Exhibitions

Creative Tourist

From post-it-sized art to commissions that fill entire gallery walls, this month’s five exhibition picks are joined by an interest in what lies beneath, what risks being lost, and what the overlooked reveals.

Peripheries at 1853 Studios gathers eight artists around the literal and personal meanings of existing on the margins. Before We Were Proud at Waterside turns the camera lens on LGBTQ+ community members with firsthand testimony of homosexuality’s criminalisation. Common Ground at Manchester Craft and Design Centre is less interested in what the Peak District looks like than what lies beneath it.

10 x 10 at Saul Hay Gallery asks what each of 100 artists reaches for when given just 10 square centimetres to play with. And Curtain Up at Lowry finds something just as revealing in the charged, collective energy of being part of an audience.

Our top picks

Peripheries at 1853 Studios

Peripheries at 1853 Studios, Manchester, Until 23 May 2026, Free entry - Visit now

Eight artists explore violence, migration and shifting ideas of what it means to exist on the margins in this new group show at 1853 Studios.

Artist: Thomas Christian Bradley + Iqra Tariq. Photographer: James Measom.

Before We Were Proud at Waterside

Before We Were Proud at Waterside, Manchester, Until 1 August 2026, Free entry - Visit now

The LGBTQ+ people who lived through criminalisation are still here, and photographer Steve Reeves is recording their stories.

Image supplied by Waterside Arts Centre

Common Ground at Manchester Craft & Design Centre

Common Ground at Manchester Craft & Design Centre, Manchester, Until 28 August 2026, Free entry - Visit now

The Peak District is one of the most walked, photographed and painted landscapes in England – but Common Ground is less interested in what it looks like than what lies beneath it.

A wide countryside view shows pale limestone rocks scattered across a grassy slope, suggesting an ancient stone setting. A single person crouches beside one group of stones, while patchwork fields and low hills extend into the distance under a soft, open sky.
Common Ground

10 x 10 at Saul Hay Gallery

10 x 10 at Saul Hay Gallery, Manchester, 13 June 2026, Free entry - Find Out More

Saul Hay celebrates its 10th anniversary with an exhibition that gives 100 artists just 10 square centimetres to work with.

Jen Orpin - A Very 70's Summer. Oil on cradled panel
Jen Orpin

Curtain Up at Lowry

Curtain Up at Lowry, Manchester, Until 21 June 2026 - Book now

Paying homage to 25 years of audiences assembling at Lowry, the venue presents an exhibition on group communion, featuring artists who capture the energy and anticipation of live audiences.

Bridget Smith, Blueprint for a Curtain, 2015. Photo by Michael Pollard.

Michaela Yearwood-Dan: The Practice of Liberation at The Whitworth

Michaela Yearwood-Dan at The Whitworth, Manchester, Until 18 October 2026, Free entry - Visit now

Michaela Yearwood-Dan’s first UK institutional exhibition layers painting, ceramics and sound to explore liberation across personal and institutional histories.

Michaela Yearwood - Dan, Passio (2026) © Michaela Yearwood - Dan Courtesy the artist, Hauser & Wirth and Marianne Boesky Gallery Photographer: Deniz Guzel.
Michaela Yearwood - Dan, Passio (2026) © Michaela Yearwood - Dan Courtesy the artist, Hauser & Wirth and Marianne Boesky Gallery Photographer: Deniz Guzel.

Everything and Nothing at The Portico Library

Everything and Nothing at The Portico Library, Manchester, Until 3 October 2026, Free entry - Visit now

A fascinating archival exhibition uncovers the forgotten stories of people who have helped shape The Portico Library’s 220-year history.

Image by Beth Castle, courtesy of The Portico Library.
Image by Beth Castle, courtesy of The Portico Library.

Out Here at Castlefield Gallery

Out Here at Castlefield Gallery, Manchester, Until 19 July 2026, Free entry - Visit now

In this group show, six artists shift environmental questions out of the abstract and back into the natural materials beneath our feet.

a beach. red bricks are laid out in a spiral shape on the sand.
Keziah Thomas-Mellor, Spiral at Blitz Beach (2025) Courtesy of the artist.

Ai Weiwei: Sewing a Button at Aviva Studios

Ai Weiwei: Sewing a Button at Aviva Studios, Manchester, 3–4 July 2026, From £10.00 - Book now

In a live, 24 hour-performance, Ai Weiwei will place himself back inside a room that once governed every aspect of his daily life.

A black-and-white image of Ai Weiwei sitting upright on a small stool in a sparse, cell-like room. He faces the camera with his hands resting on his knees. Behind him is a white brick wall, and to his right there is a simple metal bed frame with a thin mattress. The lighting is stark, casting strong shadows on the wall and floor, giving the scene a stark, surveillance-like atmosphere
Courtesy of Artist

Rachel Maclean: They’ve Got Your Eyes at FACT Liverpool

Rachel Maclean: They've Got Your Eyes at FACT, Liverpool, Until 16 August 2026, Free entry - Visit now

Scottish artist Rachel Maclean presents a major new exhibition that invites us to question the technologies that are watching, learning, and quietly getting better at being us.

A busy image created using generative AI. The image depicts a man at the centre with grey hair and rosy cheeks, surrounding him are fairies that appear to be created in his own image with multiple limbs and unique bodily proportions. Around them are hundreds of vials, microscopes and dated scientific equipment.
Rachel Maclean, O, they serve you get (2026). Digital image. Courtesy of the artist

Black Country Type II at The Modernist

Black Country Type II at The Modernist, Manchester, Until 30 May 2026, Free entry - Visit now

The Black Country. Not always the first place people associate with colour, design and typography – but Tom Hicks has spent years looking closely enough to challenge that.

