Exhibitions in the North

Maja Lorkowska, Exhibitions Editor

Who doesn’t love May – the month with not one, but two bank holidays! Treats are in store on the exhibitions front even before the month starts. The long-awaited Małgorzata Mirga-Tas exhibition has finally landed at the Whitworth, capturing significant figures, traditions and everyday moments of Roma communities in vibrant tapestries.

Sustainability and environmental concerns are a recurring theme in a few of our top picks: the one-night-only Ecological Borders at SEESAW; Laura Ellen Bacon: Into Being at YSP; and Energy House 2.0 at Castlefield Gallery.

Abandon Normal Devices teamed up with the School of Digital Arts to bring us Commons, a brand new programme of inclusive and interactive events led by digital artists, while Leeds’ new CANVAS community arts festival is now open.

Our top picks

Ecological Borders at SEESAW

Ecological Borders 2025 at SEESAW, Manchester, 29 April 2025, free entry - Find Out More

Don’t miss SEESAW’s one-night-only exhibition, all about the human body as both a barrier (border), and a point of connection to nature.

Minimalist poster showing the details of Ecological Borders 2025. Free entry from 5-10pm on the 29th of April 2025 at the SEESAW space, Manchester.
Beatrice Jane Penny and Charlotte Furlong.

Małgorzata Mirga-Tas at the Whitworth

Małgorzata Mirga-Tas at The Whitworth, Manchester, Until 7 September 2025, free entry - Visit now

The celebrated Polish-Roma artist Małgorzata Mirga-Tas sews together vibrant, patterned fabrics to create images of Roma life – previously on show at Tate St Ives, this is an unmissable display.

A painted and collaged artwork, showing three women standing together one holds a baby, they are all wearing clothes made from bright or patterned fabrics.
Małgorzata Mirga-Tas, Trzy Gracje / The Three Graces 2021. Presented to Tate by the artist in 2022. Photo Marek Gardulski. © Małgorzata Mirga-Ta

CANVAS: a community arts festival at Wellington Place

CANVAS: a community arts festival at Wellington Place at Wellington Place, Leeds, Until 6 May 2025, free entry - Visit now

Artists take over Wellington Place for a month of exhibitions, workshops, print fairs and family activities in the first CAVNAS community arts festival.

A street vendor standing behind a table selling arts and crafts.
Image supplied by Leeds Inspired

Laura Ellen Bacon: Into Being at Yorkshire Sculpture Park

Laura Ellen Bacon: Into Being at Yorkshire Sculpture Park, West Yorkshire, Until 7 September 2025, from £0.00 - Book now

Laura Ellen Bacon’s nest-like sculptures challenge traditional assumptions about craft, its scale and potential. The artist draws in space using willow weaving, to create organic, flowing forms.

Laura Ellen Bacon, Into Being, 2025. Photo © India Hobson, courtesy Yorkshire Sculpture Park
Laura Ellen Bacon, Into Being, 2025. Photo © India Hobson, courtesy Yorkshire Sculpture Park

Energy House 2.0: Mishka Henner and Emily Speed at Castlefield Gallery

Energy House 2.0: Mishka Henner and Emily Speed at Castlefield Gallery, Manchester, 4 May–20 July 2025, free entry - Find Out More

Following an 18-month artists residency at a Salford University’s environmental research facility, Mishka Henner and Emily Speed present their new work at Castlefield Gallery.

A woman lies on the floor under a structure made of white arches
Emily Speed, Rooms Designed for a Woman (film still), 2017. Commissioned by Yorkshire Sculpture Park. Image courtesy of the artist

Commons at SODA

Commons at SODA at School of Digital Arts (SODA), Manchester, Until 14 August 2025, free entry - Visit now

Throughout spring and summer, Abandon Normal Devices brings us ‘Commons’, a new a programme of openly accessible, interactive events led by digital artists, from immersive games to new ways of sharing knowledge.

Commons at SODA
Keiken, at Amos Rex, photo by Niclas Warius

Sarah Roberts: SICK at The Stanley & Audrey Burton Gallery

Sarah Roberts: SICK at The Stanley & Audrey Burton Gallery, Leeds, Until 19 July 2025, free entry - Visit now

Artist Sarah Roberts reflects on environments of care and healing using her signature brightly coloured installations. Her first institutional solo show is informed by personal experiences as a carer and research into medical objects and histories.

