Exhibitions in the North

Maja Lorkowska, Exhibitions Editor

Both the festive period and the start of a new year can be a lot – a lot of planning, running around and eating often followed by a slow and dreary few weeks. Why not take some time out to look at art? There are some excellent exhibitions taking place all around the North right now.

Stephen McCoy’s photographs on display at Open Eye Gallery capture scenes of the local area and its residents with familiarity and warmth.

The Traumatic Surreal in Leeds celebrates 100 years of Surrealism by spotlighting female artists from German-speaking countries – expect all things strange and unsettling. The theme of strangeness continues in Stuart Croft: Eternal Return at Leeds Art Gallery with a show of four films from a filmmaker who seamlessly blends classic movies with fine art.

For a more energetic art experience, book your ticket for Art Battle Manchester at Aviva Studios – ten artists, 30 minutes and competitive painting. 

Back in Manchester, Jakkai Siributr: There’s no Place at The Whitworth showcases the artist’s vibrant textiles that deal with his family history as the socio-political situation of Thailand. At esea contemporary’s Shadow and Void: Buddha10 Buddhist sculptures meet contemporary artists’ work.  

Our top picks

Stuart Croft: Eternal Return at Leeds Art Gallery

Stuart Croft: Eternal Return at Leeds Art Gallery, Leeds, Until 13 April 2025, free entry - Visit now

Leeds Art Gallery celebrates the work of Stuart Croft, a Leeds-born filmmaker whose innovative films blend cinema and art and push the boundaries of moving image.

A man and woman dance in a pink theatre.
Image supplied by Leeds Inspired

Jakkai Siributr: There’s no Place at The Whitworth

Jakkai Siributr: There’s no Place at The Whitworth, Manchester, Until 16 March 2025, free entry - Visit now

Powerful textile works blend personal and political themes in this striking exhibition. You can even join the regular embroidery workshops and contribute to the display.

Jakkai Siributr There’s no Place at The Whitworth
Image credit Jakkai Siributr, There’s no Place, 2020-present. Courtesy the Artist © Jakkai Siibutr, Flowers Gallery and 100 Tonson Foundation.

Art Battle Manchester XXV at Aviva Studios

Art Battle Manchester XXV - Clocking On at Factory at Aviva Studios, Manchester, 17 January 2025, from £17.50 - Book now

Pick your winner in this live, high-energy art competition from Stockport’s GRIT Studios, where 10 emerging artists create pieces in just 30 minutes while the audience enjoys music and drinks.

Art Battle MCR
Art Battle MCR

The Traumatic Surreal at The Henry Moore Institute

The Traumatic Surreal at The Henry Moore Institute in Leeds, Leeds, Until 15 March 2025, free entry - Visit now

The Traumatic Surreal explores the powerful contributions to Surrealism from women artists from German-speaking countries, confronting WWII trauma, patriarchy, and the female experience through sculpture.

A sculpture of a dark brown dog looks to the right, hanging out of its middle and the back are what appears to be its insides (in cream) spilling out.
Image supplied by Leeds Inspired

Proximity at Open Eye Gallery

Proximity at Open Eye Gallery in Liverpool, Liverpool, Until 19 January 2025, free entry - Visit now

Proximity at the Open Eye Gallery showcases 45 years of Stephen McCoy’s deeply personal photographs capturing the people, places, and stories of Merseyside through intimate and diverse projects.

Image by Stephen McCoy, from River to River project
Image by Stephen McCoy, from River to River project

Shadow and Void: Buddha10 at esea contemporary

Shadow and Void: Buddha10 at esea contemporary, Manchester, 18 January–20 April 2025, free entry - Find Out More

Buddhist sculptures are juxtaposed with contemporary art in esea contemporary’s latest offering, exploring themes of spirituality, science, and belief.

Image courtesy of MAO Museo d’Arte Orientale, ‘Buddha¹⁰’ – X-Ray ‘La Venaria Reale’ Conservation and Restoration Centre. Caption: X-ray image of the statue of Seated Buddha with Folded Hands, 16th Century.

LORE at Sunny Bank Mills

LORE at Sunny Bank Mills Gallery, Leeds, Until 24 December 2024, free entry - Visit now

14 artists explore folklore through modern approaches while remaining true to its roots: stories passed down through generations.

A woodland glade. In the centre is the bough of a tree draped with different coloured ribbons. There are two wooden footstools underneath the ribbons.
Image supplied by Leeds Inspired

Louise Giovanelli: A Song of Ascents at The Hepworth Wakefield

Louise Giovanelli: A Song of Ascents at The Hepworth Wakefield, West Yorkshire, Until 21 April 2025, from £0.00 - Book now

The Hepworth Wakefield’s new exhibition gathers Giovanelli’s luminous large-scale canvases, showcasing the artist’s skill as well as her musings on contemporary worship and the duality of human experience.

A painting of green and yellow curtains
Louise Giovanelli, Prairie, 2022 © Louise Giovanelli. All Rights Reserved, DACS/Artimage. Photo © White Cube (Ollie Hammick). Courtesy of the artist and White Cube

LOCAL / NATIONAL / INTERNATIONAL at the Lowry

Local National International at Lowry, Manchester, Until 16 February 2025, free entry - Visit now

Artists Aliyah Hussain, Paloma Proudfoot and Renee So, all of whom work with ceramics, open a new series of exhibitions at the Lowry with three individual, concurrent displays.

Paloma Proudfoot, Skin Poem, 2024.
Reliant Imaging. Courtesy of the artist and The Approach, London

The Skin We Live In: Portraits from the NGCA Collection at NGCA

The Skin We Live In: Portraits from the NGCA Collection at Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art, North East, Until 2 March 2025, free entry - Visit now

See portraiture like never before at the NGCA’s group show, gathering works in photography, paint and print where portraits carry more than just a likeness.

Walker & Bromwich, Love Cannon, 2006, lambda print Photo:
Courtesy of the artist.

Cosmotechnics at FACT

Cosmotechnics at FACT, Liverpool, Until 26 January 2025, free entry - Visit now

Can local ways of thinking influence the development of technology? Can plants have their say in this too? Find out at FACT’s new exhibition featuring work from four Latin American artists and collectives.

A sculpture of a flower, lit with a purple and green animation. To the right of the sculpture is a red, floating circle.
Rebeca Romero, Chrysalis (2024) in Cosmotechnics (2024) curated by Beatrice Zaidenberg. Installation view at FACT Liverpool. Photography by Rob Battersby

Acts of Creation: On Art and Motherhood at Millennium Gallery

Acts of Creation: On Art and Motherhood at Millennium Gallery, Sheffield, Until 19 January 2025, free entry - Visit now

On art and motherhood with raw honesty – Millennium Gallery welcomes the Hayward Gallery Touring exhibition that dives deep into motherhood as experienced by artists.

Black and white photograph. Woman lays on bed looking at the camera, in the background, a little girl with Downs Syndrome irons.
Anna Grevenitis, Regard series (2015 -). © Anna Grevenitis

Play Interact Explore at BALTIC

Play Interact Explore at BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, North East, Until 27 April 2025, free entry - Visit now

Come and visit the BALTIC to play with the objects created especially to be interacted with, where ‘please do touch’ is the main rule!

Colourful blocks and sculpture
leap then look

Liz West: Our Colour Reflection at Yorkshire Sculpture Park

Liz West: Our Colour Reflection at Yorkshire Sculpture Park, West Yorkshire, Until 5 January 2025, from £0.00 - Book now

Boost your mood with YSP’s brand new vivid winter installation from an artist who investigates how colour can affect us.

A person in a chapel looking at multicoloured circular discs
Liz West, Our Colour Reflection, 2016. Courtesy the artist. Photo © Hannah Devereux

Lawson Oyekan at Blackwell, The Arts and Crafts House

Lawson Oyekan at Blackwell, The Arts and Crafts House, Cumbria, Until 16 March 2025, from £0.00 - Book now

Experience Lawson Oyekan’s monumental ceramic sculptures at first hand at his solo show this season. 

Lawson Oyekan, Coming up for air, 1999
The artist

Barbara Walker: Being Here at The Whitworth

Barbara Walker at The Whitworth, Manchester, Until 26 January 2025, free entry - Visit now

Expect to be moved as you encounter an incredible body of work by Turner Prize-nominated artist Barbara Walker.

