Whose Festival is it Anyway?

Creative Tourist
Wonder Women 2017

Whose Festival is it Anyway? at Manchester Central Library, Manchester 11 March 2017 Entrance is free

As the 2017 festival draws to a close, Digital Women’s Archive North [DWAN] and Instigate Arts bring together this year’s contributing artists, producers, curators and groups for a lively and provocative panel discussion asking if feminist festivals are an act of disruptive activism in their own right, raising consciousness and introducing young activists to key moments in the history of their own movements and causes?

It will look forward to 2018 and set out a bold vision for how Wonder Women might grow to become a fitting Manchester tribute to the 100 year anniversary of the first votes for women. How might the city of suffragettes live up to the legacy of those original disruptive activists; capture public attention and support creative practitioners with a feminist ethos?

Panel Participants:

  • Sarah Perks (Artistic Director of HOME Mcr, Film Producer and Professor of Visual Art, Manchester Met University)
  • Rosanne Robertson (Artist and Co-Director of The Penthouse, Manchester)
  • Julie Ward (Labour and Co-operative Party Member of the European Parliament for the North West of England, Member of Parliament’s Culture & Education Committee, Member of the Regional Development Committee and the Committee on Gender Equality and Women’s Rights.)
  • Francine Hayfron (Cultural Park Keeper, Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester) Dr Louise Platt (Senior Lecturer in Festival and Event Management (Manchester Met University)

Chairing:

  • Dr Jenna Ashton (Creative Director, [DWAN] Digital Women’s Archive North, Manchester)
  • Anne-Louise Kershaw (Curator, Wonder Women Festival 2017, Co-Director, Instigate Arts, Manchester)Come and have your say.

Whose Festival is it Anyway? at Manchester Central Library, Manchester 11 March 2017 Entrance is free

Manchester Town Hall
TourManchester
The Magical Mystery Bike Tour

Hop on your bike for this guided cycling tour, exploring fascinating corners of Manchester you may never have seen before.

from £25.00

Where to go near Whose Festival is it Anyway?

St Peters Square Manchester
City Centre
St Peter’s Square

St Peter’s Square is a public space in Manchester – home to the city’s iconic library, town hall, Pankhurst statue, art gallery and famous Midland Hotel.

Manchester Art Gallery. Photo by Andrew Brooks
City Centre
Gallery
Manchester Art Gallery

The Charles Barry-designed, Grade I-listed Manchester Art Gallery is one of the city’s leading galleries and is back open for visitors once more.

Chinatown
Hotel
The Alan

This high-end city-centre restaurant has an excellent afternoon tea option that more than matches up to the superb main menu.

Salut Wines
Chinatown
Bar or Pub
Salut Wines

Salut wines pride themselves in offering “wider horizons beyond the safe choices.” With 42 wines by the glass and a regularly changing selection of bottles in their Enomatic wine preservation machines (or  “wine jukebox,” as they’re colloquially known), this is one of be best bars in Manchester for exploring new vintages.

Manchester
Restaurant
Friska

Latest branch of Friska, the independent healthy fast food chain.

Manchester
Restaurant
Don Giovanni

Traditional Italian restaurant, serving everything from pizza to steak. All this in a large modern venue with floor-to-ceiling windows.

Chinatown
Restaurant
Manchester Art Gallery Cafe

Summery bakes, seasonal salads and fresh light meals at Manchester Art Gallery’s in-house café, courtesy of highly-regarded Head Chef Matthew Taylor.

City Centre
Tourist Attraction
Manchester Town Hall

Re-opening in 2024, Manchester Town Hall is a monument to Victorian Manchester’s ambition, and one of the city’s most-loved landmarks.

City Centre
Tourist Attraction
Albert Square

A public square in the heart of Manchester which plays hosts to festivals and major events. Home to the Albert Memorial and statues of Bishop James Fraser, John Bright, Oliver Heywood and William Ewart Gladstone.

Contemporary Six, art gallery in Manchester
City Centre
Gallery
Contemporary Six

Contemporary Six is an independent commercial art gallery in Manchester city centre, set up by Alex Reuben in 2010.

What's on: Festivals

FestivalsCity Centre
MIF25: Festival Square

Festival Square is the beating heart of Manchester International Festival 2025, returning to its riverside location once again.

free entry

Culture Guides

A woman sits in a car with hands holding the steering wheel.
Cinema in the North

Vintage Alfred Hitchcock and a family friendly film festival are amongst our highlights this May.

Theatre in Manchester and the North
Theatre in the North

Dynamic dance, party-performance, high-energy stand-up and a site-specific show set in a pub. All this and more in our newest theatre guide.

the artist
Music in the North

The outsiders, the oddities and the outrageous – we’re keeping it weird with a hot new batch of underground gigs about to hit Manchester, Leeds, and Liverpool.

A large sphere floats in a dark room with an ornate wall pattern, flanked by two arched windows and a checkered floor.
Exhibitions in the North

From precarious ceramics to photography festivals, spring is here and brings with it a breath of fresh air in visual art and exhibitions.

Poet Imtiaz Dharker. Photo by Ayesha Dharker
Literature Events in the North

It's like the Woolies pick'n'mix counter this month in live literature land – so much choice, we're not sure where to start digging in.

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.