here’s an inventive outdoor performance we can all look forward to in 2021.

Barbara Hepworth: Art & Life at The Hepworth Wakefield

The Hepworth Wakefield celebrates its 10th birthday with the largest exhibition of Barbara Hepworth’s work since the artist’s death in 1975.

Abandon Normal Devices Festival 2021

Abandon Normal Devices Festival, the UK’s only roaming digital festival, resurfaces in 2021 with a new hybrid format, exploring the post-industrial landscapes of the Manchester Ship Canal and River Mersey.

Psappha: Music for Accordion (In Focus) at Hallé St Peter’s

Joining Psappha, world-class accordionist Miloš Milivojević guides us through a variety of music written for this unexpectedly versatile instrument.

Kantina Weekender

Kantina Weekender runs on May Bank Holiday, from 28 May to 31 May. Celebrating the joy of food and drink, the in-house vendors at Escape to Freight Island will be paired with some of the UK’s most prestigious chefs, cocktail makers, brewers and local restaurant heroes.

Neighbourhood Weekender 2021

The Neighbourhood Weekender returns to Warrington for its third outing next May bank holiday. We make our top five picks from the line-up.

Trading Station: how hot drinks shape our lives at Manchester Art Gallery

Trading Station at Manchester Art Gallery charts the history and changing social role of hot drinks in our lives.

These Lancashire Women are Witches in Politics with The Turnpike

A collaborative project that takes inspiration from the history of the Leigh Female Reformers of 1819 and the monstrous representations of them in the media of the time.

The Little Library in Spinningfields

Take your pick from The Little Library’s carefully curated collection of classics and new releases, adding a recently read book of your own as a replacement.

Posters from the Irish civil rights era – Online with the Working Class Movement Library

Working Class Movement Library presents an online exhibition of powerful posters made by young activists fighting for civil rights in Northern Ireland during the Troubles.

What it is to be here: Colonisation and Resistance – Online at The Portico Library

The Portico Library marks 250 years since British explorer James Cook first landed on the shores of what we now call Australia with an online exhibition that explores the history of violence and resistance that followed.

Homemakers

NOW EXTENDED: HOME have invited theatre and live art makers to create new works at home, for an audience who are also at home. 

The Gardener Digs in Another Time – Online at the Whitworth

the Whitworth in Manchester invites you to step into the garden as subject with an online version of its 2016 exhibition, The Gardener Digs in Another Time.

Everything that rises must dance with HOME

Produced by Complicité for Homemakers: Join a virtual gathering of women for an online dance project celebrating female movement throughout history.

Hamilton – Streaming on Disney Plus

Politically charged with a hip-hop soundtrack, there is no doubt that this filmed performance is one of the most eagerly anticipated releases of 2020.

What is Manchester Art Gallery? at Manchester Art Gallery

Manchester Art Gallery reopens with a thought-provoking new exhibition that delves into the history of the public institution and its role within the city.

Don McCullin at Tate Liverpool

Tate Liverpool presents a major retrospective of work by Don McCullin, widely considered to be one of the greatest photojournalists of our time.

Psappha 2020/21 Concert Season

Psappha’s 2020–21 season explores the sharpest and smartest sounds in contemporary classical music, presented in concert and streamed online for free.

Aid Workers: Ethics Under Fire at Imperial War Museum North

Aid Workers: Ethics Under Fire at Imperial War Museum North takes a close look at the moral dilemmas surrounding overseas aid.

The Sheffield Project at Weston Park Museum, Sheffield

Commissioned in the mid-1980s, The Sheffield Project focused a lens on a unique chapter in the city’s history, when it embarked on a journey of radical change.

Make Up – Streaming on BBC iPlayer

Cornwall has seldom seemed eerier than in Make-Up, the vivid first feature from director Claire Oakley.

Fun & Games: Playtime, Past & Present at The Portico Library and Online

Fun & Games at The Portico Library explores the evolution and traditions of games and play throughout the ages up to today.

#WELCOME? at the People’s History Museum

#WELCOME? at the People’s History Museum explores the wider impact of media coverage and changing immigration controls.

Aliza Nisenbaum at Tate Liverpool

International portrait artist Aliza Nisenbaum will present a new painting at Tate Liverpool this winter, depicting members of the city’s key workers.

Postal Exhibition Print Programme from OUTPUT

OUTPUT in Liverpool launches a new programme of mail-based exhibitions, sending original artwork directly to your home.

Blackburn Open Walls

Over 3 years, forgotten walls of Blackburn were brought to life with the creation of a vibrant outdoor gallery, by international, national and local artists, who together over 2 weeks, created a collection of large scale murals and art walk trails for the residents and visitors of Blackburn to enjoy.

Pendle Hill Witch Experience Tours

Group tours of Lancashire in the area surrounding Pendle Hill. Through visiting the countryside and villages of Pendle, visitors learn all about the dark deeds and wicked plots surrounding the Pendle Witches in the 1600s.

