What's On North 7-14 Jul: Liverpool Biennial
The UK's biggest contemporary art festival, Liverpool Biennial kicks off this weekend; street artists and painters go head to head in the mighty Manchester Art Battle; the Independent Liverpool summer food and drink festival returns; and oh, so much more.
Each week The Skinny team hand-pick a selection of the best events from the North's cultural calendar to provide you with this here top ten guide to the most exciting goings-on for the week ahead. From gigs, plays and exhibitions to spoken word, pop-up foodie events and one-off film screenings, we give you the insider's guide to things to do in Liverpool, Manchester and Leeds every Thursday morning.
1. Liverpool Biennial
Various venues, Liverpool. 9 Jul, 10am
The UK's largest festival of contemporary art opens this weekend, with major shows at many of Liverpool's prime venues from the likes of performance artist Marvin Gaye Chetwynd (pictured), Birkenhead-born Mark Leckey and 2015 Turner Prize winners Assemble. Split into six 'episodes' all tied together with the theme of Time Travel, the programme is full of nods to Liverpool's history and today's politics. Check out our guide, and the full deets at biennial.com.
2. Art Battle VII
Mantra Warehouse, Manchester. 9 Jul, 7pm
After previous sell-out events, the mighty Art Battle returns, pitting street artists, tattooists, painters and illustrators against a live music soundtrack in a huge, competitive live-painting event. Artists will have just 30 minutes to create works on canvases, while outside in the courtyard street artists have free reign to spraypaint anything they want. Attendees can bid for pieces in a silent auction and the whole thing is refereed by DJ Hattie Pearson.
3. Independent Liverpool Summer Food and Drink Festival
Great Baltic Warehouse, Botanical Garden & New Bird Street Warehouse,
Liverpool. 9-10 Jul, 12pm
It's a feast not just for the tastebuds but for the eyes and ears this weekend as Independent Liverpool's biggest ever food and drink festival goes for a carnival theme, promising 'Mardi Gras meets Rio' across three venues with live jazz bands, samba dancing and more. Foodie vendors include Maray (with 'disco cauliflower' – we're interested), ItalFresh with jerk pineapple, and Cuban street food lot Finca... plus, of course, loads of gin to wash it all down with.
4. Tall Tales
Touchstones, Rochdale. Until 3 Sep, usual opening hours
Showcasing the work of 17 women whose art has a playful edge, touring exhibition Tall Tales has pitched up in Rochdale with an impressive display from names including Lila de Magalhaes (pictured), Laure Prouvost and Alison Erika Forde. The artists are connected by their use of storytelling, whether to play with myth or reality, and there's a strong showing from Manchester, too (Forde, Sharon Campbell, Rachel Goodyear, Jacqueline Butler and Lauren Sagar).
Image: Lila De Magalhaes - Lady and the Lion. Install view of Tall Tales at Freud Museum, photo by Liz Wewiora.
5. Amp Fiddler
The HiFi Club, Leeds. 13 Jul, 9pm
What better way to get your funk on than with Amp Fiddler? Hailing from Detroit, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and producer Joseph Fiddler is best known for his work with George Clinton's Parliament and Funkadelic projects, though he's also worked with Was (Not Was) and the sadly departed Prince (sniff). His own material covers funk, soul and electronica, and his rowdy live shows are pretty essential – catch him tonight in a gig presented by KMAH Radio.
Image: Verbals Picks.
ADVERTISEMENT | Seven Zero One Predrinks
Seven Zero One Bar & Base, Liverpool, Thursdays, 8-11pm
So there’s going out, and there’s going out out. A crew of your best, dressed to impress. Big nights, small nights, even the “just going for one” nights. Good dancing, great stories, strolling home as the sun comes up.
We’re hosting Liverpool’s newest Predrinks event at Seven Zero One Bar and Base. Gather your crew, come down to Campanile Hotel and enjoy our exclusive drinks deals and extensive cocktail menu. The fun starts at 8pm, kick off your night with Predrinks.
Sign up to our Zap! newsletter to get our top ten events guide in your inbox every week
6. Jimmy Cauty's ADP Tour
The Florrie, Liverpool. 8-14 Jul, 10am
Having appeared as part of Banksy's Dismaland, artist Jimmy Cauty brings his thought-provoking installation, Aftermath Dislocation Principle (ADP) Riot Village, to The Florrie. Inside a steel shipping container, you will encounter a miniature model village experiencing the aftermath of an uprising, in a work that explores ideas of freedom and state control. Bonus: Janice Long DJs the opening night on 8 July (free).
Image: ADP - Selfie at Disaster Zone, courtesy J. Cauty/L-13.
7. Miranda Sawyer in conversation
Gorilla, Manchester. 13 Jul, 6.45pm
Journalist and broadcaster Miranda Sawyer is in conversation with DJ and writer Dave Haslam to discuss her new book, Out of Time, which deals with the myths and realities of the so-called 'mid-life crisis'. Considering how our bodies and minds change as we get older, Sawyer gives a refreshing view on the surprises and pleasures this much-maligned period of life can offer.
8. Liverpool Artists' Book Fair
Central Library, Liverpool. 8-9 Jul, 11am
Not a book fair and not an art fair, but a book art fair! This unique event has been running in Liverpool for the past couple of years, presenting an astounding range of creative takes on the book form, from hand-made tomes to book sculptures. The fair will be followed by an exhibition with a specific focus on Shakespeare, joining in his nationwide 400th anniversary celebrations, which will run throughout June and July.
Image: art by Lynette Willoughby.
9. Cocoon in the Park
Temple Newsam, Leeds. 9 Jul, 10am
The glorious grounds of Temple Newsam are filled with the sounds of some of the biggest names in dance this weekend, as Eats Everything (pictured), Sven Väth and ultra special guest Green Velvet (yes!) play the eighth annual Cocoon festival. There's no need for the usual clashfinder stress either, as everything takes place on the one stage with some top visuals and FX, so you can just get on with chilling.
10. I'm standing next to you
Twenty Twenty Two, Manchester. 9 Jul, 2pm & 7pm
Exploring why we feel isolated in a world that’s never been more connected, I’m standing next to you invites audiences to hear the stories of four people struggling with modern city life, in this immersive production by From the Mill Theatre Company. It’ll probably hit home pretty hard for some of the disillusioned, city-dwelling millennials out there (hello!). There's a further performance on the 16th, too (same venue and times). Part of Greater Manchester Fringe.
Read more news from across the Northwest cultural scene at theskinny.co.uk/news
Find out how you could win some lovely prizes at theskinny.co.uk/competitions