Monday 17th May
HOME
As part of their re-opening, HOME will be kicking things off from Monday with two new exhibitions, a programme of film releases, and a new film season exploring filmmaking in film. Exhibition-wise, you’ll find ‘Sarah-Joy Ford: Archives and Amazons’ as well as ‘Soul Journey to Truth’, an exhibition shining a light on the creative talent within prisons, secure settings, and people on probation in the North West.
Everyman Cinema
The St.Johns Everyman will be opening from Monday 17th May with a selection of new films which you’ve probably heard a lot about but not had chance to see. There’s Best Picture winner NOMADLAND, Sound of Metal and if you’re looking for something silly AF – the madness that is Godzilla vs. Kong – which will look glorious on the big screen.
Sale Waterside
Sale’s arts and theatre venue will be opening from Monday 17th with a programme celebrating Pride in Trafford, including a Pop’n’Olly Storytelling Session, queer coming-of-age comedy ‘Yours Sincerely’ and a massive Disco Tea Party at the end of the week. Comedy and theatre is set to follow towards the end of May.
Wednesday 19th May
Science & