Find out latest exhibitions and events in Englands North West, from art galleries to outdoor exhibitions; including China: Through the Lens of John Thomson; 24:7 Theatre Festival; Shaped by War: Photographs by Don McCullin; Contemporary Art Iraq and High Kicks and Low Life: Toulouse-Lautrec.
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Contemporary Art Iraq

21 Apr 2010 - 20 Jun 2010 / Cornerhouse, Manchester

Manchester’s contemporary art space is always a good bet for catching thought-provoking and engaging shows. The latest is the first comprehensive UK exhibition of new and recent contemporary art from Iraq since the first Gulf War, looking at the perspectives that are emerging from artists working in a culture marked by conflict and turmoil.

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Mark Francis: Arena

14 Apr 2010 - 03 Jul 2010 / Abbot Hall Art Gallery, Kendal

Magnified cells and microbes may sound like strange subjects for a painter, but British artist Mark Francis turns them into powerful abstract images that explore the dynamic between the man-made and the natural.

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Beyond the Boundary

14 Apr 2010 - 12 Sep 2010 / International Slavery Museum, Liverpool

Get your silly mid-on at this exhibition exploring the relationship between culture, class, and the game of cricket. As well as being a legacy of British imperialism, cricket has also been a means of resistance against it, with historic and contemporary stars of the game helping to hit racism for six.

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High Kicks and Low Life: Toulouse-Lautrec

14 May 2010 - 08 Aug 2010 / Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool

Exhibition of Lautrec’s evocative prints portraying life and art in the theatres of gay Paris, including his iconic Moulin Rouge posters and depictions of the legendary actress Sarah Bernhardt.

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Light Night Liverpool

14 May 2010 / Various venues, Liverpool

Liverpool gets in on the act that’s been sweeping other European cities over the last few years – the trend for opening up galleries and museums at night. Wander round venues such as Tate Liverpool and the Bluecoat after hours to see a different side to what’s on offer.

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Picasso: Peace and Freedom

21 May 2010 - 30 Aug 2010 / Tate Liverpool

If your image of Picasso is of an extrovert playboy swanning around the Mediterranean, then this new exhibition will undoubtedly change your mind. Over 150 works gathered from across the world are evidence of his role as a tireless political activist and campaigner for peace in the first-ever, in-depth exhibition of his post-war period. One of the must-see exhibitions of 2010.

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Everyday People by Spencer Tunick

12 Jun 2010 - 26 Sep 2010 / The Lowry, Salford Quays

Exhibitionism on a huge scale from the master of the mass nude, American artist Spencer Tunick. Taking the mass of working people shown in LS Lowry’s paintings as his inspiration, he’s taking heated buses full of nude volunteers to eight locations in Salford and Manchester to create his first-ever, multi-site installation. The record of this remarkable weekend in film and photography will be exhibited at The Lowry as part of its 10th birthday celebrations.

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William Morris: a Sense of Place

26 Jun 2010 - 17 Oct 2010 / Blackwell Arts and Craft House, Bowness-on-Windermere LA23 3JT

Exhibition exploring the design, creative writing, socialism and conservation work of the founder of the Arts & Crafts movement.

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Industrial Revolutionaries: People who shaped the Modern World

26 Jun 2010 - 06 Nov 2010 / Harris Museum & Art Gallery, Preston

Major new exhibition looking at the issues that were preoccupying the citizens of the industrial revolution 150 years ago and how these issues are echoed in 2010, from employer/worker relations, child labour and the need for temperance to impending elections with surprise results.

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The Loneliness of Lowry

17 Jul 2010 - 30 Oct 2010 / Abbot Hall Art Gallery, Kendal

Mysterious bleak landscapes, desolate seascapes and deserted buildings are the subjects of some of LS Lowry’s most powerful yet lesser known works and this exhibition examines a different side of the artist who cites his inherent loneliness as one of the main influences on his work.

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Rafael Lozano-Hemmer

11 Sep 2010 - 09 Jan 2011 / Manchester Art Gallery, Manchester

Mexican-Canadian electronic artist who produces large-scale interactive installations using robotics, projections and other devices, to create dynamic kinetic art works. As an international Biennial circuit favourite, his new commission for Manchester Art Gallery is bound to attract much critical attention.

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Liverpool Biennial

18 Sep 2010 - 28 Nov 2010 / Various venues, Liverpool

One of the world’s biggest contemporary art jamborees outside Venice, the Biennial is living proof of Liverpool’s love affair with the arts. The always-intriguing shows are staged all over the city with the aim being to introduce British audiences to up-and-coming international artists and trends.

