Exhibitions in the North

Maja Lorkowska, Exhibitions Editor

We get it – the sun’s out so you might not want to spend your day in a quiet, air-conditioned art gallery when all life has moved outdoors. This month though, we have exhibitions from all across the North West, both indoors and out. Oh, and the largest free contemporary art festival in the UK too, the one that takes over an entire city.

Liverpool Biennial is back with 14 weeks of fresh art from international creators inspired by the theme of ‘BEDROCK’. Take a look at our preview to learn more but it’s safe to say, this is one of the top art events of the year.

We take a closer look at PINK in Stockport, a venue that has it all: beautiful exhibition and studio spaces and an unshakeable ethos, loyal to the wellbeing of its community.

In Leeds, Roger Ackling: Sunlight is filled with artworks quite literally created by the sun, while Threshold’s outdoor display by Hannah Platt plays around with the more absurd details of urban environments.

In the green grounds of Dunham Massey you’ll find a reflective piece of audio-visual work: ORIGIN combines nature, art and wellbeing.

Our top picks

Liverpool Biennial 2025 – BEDROCK

Liverpool Biennial 2023, 7 June–14 September 2025, Free entry - Find Out More

Liverpool is ablaze with art – visit exhibitions, take part in talks, workshops, tours and performances as part of the Biennial, with thought-provoking offerings inspired by the theme of ‘BEDROCK’. 

A grid of pink and cream waves laid on top of an orange gradient background. The text beneath the grid reads 'BEDROCK'  alongside the LB2025 dates
LB2025 Visual Identity by Salt And Sister Studio

PINK

PINK, 86 Princess Street, Manchester, M1 6NG - Visit now

PINK is a true grassroots art organisation, dedicated to collaboration, artistic experimentation and genuine creative exchange.

PINK Manchester
PINK Manchester

SUNLIGHT: Roger Ackling at the Henry Moore Institute

SUNLIGHT: Roger Ackling at The Henry Moore Institute in Leeds, Leeds, Until 22 June 2025, Free entry - Visit now

A genre-defying artist, Roger Ackling created mysterious objects with the help of the sun, burning patterns into the surface of wood. Visit the most comprehensive display of his work at the Henry Moore Institute.

Roger Ackling, Voewood 2011–12
© Estate of the Artist / Courtesy Annely Juda Fine Art, London

Hannah Platt: Playing Out at Threshold

Playing Out at Threshold Leeds, Leeds, Until 15 June 2025, Free entry - Visit now

Giant googly eyes, upcycled swing sets and urban photography – visit the outdoor project space of Threshold to see Hannah Platt’s playful display.

Hannah Platt Flyer
Threshold

ORIGIN at Dunham Massey

ORIGIN at Dunham Massey at Dunham Massey, Manchester, Until 2 November 2025, Free entry - Visit now

Art, wellbeing and nature’s cycles combine in this immersive experience by A Right/Left Project, inspired by Dunham Massey’s gardens.

Experience a unique deep listening art installation inviting audiences to lay down and be bathed in sound and light.
© Stephen Dobbie

Connecting Spaces at Manchester Craft & Design Centre

Connecting Spaces at Manchester Craft & Design Centre, Manchester, Until 23 August 2025, Free entry - Visit now

Join in the celebration of creative communities in the heart of Manchester with MCDC’s new exhibition ‘Connecting Spaces’.

Connecting Spaces at Manchester Craft and Design Centre
Manchester Craft and Design Centre

YOU:MATTER at National Science and Media Museum

YOU:MATTER at National Science and Media Museum, Bradford, Until 22 February 2026, From £2.00 - Book now

Everything is connected but we rarely get a chance to really see it – YOU:MATTER is a spectacular audio-visual experience that explores our place in the universe and the invisible links between us and the cosmos.

Małgorzata Mirga-Tas at the Whitworth

Małgorzata Mirga-Tas at The Whitworth, Manchester, Until 7 September 2025, Free entry - Visit now

The celebrated Polish-Roma artist Małgorzata Mirga-Tas sews together vibrant, patterned fabrics to create images of Roma life – previously on show at Tate St Ives, this is an unmissable display.