Discover Buxton Tram Tours

Enjoy a journey through time on Discover Buxton Tour’s unique vintage tram.

Discover Buxton Character Tours

These colourful character guides offer unique and entertaining insights into the history of some of Buxton’s most iconic buildings.

Discover Buxton Walking Tours

Have your history delivered by expert guides whose passion for the heritage of Buxton spills into the unexpected.

Discover Buxton Roman Tours

Join local historian Brian Shepherd for a walk around the town and learn what Buxton may have looked like during Britain’s Roman occupation.

Discover Buxton Audio Tours

Discover Buxton’s audio tours of The Peak cover the area around Buxton and are designed to be enjoyed from the comfort of your own vehicle.

Hardeep Sahota: Bhangra Lexicon – Online

The world’s first ‘visual dictionary’ of movements found within Bhangra, compiled by World Bhangra Day founder, Hardeep Sahota.

My First Protest Song with the People’s History Museum

My First Protest Song goes online. Round up the family and join Matt Hill for this live-streamed event full of toe-tapping tunes.

POSTPONED – AI: More than Human at World Museum Liverpool

Barbican’s major exhibition, AI: More than Human, comes to Liverpool, offering a tantlising look into the future.

Doodle Den: Playful Protests Online

Pick up a pen and encourage the whole family to explore the art of peaceful protest.

Science Learning at Home with Jodrell Bank

Science Learning at Home with Jodrell Bank is a perfect way to keep children (and their adults) busy while learning from home.

The Hallé – Movie Classics

Presented by the BBC’s Petroc Trelawny and conducted by Stephen Bell, the Hallé celebrates classical music on the silver screen.

John Moores Painting Prize 2020 – Online and at Walker Art Gallery

The prestigious John Moores Painting Prize moves online for the first time, featuring the best in contemporary British painting.

Royal Photographic Society Science Photographer of the Year online exhibition – part of Manchester Science Festival 2021

Part of Manchester Science Festival 2021, this online exhibition showcases the stand-out entries to the Royal Photographic Society’s prestigious Science Photographer of the Year competition.

Don’t Touch My Hair with HOME

Fearless social activism meets unapologetic hip hop. A concentrated dose of Hot Brown Honey is just what we all need right now.

Hidden Winter

Round the family up and head outside for this wonderful story walk adventure from Stand and Be Counted Theatre. Perfect for livening up a lockdown walk.

Queer Treatment

To coincide with LGBT History Month, Heart of Glass launches Queer Treatment, a new animated short film by the amazing Amy Pennington. Queer Treatment is inspired by conversations with members of the LGBTQIA+ community and explores connection, identity, representation and celebrating queer icons past and present.

Digital Realness – Online with Site Gallery

This wide-ranging programme looks set to invite a fascinating closer look at the digital space in which so much of ‘real life’ now occurs.

PUSH Festival 2021 at HOME

Thrilling and challenging, HOME’s annual festival is a glimmering reminder that new performance continues to be developed, despite ‘you-know-what’.

Closed Hands with HOME

An interactive, experimental and political video game exploring the complex effects of extremism and radicalisation.

Unease by Grace Sharp – Online and at Manchester Craft & Design Centre

Unease is an exhibition of work by glass artist Grace Sharp.

Carve and Cast Workshop Kit with Wonderhaus

Have a go at designing your own jewellery with Wonderhaus’ Carve and Cast kits. You’re given the tools to carve your own designs in jeweller’s wax which will then be professionally finished and cast at Wonderhaus.

Electric Dreams – Online with Venture Arts

Venture Arts presents the first of three online exhibitions featuring new work made by learning disabled artists over lockdown.

Zoom Tours: Jonathan Schofield’s New Series

Join expert tour guide Johnathan Schofield as he travels chronologically and geographically through the culture, architecture and geography of Manchester.

The Hallé – Sibelius’s Third Symphony

The Hallé are joined by virtuoso pianist Isata Kanneh-Mason for Beethoven’s Third Piano Concerto, plus Sibelius’s magnificent Third Symphony.

Liverpool Biennial 2021 – The Stomach and the Port

The 11th edition of the UK’s oldest and largest festival of contemporary visual art is about to open, with work by over 50 artists.

Liverpool Independents Biennial

Independents Biennial has revealed a packed programme that will celebrate Merseyside’s creative talent and cast a fresh eye on how we see, make and use art. The festival, which runs alongside Liverpool Biennial, puts the spotlight on the region’s grassroots creative community, many of whom have been hardest hit by lockdown.

Tony Phillips: 12 Decades at Bluecoat in Liverpool

Tony Phillips’ 12 Decades continues a survey of modern history that has occupied him over the last 40 years. The series will go on show at Bluecoat in 2021.