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Savage Grandeur & Noblest Thoughts

01 Jun 2010 - 12 Jul 2010 / Wordsworth Museum & Art Gallery, Grasmere

Subtitled Discovering the Lake District 1750–1820, this exhibition traces the effect of the awe-inspiring Cumbrian scenery on the artists and poets of Wordsworth’s time.

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Unknown Pleasures

29 Jul 2010 - 07 Aug 2010 / The Heritage Centre, Macclesfield

Marking the 30th anniversary of the death of Joy Division singer Ian Curtis, this exhibition in his home town of Macclesfield is a fitting tribute from friends, family and colleagues. Curated by music writer, Jon Savage with Peter Saville on board as creative consultant, it’s an in-depth look at the life and work of both the singer and band. A must-see for anybody for whom listening to Love Will Tear Us Apart in their teenage bedroom was a formative experience.

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China: journey to the East

25 Sep 2010 - 26 Jun 2011 / Manchester Museum, Manchester

Spanning 3,000 years of Chinese history and culture, this major British Museum touring show explores one of the most important and influential civilisations in world history, looking at themes of performance, technology, beliefs, food and drink, language and writing.

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The Barber Goes North

15 Oct 2010 - 15 Dec 2010 / Abbot Hall Art Gallery, Kendal

The Barber Institute at the University of Birmingham is famed for its collection of Old Master paintings and its magnificent works on paper. This two month trip to the Lake District features a rarely seen selection of Old Master drawings, including fine works by Tintoretto, Rubens, Rembrandt and Degas, plus German Expressionist prints and drawings, including images by Max Beckmann, Käthe Kollwitz, and others.

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Beyond the Boundary

19 Aug 2010 - 13 Feb 2011 / International Slavery Museum, Liverpool

Get your silly mid on at this exhibition exploring the relationship between culture, class, and the game of cricket. As well as being a legacy of British imperialism, cricket has also been a means of resistance against it, with historic and contemporary stars of the game helping to hit racism for six.

Visit Website

Dürer and Italy

19 Aug 2010 - 26 Sep 2010 / Lady Lever Art Gallery, Wirral

Exhibition of engraved classics by the German master print maker Albrecht Dürer, one of the great Renaissance artists, shown alongside works by his Italian contemporaries.

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Everyday People by Spencer Tunick

19 Aug 2010 - 26 Sep 2010 / Lowry, Salford Quays

Exhibitionism on a huge scale from the master of the group nude, American artist Spencer Tunick. Taking the mass of working people shown in LS Lowry’s paintings as his inspiration, nude volunteers were taken to eight locations in Salford and Manchester to create his first ever, multi-site installation. The record of this remarkable weekend in film and photography is being exhibited at The Lowry as part of its 10th birthday celebrations.

Visit Website

William Morris: a Sense of Place

19 Aug 2010 - 17 Oct 2010 / Blackwell Arts and Crafts House, Bowness-on-Windermere LA23 3JT

Treasuring the sense of place created by nature and architecture was a core tenet of the Arts & Crafts movement pioneer, William Morris’s world view. This exhibition charts his take on life through graphic designs, textiles, hand-printed books and photographs of the back-to-nature guru himself.

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The Loneliness of Lowry

19 Aug 2010 - 30 Oct 2010 / Abbot Hall Art Gallery, Kendal

Mysterious bleak landscapes, desolate seascapes and deserted buildings are the subjects of some of LS Lowry’s most powerful yet lesser-known works and this exhibition examines a different side of the artist who cited his inherent loneliness as one of the main influences on his work.

Visit Website

Industrial Revolutionaries: People who shaped the Modern

19 Aug 2010 - 06 Nov 2010 / Harris Museum & Art Gallery, Preston

Major new exhibition looking at the issues that were preoccupying the citizens of the industrial revolution 150 years ago and how these issues are echoed in 2010, from employee/worker relations, child labour and the need for temperance, to the surprise results of elections.

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White Feather: The Spirit of John Lennon

19 Aug 2010 - 31 Dec 2010 / The Beatles Story, Liverpool

Liverpool’s favourite son (with apologies to Macca) is remembered in the 70th anniversary year of his birth in this intimate exhibition bringing together the personal memories of his first wife Cynthia and his eldest son Julian, presented for the first time through a mix of personal interviews, family photos and previously unseen memorabilia.

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Endurance: Shackleton’s Antarctic Adventure

19 Aug 2010 - 03 Jan 2011 / Merseyside Maritime Museum, Liverpool

Exhibition chronicling the incredible real life tale of survival of Sir Ernest Shackleton’s 1914 Endurance expedition. Featuring compelling photographs of the ordeal taken by ship’s photographer Frank Hurley and accompanied by gripping memoirs from the voyage.