A painted and collaged artwork, showing three women standing together one holds a baby, they are all wearing clothes made from bright or patterned fabrics.
Małgorzata Mirga-Tas, Trzy Gracje / The Three Graces 2021. Presented to Tate by the artist in 2022. Photo Marek Gardulski. © Małgorzata Mirga-Ta

Laura Ellen Bacon: Into Being at Yorkshire Sculpture Park

Laura Ellen Bacon: Into Being at Yorkshire Sculpture Park, West Yorkshire, Until 7 September 2025, From £0.00 - Book now

Laura Ellen Bacon’s nest-like sculptures challenge traditional assumptions about craft, its scale and potential. The artist draws in space using willow weaving, to create organic, flowing forms.

Laura Ellen Bacon, Into Being, 2025. Photo © India Hobson, courtesy Yorkshire Sculpture Park
Laura Ellen Bacon, Into Being, 2025. Photo © India Hobson, courtesy Yorkshire Sculpture Park

Energy House 2.0: Mishka Henner and Emily Speed at Castlefield Gallery

Energy House 2.0: Mishka Henner and Emily Speed at Castlefield Gallery, Manchester, Until 20 July 2025, Free entry - Visit now

Following an 18-month artists residency at a Salford University’s environmental research facility, Mishka Henner and Emily Speed present their new work at Castlefield Gallery.

A woman lies on the floor under a structure made of white arches
Emily Speed, Rooms Designed for a Woman (film still), 2017. Commissioned by Yorkshire Sculpture Park. Image courtesy of the artist

Commons at SODA

Commons at SODA at School of Digital Arts (SODA), Manchester, Until 14 August 2025, Free entry - Visit now

Throughout spring and summer, Abandon Normal Devices brings us ‘Commons’, a new a programme of openly accessible, interactive events led by digital artists, from immersive games to new ways of sharing knowledge.

Commons at SODA
Keiken, at Amos Rex, photo by Niclas Warius

Sarah Roberts: SICK at The Stanley & Audrey Burton Gallery

Sarah Roberts: SICK at The Stanley & Audrey Burton Gallery, Leeds, Until 19 July 2025, Free entry - Visit now

Artist Sarah Roberts reflects on environments of care and healing using her signature brightly coloured installations. Her first institutional solo show is informed by personal experiences as a carer and research into medical objects and histories.

A pastel green hospital food tray on a pastel green table. In the left half of the tray are brown and purple spotted balls on sticks. In the right side of the tray is a wire basket filled with colourful pills.
Image supplied by Leeds Inspired

Women in Revolt! Art and Activism in the UK 1970-1990

Women in Revolt! Art and Activism in the UK 1970-1990 at The Whitworth, Manchester, Until 1 June 2025, Free entry - Visit now

A landmark show about women’s rebellion and creativity, filled with powerful (and unexpected) work – you’ll find are explorations of motherhood, domesticity, working conditions and much more. Oh, and there’s an installation made entirely out of… cake.

A film still, showing a woman's face screaming.
Gina Birch, 3 Minute Scream, 1977 © Gina Birch.

Imran Perretta: A Riot In Three Acts at HOME

Imran Perretta: A Riot In Three Acts at HOME Manchester, Manchester, Until 8 June 2025, Free entry - Visit now

Imran Perretta confronts inequality and resistance through a powerful, immersive exhibition at HOME.

JJ.

Gallery Artist John Charles

Gallery Artist John Charles, 22 Union Street, Southport, PR9 0QE - Visit now

This newly opened gallery in Southport showcases the work of local painter John Charles and is open every Friday.

Gallery Artist John Charles
Artist John Charles

JMW Turner: In Light and Shade at the Whitworth

JMW Turner: In Light and Shade at The Whitworth, Manchester, Until 2 November 2025, Free entry - Visit now

The Whitworth celebrates the 250th anniversary of Turner’s birth with a new exhibition showcasing 71 prints alongside painted works, showcasing a different side to one of the best known landscape artists.

