BELOW you'll find ten of the best art exhibtions and events in and around Manchester throughout July and August. Not your bag? Well then how about the Top 10 Gigs and Concerts or Top 10 Theatre and Comedy shows?
STANLEY CHOW | Centre for Chinese Contemporary Art | 5 February - 31 December
CFCCA continues its 30th anniversary celebrations with a limited edition shop featuring the works of celebrated print artist Stanley Chow. Instangram continues themes from The Takeaway; presenting 30 exclusive designs of food, objects and locations that resonate with Chow's experience of growing up amongst Manchester's British Chinese - whilst parodying the popular social network in his signature playful style.
Centre for Chinese Contemporary Art, Market buildings, Thomas Street, M4 1EU ((10am-5pm; free entry).
RE:ASSEMBLE | Princess Street | Until 31 July
Die-hard music boffins will love this collection of punk posters and merchandise, curated by renowned Salfordian graphic designer Trevor Johnson. Celebrating the musical apogee that the North West - and particularly Manchester - enjoyed during the seventies and eighties, the exhibition also pays homage to Factory Record’s Festival of the Tenth Summer; which took place 30 years ago and saw ‘Madchester’ pioneers like Tony Wilson and New Order unite, a decade after Sex Pistols’ first performance at the Lesser Free Trade Hall.
Havas Village Manchester, 52 Princess Street, M1 6JX (Mon-Fri, 9am-6pm; free).
Trevor JohnsonELIZABETH PRICE CURATES | The Whitworth | 10 June - 31 October
In a dream you saw a way to survive and you were full of joy is curated by Turner Prize-winner Elizabeth Price, one of Britain's most acclaimed artists. Investigating the dialogue between the virtual realm of film and the physical world of museum artefacts, Price stages an ‘austere melodrama’ in this original exhibition: featuring 70 artists from The Lumière Brothers to Andy Warhol. Also at the Whitworth, don’t miss Anya Gallacio’s new sculpture, exploring themes of loss and presence through a stainless steel ‘ghost’ tree.
The Whitworth, The University of Manchester, Oxford Road, M15 6ER (10am-5pm, until 9pm Thurs; free).
SO MUCH TO ANSWER FOR | Future Artists | 23 June - 18 July
After their Kickstarter campaign surpassed all expectations, Salford-based Future Artists are launching their new gallery with a multimedia exhibit featuring works by Lawrence Watson. The prolific British photographer documented the rise of many famous local bands and was a regular staff photographer at the NME through the 1980s and 1990s, portraying Manchester’s place at the forefront of British music. So Much To Answer For contains never-before-seen images of the Smiths, Oasis, Ian Brown, New Order, Noel Gallagher's High flying Birds and many more - even including a 1980s Teenagers bedroom for full nostalgic impact.
81 Chapel Street, Salford, M3 5DF (various times; tickets £6 at fatsoma.com).
So Much To Answer ForBORIS NZEBO: URBAN STYLE | Manchester Art Gallery | 24 June - 13 November
A one-off chance to see Cameroonian artist Boris Nzebo’s highly inventive work; inspired by the vibrant hand-drawn advertisements found in Central African beauty parlours, street culture and classic Pop Art aesthetics. Expect extravagant hairstyles mixed with dynamic cityscapes as human heads intermingle with multilayered architectural facades, addressing our complex relationship with the urban spaces we inhabit.
Manchester Art Gallery, Mosley Street, M2 3JL (10am-5pm, until 9pm Thurs; free).
VOGUE 100: A CENTURY OF STYLE | Manchester Art Gallery | 24 June - 30 October
It’s a brand that’s become synonymous with high fashion, now to be ‘in vogue’ is as familiar in English as the word’s native France. Since its initiation in 1892 as a weekly newspaper, aimed at the New York aristocracy, to its soaring worldwide status under publishing firm Condé Nast, Vogue has cemented its status at the very forefront of cutting edge design. MAG celebrates 100 years of the British publication, showcasing a century of style with over 280 archive prints and international collections bought together for the first time. More info here.
Manchester Art Gallery, Mosley Street, M2 3JL (10am-5pm, until 9pm Thurs; free).
Vogue 100CHESS IN SHORTS-TABLE TENNIS & GROWING UP IN JEWISH MANCHESTER | Royal Exchange | 30 June - 30 July
“Why it was that every Jewish boy growing up in Manchester in the 1950s played table tennis with some degree of competence I can’t explain…” Presented by Manchester Jewish Museum to run alongside Howard Jacobsen’s The Mighty Walzer at the Royal Exchange, Chess in Shorts gives a glimpse into the Man Booker Prize-winning author’s childhood and the ping pong legends that inspired his comic novel. The Jewish Museum is also running a special walking tour from Cheetham Hill and an audience event with the author himself.
Royal Exchange, St Ann's Square, M2 7DH (Mon-Sat 10 until performances, Sun 11am-5pm; free).
BEHIND THE SUN | HOME | 23 July - 2 October
There’s a lot more to Brazil than carnivals and frivolity - as this startling exhibition conveys through a group exhibition featuring the five winners of the Prêmio Marcantônio Vilaça CNI Sesi Senai, the country’s largest contemporary art prize. See new works in film, performance, sculpture and photography as preconceptions are challenged and a lively Weekender celebrates contemporary Brazilian cinema.
HOME, 2 Tony Wilson Place, M15 4FN (Tues-Sat 12-8pm, Sun 12-6pm; free).
Behind The SunWONDER MATERIALS: GRAPHENE AND BEYOND | Museum of Science and Industry | 23 July 2016 - 25 June 2017
A flagship European City of Science event and world premiere, which coincides with the EuroScience Open Forum, Wonder Materials: Graphene and Beyond tells the story of graphene - the world’s first two-dimensional material, whose revolutionary isolation won two Manchester University scientists a Nobel prize in 2010. Invisible to the naked eye, graphene nevertheless is changing the world. Find out how through highlights including: a fascinating array of objects, from early pencils and an Elizabethan cannonball to the famous sticky tape dispenser; a specially commissioned art installation by Random International; a provocative new work by acclaimed poet Lemn Sissay MBE; and an interactive exhibit taking visitors to the future.
Museum of Science and Industry, Liverpool Road, M3 4FP (10am-5pm; free).
SEEING IN BLACK AND WHITE | Chuck Gallery | 13-18 August
Brand new African gallery Chuck is bolstering Manchester’s art scene with an eclectic mix of both emerging and established artists from across the continent. Black and White kickstarts proceedings with the evocative works of Nigerian artist Damola Adepoju; known for his startling use of black and white, warm chiaroscuro and nostalgic portrayal of Lagos’ inhabitants.
Chuck Art Gallery, 166 Plymouth Grove, M13 0AF (weekdays 11am-5pm, weekends 1-5pm; free).
Seeing in Black and White
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