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Savage Grandeur & Noblest Thoughts

20 Aug 2010 - 12 Jun 2011 / Wordsworth Museum & Art Gallery, Grasmere

The Lake District has been a place of great beauty for millennia, so why was it not discovered by fashionable society until Wordsworth and his contemporaries shone their artistic spotlight on it? This exhibition explores how the Napoleonic Wars forced people to holiday closer to home and the role that the Romantic poets and artists played in inventing the ‘staycation’.

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Rafael Lozano-Hemmer

11 Sep 2010 - 09 Jan 2011 / Manchester Art Gallery, Manchester

Highly-respected Mexican-Canadian electronic artist who produces large-scale interactive installations using robotics, projections and other devices to create dynamic pieces that use the captured voices, actions and thoughts of visitors as part of the works themselves. As a rising star in the contemporary art world and an international Biennial circuit favourite, the world première of his new large-scale installation, People on People, specially commissioned for this exhibition, is bound to attract much critical attention.

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Sedition

18 Sep 2010 - 28 Nov 2010 / Tullie House Museum & Art Gallery, Carlisle

Exhibition of the best work currently being produced in Cumbria by established and emerging artists. Features sculpture, photography, installation, film and live art by over 20 artists who put innovation and experimentation at the heart of what they do.

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My Generation — The Glory Years of British Rock

24 - 13 Sep 2010 / Grundy Art Gallery, Blackpool

First regional outing for this V&A-initiated exhibition of over 200 celebrity photographs produced by Harry Goodwin, the resident photographer at the BBC’s Top of The Pops from its very first transmission in 1964 through to 1973. Iconic images include a shocked Bob Dylan temporarily blinded by Harry’s flash in punishment for his grumpiness, Paul McCartney pouring tea and a dramatic shot of Jimi Hendrix playing the guitar with his teeth.

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China: Journey to the East

25 Sep 2010 - 26 Jun 2011 / Manchester Museum, Manchester

This major British Museum show spans 3,000 years of Chinese history and culture and explores one of the most influential civilisations in world history, looking at themes of beliefs, performance, technology, food and drink, language and writing.

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The Land Between Us: Power, place and dislocation

25 Sep 2010 - 23 Jan 2011 / Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester

This exhibition brings together historic and contemporary art to explore present day notions of landscape and identity. Works by contemporary artists such as Larissa Sansour. Olafur Eliasson, Cyprien Gaillard and Nikhil Chopra are juxtaposed with works from the Whitworth’s extensive historic collection, from William Holman Hunt to Samuel Palmer and JMW Turner. This will be the first time that the Whitworth’s 50 Turner watercolours have been exhibited together.

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The Barber Goes North

15 Oct 2010 - 15 Dec 2010 / Abbot Hall Art Gallery, Kendal

The Barber Institute is famed for its collection of Old Master paintings and its magnificent works on paper. This two-month outing to the Lake District features a rarely seen selection of Old Master drawings, including fine works by Tintoretto, Rubens, Rembrandt and Degas, plus German Expressionist prints and drawings by Max Beckmann, Käthe Kollwitz and others.

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Invitation to the Ballet

23 Oct 2010 - 06 Mar 2011 / The Lowry, Salford Quays

The phenomenal archive of the Royal Ballet gets a rare airing in this major exhibition telling the story of the company’s origins, starting from when Ninette de Valois first brought ballet to Britain, right up to present day ballet superstars such as Carlos Acosta. Archive photos, film footage and a superb selection of costumes from epic performances such as Dame Margot Fonteyn’s Firebird make this a real treat for dance fans.

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Death and the Working Class

23 Oct 2010 - 03 May 2011 / People’s History Museum, Manchester

It may not sound like a laugh, a joke, a song, but this fascinating exhibition charts how funeral traditions and customs have changed over the last 200 years, exploring how people’s notion of a ‘good send off’ has evolved as our culture and society have developed.

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Underwater

10 Dec 2010 - 13 Feb 2011 / The Bluecoat, Liverpool

Exhibition focussing on artists’ relationships with the deep, featuring works by an international line up including Bill Viola, Ellen Gallagher and Dorothy Cross. Accompanied by a Bluecoat commission from Mark Anstee that involves a lifesize submarine installed in the Bluecoat’s dramatic Vide space.

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Nam June Paik

17 Dec 2010 - 13 Mar 2011 / Tate Liverpool & FACT, Liverpool

Video artist, performer and composer Nam June Paik was considered to be one of the most innovative artists of the twentieth century with his work in video seen as paving the way for the ‘MTV generation’. This first major retrospective in the UK offers a definitive look at Paik’s body of work, presenting works from all phases of his career, many shown in the UK for the first time. A number of large scale, sculptural works from Paik’s later career are being shown simultaneously at FACT, Liverpool’s Foundation for Art and Creative Technology.

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