A stormy landscape scene, in watercolour, painting by JMW Turner
JMW Turner, Storm in the Pass of St. Gotthard, Switzerland, 1845. JMW Turner © the Whitworth, The University of Manchester.

The Boy with a Leg Named Brian: Memoirs by Pete McKee at Weston Park Museum

The Boy with a Leg Named Brian: Memoirs by Pete McKee at Weston Park Museum, Sheffield, Until 2 November 2025, Free entry - Visit now

Pete McKee is a much loved artist and cartoonist born and working in Sheffield. Don’t miss his colourful show at the Weston Park Museum – a walk down memory lane, capturing precious moments and cultural events from the 70s and 80s.

A painting of a young child being bathed in a sink of a 197s style kitchen. Around the sink are a rubber duck, a bottle of  washing up liquid, a jug, a kettle and a mug.
Pete McKee, Bath Time © Pete McKee

Mani Kambo: Ax·is Mun·di at Baltic

Mani Kambo at BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, North East, Until 2 June 2025, Free entry - Visit now

Mani Kambo’s new major body of work focuses on spirituality, superstitions and ritual through the artist’s own lexicon of visual symbols rendered in monochrome. A striking, considered show.

John McKenzie © 2024 Baltic

Wild at Manchester Museum

Wild at Manchester Museum, Manchester, Until 1 June 2025, Free entry - Visit now

Manchester Museum’s new exhibition focuses on all things wild or related to the concept of wildness. From environmental campaigns that lead to restoring ecosystems to romanticised landscape paintings, the show gathers different approaches and practices.

Wolf in Yellowstone
Jacob W. Frank

Stephen Hawking at Work at the Science and Industry Museum

Stephen Hawking at Work at Science and Industry Museum, Manchester, Until 30 September 2025, Free entry - Visit now

Explore incredible objects from the world-renowned theoretical physicist’s office in this special display.

Stephen Hawking at Work
Science Museum Group - © The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum.

Bees: A Story of Survival at World Museum Liverpool

Bees: A Story of Survival at World Museum Liverpool, Liverpool, Until 28 September 2025, From £0.00 - Book now

Take a closer look at the lives of bees and their vital role in human existence, in this immersive exhibition created in partnership with artist Wolfgang Buttress.

Bees: A Story of Survival at World Museum Liverpool
© Photo by Pete Carr - Render by Battlecat and Wolfgang Buttress Studios

More exhibitions events

Wolf in Yellowstone
Until
ExhibitionsManchester
Wild at Manchester Museum

Manchester Museum explores the concept of ‘wild’ nature as a means of tackling the climate and biodiversity crisis in a new exhibition.

Free entry
Image by Jonathan Schofield.
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Exhibitions in the North

HOME Manchester
Manchester
Theatre
HOME Manchester

Offering a packed schedule of events and things to do, HOME Manchester is one of the city’s leading hubs for arts and culture.

The Whitworth
Manchester
Gallery
The Whitworth

This much-loved gallery-in-a-park is open for business, showcasing some of the city’s finest contemporary and historic exhibitions.

Waterfront
Museum
The British Music Experience

It’s a discotheque for the senses, an incredible collection of artefacts and memorabilia, audio guides, music and stories. There are iconic costumes worn by David Bowie, Freddie Mercury, Dusty Springfield, the Spice Girls and Adam Ant, and musical instruments played by some of the world’s most renowned artists from Noel Gallagher to the Sex Pistols.

Gallery
The Tetley

A new contemporary art gallery, restaurant, bar and creative workspace in Leeds.

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Sextile
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portrait of Lorsung in a dark shirt with dark hair and dark round glasses
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We've got laughs and we've got leftfield on the live literature radar this month. Something for everyone, from poets playing with form to short story writers looking long.

Classical Music in the North

Read our latest highlights from the live classical music offer in Manchester and the North, taking in a number of the region's most cherished orchestral forces and venues.