Culture Guides
Destination Guides
Seasonal Guides
Summer is just around the corner, festivals are coming into view, and the warmer weather is getting everyone feeling a bit more inclined to get out there and explore what Manchester and the North’s has to offer by way of culture.
Happily there’s a whole lot. Spring Half Term and Spring Bank Holiday are always filled with great exhibitions, theatre shows and gigs, and the region’s many excellent restaurants are rolling out fresh new seasonal menus.
And if the increasing temperatures have got you feeling really brave, why not try some wild swimming? Less brave but culturally curious? Our Outdoor Art guide is well worth a look.
Things to do in May
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Akram Khan’s Jungle Book reimagined at The Lowry
Akram Khan injects urgent choreography, a blistering original score and cutting-edge visuals to reinvent Mowgli as a climate refugee.
The Spongebob Musical at the Manchester Opera House
Dive into a deep-sea adventure this May with Spongebob and friends at The Manchester Opera House.
Geronimo Festival at Arley Hall
Head to the Geronimo Festival 2023 to experience children’s entertainment & activities, music, food stalls, camping, and loads of fun!
Still showing this month
Damien Hirst at Yorkshire Sculpture Park
Experience YBA artist Damien Hirst’s towering and provocative outdoor sculptures at Yorkshire Sculpture Park.
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.
Jonathan Schofield Walking Tours
Jonathan Schofield Is well known for his expertly informed, charismatic and intriguing guided tours, join him on one to find out why.
Eat The City – Scranchester Tours
Satisfy your hunger for knowledge as well as lunch with Scranchester’s food tours of the city centre. You may discover a new favourite hidden gem or learn a bit more about the cultural or historical significance of the food you eat all the time.
Silence – Alone in a World of Wounds at Yorkshire Sculpture Park
Stop and spend an hour or two with this special creation, nestled within a stand of birch trees beside Yorkshire Sculpture Park’s Upper Lake.
At Home with the Pankhurst Family at the Pankhurst Centre
The Pankhurst Centre’s new permanent exhibition offers an intimate glimpse into the lives of the people behind the iconic Pankhurst name.
DJ Gym at Hatch
Learn some DJ and production skills with DJ Gym Manchester, based in the culturally infused surrounds of Hatch.
Life Drawing Manchester
Whether you have never put pencil to paper or have been honing your artistic skills for years, Bee Creative studio runs life drawing sessions for people of all abilities.
Sahej Rahal: Mythmachine at BALTIC Gateshead
Sahej Rahal and his new exhibition ‘Mythmachine’ continues BALTIC’s season of exhibitions with the leading theme of ‘play’.
Sí Manchester Daily Tour
Sí Manchester’s daily tour is a brilliant way to get an overview of the city with tours running in both English and Spanish.
JMW Turner with Lamin Fofana: Dark Waters at Tate Liverpool
See JWM Turner’s work like never before paired with Lamin Fofana’s immersive exhsound environment in ‘Dark Waters’, a very special exhibition at Tate Liverpool opening this September.
Daniel Arsham: Relics in the Landscape at Yorkshire Sculpture Park
Daniel Arsham’s large-scale sculptures are making an appearance at Yorkshire Sculpture Park in his outdoor show ‘Relics in the Landscape’.
Dandy Style at Manchester Art Gallery
Set in the brand new dedicated Fashion Gallery, ‘Dandy Style’ celebrates all the is most elegant, dramatic and fascinating in menswear.
Hannah Starkey: In Real Life at The Hepworth Wakefield
The Hepworth Wakefield presents a major survey of work by Hannah Starkey, tracing the development of two decades of her photographic practice.
Turn It Up: The Power of Music at the Science and Industry Museum
Prepare to get hands-on, with your ears and hearts open, at a new major exhibition exploring the science of music’s mysterious hold over us and how it drives us to create, perform, feel and share.
Nothing About Us Without Us at PHM
‘Nothing About Us Without Us’ at PHM explores the history of disabled people’s activism and their ongoing fight for inclusion with a wonderful collection of exhibits brought together for the first time,
Old Dock Tours, Liverpool
The Old Dock tour is a treat for younger and older visitors alike, fans of Liverpool’s maritime past, and anybody curious about local history.
Lindsey Mendick at Yorkshire Sculpture Park
This spring, Yorkshire Sculpture Park welcomes Lindsey Mendick, a rising star of the contemporary art world, in an immersive solo exhibition.
Magic in this Country: Hepworth, Moore and the Land at the Hepworth Wakefield
Discover the organic inspiration behind the work of Barbara Hepworth, Henry Moore and others in the new show at the Hepworth Wakefield.
Mary Barton season at Elizabeth Gaskell’s House online
The team at Elizabeth Gaskell’s House on Plymouth Grove has already celebrated the author’s famous novels Cranford and North And South, and in 2023 it’s the turn of Mary Barton: A Tale Of Manchester Life.
The Art of the Potter: Ceramics and Sculpture from 1930 to Now
‘The Art of the Potter: Ceramics and Sculpture from 1930 to Now’ at the Hepworth Wakefield celebrates the gallery’s growing collection of ceramics and sculpture.
Andrew Black: On Clogger Lane at The Tetley
Andrew Black: On Clogger Lane is an experimental documentary about a rural Yorkshire valley and its inhabitants, on display at The Tetley.
Private Parts at the Thackray Museum of Medicine
Thackray Museum of Medicine brings talk of private parts to the fore in a new exhibition that challenges taboos and social expectations.
(Un)Defining Queer at The Whitworth
Through a fantastic collection of classical and contemporary artists’ work, ‘(Un)Defining Queer’ examines the use of language, histories and narratives to explore what ‘queer’ really means today.
Interactive Music Tours at Old Chapel Music CIC
Old Chapel Music studio in Holdback, Leeds is offering an interactive historical music tour that opens its doors and ears to the public.
Samra Mayanja: The Living and the Stale at The Tetley
The Tetley presents artist and poet Samra Mayanja’s first institutional exhibition ‘The Living and the Stale’.
Hew Locke: The Procession at Baltic
Baltic presents a brand new exhibition ‘Hew Locke: The Procession’, taking inspiration from real-life figures and events, and into an imagined future.
Radical Reading Book Group at Left Bank Leeds
Join the Radical Reading Book Group every six weeks to discuss a book from The Reading Room Library – which you can find at Left Bank Leeds in collaboration with London-based independent radical publishers Pluto Press.
Related Guides
Winter in Spinningfields
Spinningfields has grown into one of Manchester’s standout districts in recent years and here’s what’s happening there this winter.
Winter Entertainment in Spinningfields
Spinningfields always pushes the boat out at Christmas in the entertainment stakes and this year is no exception.
Father’s Day
This year’s Father’s Day is Sunday 19th June. Get out and about and spend some quality time with the old man in Manchester.
International Women’s Day in Manchester and the North
Here’s a rundown of the most eye-catching events happening on and around International Women’s Day in Manchester and the North.
Toward the Unknown Region – RVW150 at The Bridgewater Hall
The Hallé and the BBC Philharmonic are joining forces to offer a unique Mancunian tribute to Ralph Vaughan Williams at 150.
Spring Bank Holiday
This year’s Spring bank holiday (or late May bank holiday) is Monday 31st of May. Here’s a round up of events to fill your long weekend with to celebrate lockdown easing.
Things to do right now
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