People’s History Museum Online Shop

PHM has launched its online shop, stocking a wealth of unique products that celebrate radical histories and ideas worth fighting for.

The Hallé – Paul Lewis performs Mozart

The Hallé will be joined by Paul Lewis, one of the country’s most distinguished artists, for a dazzling programme in which he directs from the piano.

Sound Stage

An exciting, new audio-digital venture, Sound Stage has been designed by theatre-makers and leading technologists, to give audiences a unique online theatre experience.

REMOTE WORK and Lubaina Himid: The Mourning Kangas at Grundy Art Gallery, Blackpool

Grundy Art Gallery reopens with two exhibitions wrapped inside one – REMOTE WORK and Lubaina Himid: The Mourning Kangas.

Tai Shani: The Neon Hieroglyph – Online with Manchester International Festival Virtual Factory

Turner Prize winning artist Tai Shani takes us on an LSD-inspired hallucinatory journey across time and space. Prepare to have your consciousness expanded.

The Earth Asleep at HOME, Manchester

The Earth Asleep, a new film and original live score from creative duo Clara Casian and Robin Richards, premieres this spring at HOME.

Ad Minoliti at BALTIC in Gateshead

Argentinian artist Ad Minoliti’s immersive exhibition draws upon queer and feminist theory to offer new understandings of the world around us.

The Hallé – Shostakovich’s Dazzling First

The Hallé performs a varied programme of Grazyna Bacewicz, Aaron Copland and Dmitri Shostakovich under the baton of new Assistant Conductor, Delyana Lazarova.

Curator’s Tour: Grayson’s Art Club

Join Natasha Howes and Fiona Corridan for a curator’s tour of Grayson’s Art Club, with some of the pieces that didn’t make it on T.V.

Rose: A Love Story – Streaming on Modern Films

Rose is a chilling, deeply moving and critically-acclaimed horror thriller starring Sophie Rundle (Peaky Blinders, Jamestown, Bodyguard) and Matt Stokoe (Cursed, Jamestown, Misfits).

Art Classes in Didsbury with ColourWheel

Learn new skills, refine techniques and explore different medias with ColourWheel Art Classes in Didsbury.

Women and Girls Skate sessions at Projekts

Join Projekts skate park for exclusively women and girls skating, every Thursday from 7 – 9 pm. Be warned the sessions are very popular so book in advance to avoid disappointment.

Undine – Streaming on Curzon Home Cinema

German auteur Christian Petzold leans into fantasy and folklore, as historian and museum guide Undine (Paula Beer) falls for industrial diver Christof (Christof Rogowski).

Book sale at Elizabeth Gaskell’s House

Elizabeth Gaskell’s House and award-winning garden is a must-see, with the famous book sale back on 18 April and scheduled thereafter for 9 May, 13 June, 11 July, 8 August, 12 September, 10 October, 14 November and 12 December 2021, 11am-4pm.

Totally Roarsome

Head over to Mottram Hall where, in the depths of stunning Cheshire woodland, you’ll discover an immersive walking trail. Totally Roarsome promises to excite your little ones with huge figures of animals – from the Jurassic to the mythical.

The Hallé – Trail-blazing Hallé

The Hallé is joined by Stephen Hough for Rachmaninov’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, before the world premiere of Huw Watkins’ Second Symphony.

MINDSCAPES: Streets Of Poetry – Elten Kiene and Sjaan Flikweert with Young Identity

Streets Of Poetry is produced by Young Identity, Manchester’s spoken word and arts organisation, bringing together poets and communities to create new work written on the pavements of Moston, Harpurhey and Manchester city centre.

MINDSCAPES: While Waiting, Wait Here – Merel Smitt

Created in collaboration with service users and staff, this online interactive game explores the benefits system and the process of applying for Universal Credit.

MINDSCAPES: //OUTSIDEIN// – Theater DEGASTEN

A brand-new online work, by Amsterdam-based Theater DEGASTEN, exploring the connection between mental health and where we live.

MINDSCAPES: Manchester Mood Drawings at Manchester Metrolink Stations

A unique city-wide project, presented across Greater Manchester Metrolink poster-sites exploring mental health and the places we live.

MINDSCAPES

Created by SICK! Festival, MINDSCAPES is a collection of five inspirational brand-new artworks and online events happening in Manchester for free this spring.

MINDSCAPES: Soundpaths – Yonatan Collier with Brighter Sound

Experience Moston and Harpurhey in a brand-new way through an app on your phone.

The Hallé – Stravinsky’s The Soldier’s Tale

Sir Mark Elder conducts a staged performance of Stravinsky’s 1918 masterpiece The Soldier’s Tale, directed by Olivier Award winner Annabel Arden.

Queer Contact Festival 2021

Bringing an online celebration of art and creativity in the LGBTQ+ community, we’re thrilled that Queer Contact Festival will return for 2021.