A pastel green hospital food tray on a pastel green table. In the left half of the tray are brown and purple spotted balls on sticks. In the right side of the tray is a wire basket filled with colourful pills.
Image supplied by Leeds Inspired

Women in Revolt! Art and Activism in the UK 1970-1990

Women in Revolt! Art and Activism in the UK 1970-1990 at The Whitworth, Manchester, Until 1 June 2025, free entry - Visit now

A landmark show about women’s rebellion and creativity, filled with powerful (and unexpected) work – you’ll find are explorations of motherhood, domesticity, working conditions and much more. Oh, and there’s an installation made entirely out of… cake.

A film still, showing a woman's face screaming.
Gina Birch, 3 Minute Scream, 1977 © Gina Birch.

Imran Perretta: A Riot In Three Acts at HOME

Imran Perretta: A Riot In Three Acts at HOME Manchester, Manchester, Until 8 June 2025, free entry - Visit now

Imran Perretta confronts inequality and resistance through a powerful, immersive exhibition at HOME.

JJ.

Gallery Artist John Charles

Gallery Artist John Charles, 22 Union Street, Southport, PR9 0QE - Visit now

This newly opened gallery in Southport showcases the work of local painter John Charles and is open every Friday.

Gallery Artist John Charles
Artist John Charles

JMW Turner: In Light and Shade at the Whitworth

JMW Turner: In Light and Shade at The Whitworth, Manchester, Until 2 November 2025, free entry - Visit now

The Whitworth celebrates the 250th anniversary of Turner’s birth with a new exhibition showcasing 71 prints alongside painted works, showcasing a different side to one of the best known landscape artists.

A stormy landscape scene, in watercolour, painting by JMW Turner
JMW Turner, Storm in the Pass of St. Gotthard, Switzerland, 1845. JMW Turner © the Whitworth, The University of Manchester.

The Boy with a Leg Named Brian: Memoirs by Pete McKee at Weston Park Museum

The Boy with a Leg Named Brian: Memoirs by Pete McKee at Weston Park Museum, Sheffield, Until 2 November 2025, free entry - Visit now

Pete McKee is a much loved artist and cartoonist born and working in Sheffield. Don’t miss his colourful show at the Weston Park Museum – a walk down memory lane, capturing precious moments and cultural events from the 70s and 80s.

A painting of a young child being bathed in a sink of a 197s style kitchen. Around the sink are a rubber duck, a bottle of  washing up liquid, a jug, a kettle and a mug.
Pete McKee, Bath Time © Pete McKee

The Plant that Stowed Away at TATE Liverpool

The Plant that Stowed Away at Tate Liverpool, Liverpool, Until 11 May 2025, free entry - Visit now

The Plant that Stowed Away explores connections between port cities, migration, and nature, blending film photography with works by Atkinson Grimshaw, Matisse, and others.

Henri Matisse  The Dancer (La Danseuse) 1949
©Henri Matisse © Succession Henri Matisse/DACS 2024

Mani Kambo: Ax·is Mun·di at Baltic

Mani Kambo at BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, North East, Until 2 June 2025, free entry - Visit now

Mani Kambo’s new major body of work focuses on spirituality, superstitions and ritual through the artist’s own lexicon of visual symbols rendered in monochrome. A striking, considered show.

John McKenzie © 2024 Baltic

David Hockney: Pieced Together at the National Science and Media Museum

David Hockney: Pieced Together at National Science and Media Museum, Bradford, Until 18 May 2025, free entry - Visit now

The National Science and Media Museum reopening would not be complete without the Bradford-born superstar artist. David Hockney: Pieced Together presents his collages in paper and video forms.

David Hockney creating a joiner of the National Science and Media Museum , Bradford 19 or 20 July 1985.
National Science and Media Museum and Science & Society Picture Library

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

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.

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

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
Image by Jonathan Schofield.
Spotlight on

Walking Tours in Manchester by Jonathan Schofield

Presenting the best walking tours in Manchester for history buffs, culture enthusiasts, and those looking to scratch beneath the surface of the city.

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.

Royal Albert Dock. Image by Think Publicity
Waterfront
Gallery
Royal Albert Dock

Liverpool’s Albert Dock is a reliably great day or night out, and here’s what’s on offer there over the Christmas weeks.

Culture Guides

Sextile
Music in the North

Electronic music features heavily in our latest round-up of gig highlights across Manchester, Leeds and Liverpool.

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.

Image by Jonathan Schofield.
Tours and Activities in the North

We've got many a good time in store this month as we round up the best walking tours, cultural classes and makers markets in the land.

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.

Okechukwu Nzelu
Literature Events in the North

If it's inspiring, inclusive events and avant-garde, experimental afternoons you're after, look no further than live literature this spring – we've got you covered.