The artist Barbara Walker, is a standing figure, working on her wall-drawing Vanishing Point. She draws four large figures of people on a large gallery wall.
Barbara Walker working on her wall-drawing Vanishing Point at Cristea Roberts Gallery, 2022. Courtesy Cristea Roberts Gallery. Photo: Helen Waters

earth to heart at Manchester Craft and Design Centre

earth to heart Exhibition at Manchester Craft & Design Centre, Manchester, Until 24 December 2024, free entry - Visit now

Exploring what creativity really means while experimenting with clay, this exhibition from artist Lily Brown and duo Imprints of Earth is a showcase of the possibilities of the material and the potential of working with imperfections.

Person holding two white ceramics
Lily Brown

Songs for the Storm to Come at HOME

Songs for the Storm to Come at HOME Manchester, Manchester, Until 2 February 2025, free entry - Visit now

Music faces the climate crisis and predictions of the future in Mikhail Karikis new, socially engaged exhibition at HOME.

Songs for the Storm to Come
HOME

40 Years of the Future: Jo McGonigal x Frank Bowling at Castlefield Gallery

40 Years of the Future: Jo McGonigal x Frank Bowling at Castlefield Gallery, Manchester, Until 2 February 2025, free entry - Visit now

Despite creating decades apart, the work of Jo McGonigal and Frank Bowling finds common ground in a show that explores spatial relationships and architecture.

A minimalist art installation features geometric wire sculptures, a neon light in front of a black rectangle made of gesso, and two wooden doors with windows on either side in a white-walled room.
Jo McGonigal, Unsaid. So-said. Missaid. (2019) at Edinburgh College of Art. Image courtesy of the artist.

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.

Hannah Perry: Manual Labour at Baltic

Hannah Perry: Manual Labour at BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, North East, Until 15 March 2025, free entry - Visit now

Hannah Perry’s explorations of matrescence in combination with class, labour and industrial materials is a unique perspective on this still underexplored topic.

A pregnant woman standing in a mirror
Hannah Perry © Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art

Bharti Kher: Alchemies at Yorkshire Sculpture Park

Bharti Kher: Alchemies at Yorkshire Sculpture Park, West Yorkshire, Until 27 April 2025, from £0.00 - Book now

One of the world’s leading contemporary artists, Bharti Kher comes to the Yorkshire Sculpture Park with a body of work that focuses on the female experience and its shifting context in today’s world.

Sculpture of a nude woman with the head of a cow placed on top of the woman's head
Bharti Kher, Animus Mundi (detail), 2018. © Bharti Kher. Courtesy of the artist and Nature Morte. Photo © Jeetin Sharma.

Bees: A Story of Survival at World Museum Liverpool

Bees: A Story of Survival at World Museum Liverpool, Liverpool, Until 5 May 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

40 Years of the Future at Castlefield Gallery

40 Years of the Future at Castlefield Gallery, Manchester, Until 30 March 2025, free entry - Visit now

Manchester’s beloved Castlefield Gallery is turning 40! Check out the exciting programme of events taking place throughout the year

A dynamic painting of colourful shapes arranged to form a cross
Hoyland Studio Ltd

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
A sculpture of a flower, lit with a purple and green animation. To the right of the sculpture is a red, floating circle.
Until
ExhibitionsLiverpool
Cosmotechnics at FACT

‘Cosmotechnics’ at FACT brings together Latin American artists to reconsider our relationships with both technology and the natural world.

free entry
Spotlight on

Things to do in Blackpool

Fancy a festive day trip? Explore our guide to Blackpool and build yourself an itinerary featuring attractions, galleries, restaurants and more.

Take me there

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.

Culture Guides

Music in the North

Warm, intimate storytelling is the thread connecting our new picks, which include a number of brilliant folk artists.

A man is dressed as an Elf in a decorated department store.
Cinema in the North

Get ready for animated classics, Muppet mayhem and a whole host of New York movies -- it's Christmas time in the cinema.

Theatre in Manchester and the North
Theatre in the North

From contemporary dance to ballet classics, and cult rock ‘n’ roll musicals to new writing, our theatre guide spans the festive season and beyond.

Raver Tots at Escape to Freight Island
Family things to do in the North

As we move into festive season, Manchester and the North is packed with fun events and activities for families, both indoors and outdoors.