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Manchester International Festival | Liverpool Arab Arts Festival | Latest NW arts news
I was just about to press send on this when I spotted a message on Instagram from Birch Studio & Gallery letting me know about its new exhibition Breadcrumbs. As I’m always banging on to people about how hard it is to find out about the smaller, independent shows and events in enough time to cover them in Stored Honey, I had to pause publication and include this one in here.
Breadcrumbs is a group show by Birch Studio Members for the Independents Biennial, featuring their own ongoing work and collaborations exploring the themes of folklore, fairytale, the other and the whimsical. The preview is tonight at 6-9pm and the exhibition is open every day this week from 12-4pm at 1 Hamilton Square, Birkenhead.
5 things still to see at Manchester International Festival
This year’s Manchester International Festival, on the theme of “Dream Differently” is in full swing. Here are five things to look forward to:
1. Football City, Art United, Aviva Studios: Eleven international artists were paired with 11 footballers to create the new art works being shown in this exhibition. There are lots of highlights to choose from in this show, ranging from interactive play arenas and sound installations to manga and sculpture, but among those I am most excited to see (even as someone not very interested in football) is American sculptor and video artist Paul Pfeiffer’s and Dutch ex-footballer and photographic artist Edgar Davids’ installation recreating the tunnel that takes players from the changing room to the pitch. Ends Sunday, August 24.
2. Venture Arts - Experiments in the Lab: In this pop-up studio at Aviva Studios, artist-in-residence Michael Beard is joined by dance company Chameleon and orchestra Manchester Camerata for a live painting session with dance and music. Beard is an artist from Venture Arts, an award-winning organisation that works with neurodivergent and learning disabled artists in Manchester. His work covers painting, illustration and ceramic sculpture, and often features handwriting, letters and references to his immense passion for travel. Tuesday, July 15.
3. Mary Anne Hobbs & Anna Phoebe - WHAT DO YOU WANT?: DJ and music journalist Mary Anne Hobbs will perform with violinist and composer Anna Phoebe for a never-to-be-repeated performance that promises to be “an electrifying fusion of live DJing, sound design, violins, viola and live electronics”. Aviva Studios, Tuesday, July 15.
4. MIF Artist Talk - The Safe Space Sisterhood: Audrey Hall in conversation with Niyi Akeju from the Creative Industries Independent Standards Authority (CIISA) to talk about launching The Safe Space Sisterhood, a new social enterprise championing fair treatment for freelancers, with a focus on protecting and empowering women working across the sector. Festival Square, Thursday, July 17. Free, no need to book.
5. The Giant Bubble Show: Guinness World Record holder and immersive soap bubble artist Ray Bubbles blends science, art and storytelling in a show for the whole family. Festival Square, Sunday, July 20. Free, no need to book.
In case you missed it
Opening this week
‘Nostalgia’ is the theme of this year’s Liverpool Arab Arts Festival, which opened on Friday. Its creative producer Toufik Douib explains: “Nostalgia is a powerful topic that has been used constantly by Arab artists with a base in the region or in the diaspora.
“It reflects on both the individual and the collective experiences of longing that connect the past and the present. And it’s a sort of resistance, reclaiming these stories whether they are untold or less visible.”
Regular festivalgoers will recognise some of its elements, including its Family Day at Sefton Park Palm House, a free afternoon of food, art, music and community. This year there is also a focus on art and film, with new work including Nour Bishouty’s multimedia installation at the Walker Art Gallery in collaboration with the Liverpool Biennial, Mohamed Gohar’s exploration of Alexandrian society and its influence on the evolution of the city’s urban and built environment at Yamama Cafe, and video piece Limbs of the Lunar Disc: Isthmus Ancient River by Sarah Al-Sarraj, which engages with ancestry, ecology and the long term impacts of environmental violence.
“We believe that art is a powerful tool to make change, or at least make people realize things that maybe are not seen or told,” says Douib. “There are no layers when the artist or the art meets the audience or vice versa. It's a one-to-one conversation. It's direct, it's real.”
Liverpool Arab Arts Festival runs until Sunday, July 20. Check out the full programme here.
Latest arts news
⏳ Matthew Kelly and George Costigan, who first met at the Liverpool Everyman during the 1970s, will return to its stage in a new production of Samuel Beckett’s classic Waiting for Godot.
💡 The University of Liverpool’s Victoria Gallery & Museum’s Tate Hall Museum will reopen on Thursday, September 11 with Lightbulb moments, an exhibition exploring the origins of some of Liverpool’s greatest ideas.
📹 A new exhibition offering a forceful insight into an artist’s own experiences and relationship with gender has opened at Warrington Museum and Art Gallery. Skye Baker’s solo show, Foreign Bodies, features confrontative performance and video-based work in response to the psychological and physical impact of her transition journey.
Last chance to see
The Holly Johnson Story, an exhibition documenting the life and work of the pioneering musician, songwriter and artist by Liverpool arts organisations Homotopia and DuoVision, closes at the Museum of Liverpool on Sunday, July 27.
Thank you for reading the 139th edition of Stored Honey. If you enjoyed what you read then please hit the ❤️ button as it helps to get it shown more widely.
I’m off now to finish reading the book Slow Productivity by Cal Newport, in an effort to arrange my schedule so I send this newsletter out at a consistent time each week. It comes highly-recommended for freelancers and artists so if that describes you then you might want to check it out too. In the meantime, you can get hold of me on Instagram, on Bluesky, in the comments or by replying to this email.
Have a great week,
Laura
P.S. Liverpool Community Choir is looking for members
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