Manchester Arts Scene

There’s a lot going on in the Manchester Arts and Culture Scene at the moment and I thought a brief  update would be a good idea. I haven’t included everything, not enough time,  but here’s an overview of some of the one’s I find most interesting.

Saul Hay at The Portico

The Portico Library, a historic and beautiful old building on Moseley Street, Manchester, are hosting Saul Hay exhibition of Contemporary Art.  Saul Hay are relatively new to the Manchester Arts Scene, and based in Castlefield. There are eight artists exhibiting and it was really good to meet Mandy Payne and Omid Asadi and chat about their art. Well worth a visit. The exhibition is on until Saturday 18th March.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Castlefield Gallery

Castlefield Gallery have a new exhibition …..In Dark Times 24th February – 15th April

“An exhibition on the thingness of things in the age of the thingless medium.”

Artists: Artists: James Ackerley, Rebecca Halliwell-Sutton, Bex Ilsley, Charlie Godet Thomas, Lindsey Mendick, and Zadie Xa.

I’ll be going to the preview so watch out for my blog!

PS Mirabel – Graft

– Saturdays 25 February & 1st April

Graft – is an exhibition at PS Mirabel, Manchester of new work from artists Holly Rowan Hesson and Rowan Eastwood exploring and expanding their shared interests in materials, intuitive
process and responding to site.

Manchester Art Gallery

Well worth my mentioning again is the Strange & Familiar Exhibition at Manchester Art Gallery (you can read my full  blog here ) I wrote my blog a while back, but MAG is always a great place to spend some time and as I found on my return visit, you find something new each time. You think you’ve seen all the photographs in this exhibition, but, certainly in my case, I find another photograph or a detail within one seen before that I’d not spotted. As an amateur photographer I can only marvel at the images produced by professionals such as these.

If you’re into photography, you really will enjoy this look into how international photographers see Britain, from the 1930’s to 1980’s. The exhibition continues until 29th May 2017

The Whitworth

You can’t have a blog about what’s on in the Manchester Arts Scene without The Whitworth, I’ve mentioned the Andy Warhol exhibition, which is ongoing and a new video installation coming in March.

Andy Warhol – Artist Rooms continues until 16th April

ARTIST ROOMS: Andy Warhol shows the sharp critical opinions of an artist known to many primarily as art salesman, purveyor of product and celebrant of capitalism. Supported by Arts Council, Art Fund and Creative Scotland, the exhibition is drawn from ARTIST ROOMS, a collection of international modern and contemporary art owned by National Galleries of Scotland and Tate on behalf of the public. Focusing on themes of death, politics and identity it presents audiences with Warhol’s reading of the American Dream at a time when the country is under scrutiny after the 2016 US Presidential election.

Also have one for the diary –

John Akomfrah’s video installation Vertigo Sea, first seen at the 56th Venice Biennale, is a sensual, poetic and cohesive meditation on man’s relationship with the sea and exploration of its role in the history of slavery, migration, and conflict.

 

Shot on the Isle of Skye, the Faroe Islands and the Northern regions of Norway, with the BBC’s Bristol based Natural History Unit, Vertigo Sea draws upon two remarkable books: Herman Melville’s Moby Dick (1851) and Heathcote Williams’ epic poem Whale Nation (1988), a harrowing and inspiring work which charts the history, intelligence and majesty of the largest mammal on earth.

24th March – 28th August