Brettel Blue
Tom Hicks

Only Slime: Afterlife at FACT Liverpool

Only Slime: Afterlife at FACT, Liverpool, Until 16 August 2026, Free entry - Visit now

Toby Pfeil and Claudia Cox transform their 2023 computer-game opera into a new installation that invites you to step inside a world between life and death.

Two 3D rendered digital characters, a pink axolotl and a grey dinosaur, stare off into the distance. Behind them is a purple starry sky, with a full moon overhead.
NLY SLIME, AFTERLIFE (2023). Film still. Courtesy of the artists.

City Of Making at The New Adelphi

City Of Making at New Adelphi, University of Salford, Manchester, Until 3 July 2026, Free entry - Visit now

Creativity, making and innovation have long shaped Salford. City of Making traces that legacy from industrial roots to today’s artists, designers and creative technologists.

A poster by city of making showing images from the University of Salford Archive's
Images courtesy of the University of Salford Archives

On The Line at People’s History Museum

On The Line at People’s History Museum, Manchester, Until 2 November 2026, Free entry - Visit now

In the centenary year of the 1926 General Strike, People’s History Museum explores a century of industrial action – through banners, posters, artworks, photography and everyday ephemera.

Ai Weiwei: Button Up! at Aviva Studios

Ai Weiwei: Button Up!, 2 July–6 September 2026, From £10.00 - Book now

History, power and empire collide in Button Up! – Aviva Studios’ major new exhibition by the world-leading artist and activist, Ai Weiwei.

Gonçalo F. Santos.

Delaine Le Bas: Un-Fair-Ground at The Whitworth

Delaine Le Bas: Un-Fair-Ground at The Whitworth, Manchester, Until 31 May 2026, Free entry - Visit now

The Whitworth showcases one of contemporary art’s most unruly imaginations as 2024 Turner Prize nominee Delaine Le Bas arrives with a major solo exhibition.

A doll with makeup peeks out of a hanging wall of butter yellow fabric. Red and black threads descend and cascade around the doll.
Image: Delaine Le Bas, NCA Gallery - Photo credit: Toby Lloyd

Camille Walala: Square Eyes at Lowry

Camille Wallala: Square Eyes at Lowry, Manchester, Until 26 September 2026, Free entry - Visit now

Lowry celebrates its 25th anniversary with a spectacular splash of colour from internationally renowned French artist Camille Walala.

Camille Walala: Square Eyes at Lowry
Image courtesy of Michael Pollard.

Spies, Lies and Deception at IWM North

Spies, Lies and Deception at Imperial War Museum North (IWM North), Manchester, Until 31 August 2026, Free entry - Visit now

Spies, Lies and Deception comes to The Quays, cracking open that window into the shady world of espionage and secret operations that took place under the radar across the 20th and 21st centuries.

Spies, Lies and Deception Press Illustration
Katherine Tromans

Horrible Science: Cosmic Chaos at the Science and Industry Museum

Horrible Science: Cosmic Chaos at Science and Industry Museum, Manchester, Until 3 January 2027, From £10.00 - Book now

With UK rocket launches, lunar missions and solar eclipses all on the horizon, 2026 is shaping up to be a big year for space. What better timing for Horrible Science: Cosmic Chaos, a world-premiere exhibition at the Science and Industry Museum.

Work to prepare space suit replica for display in Horrible Science - Science Museum Group -Drew Forsyth
Science Museum Group/ Drew Forsyth

The Harris

The Harris, The Harris Market Square, Preston, Lancashire, PR1 2PP - Visit now

The Harris is a museum, a library and a community hub – after a major transformation it’s reopening its doors with a brand new programme and a fun new exhibition for the whole family.

Image of The Harris Museum and Horace the Elk in front of it
The Harris

Stockroom

Stockroom, Stockroom Merseyway Shopping Centre , Stockport, SK1 1PR - Visit now

Stockport’s newest cultural spot has a large library, IT facilities, an event space with a regular programme and a place for children to learn and play too. There’s quite literally something for everyone.

A projected image of the Stockroom.
Stockroom Stockport

PINK

PINK, Hilton House, Lord Street, Stockport , Greater Manchester, SK1 3NA - Visit now

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

View of PINK meeting area and exhibition space, with a table, chairs and white walls
Credit: Ella Wheatley (2024)

More Exhibitions

Brettel Blue
Until
ExhibitionsManchester
Black Country Type II at The Modernist

The Black Country. Not always the first place people associate with colour, design and typography – but Tom Hicks has spent years looking closely enough to challenge that.

Free entry
Jen Orpin - A Very 70's Summer. Oil on cradled panel
ExhibitionsManchester
10 x 10 at Saul Hay Gallery

Saul Hay celebrates its 10th anniversary with an exhibition that gives 100 artists just 10 centimetres to work with.

Free entry
Until
ExhibitionsMediaCityUK
Curtain Up at Lowry

Lowry presents an exhibition on group communion, featuring artists who capture the energy and anticipation of live audiences.

A poster by city of making showing images from the University of Salford Archive's
Until
ExhibitionsSalford
City Of Making at The New Adelphi

Creativity, making and innovation have long shaped Salford. City of Making traces that legacy from industrial roots to today’s artists, designers and creative technologists.

Free entry
A doll with makeup peeks out of a hanging wall of butter yellow fabric. Red and black threads descend and cascade around the doll.

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Image: Delaine Le Bas, NCA Gallery - Photo credit: Toby Lloyd

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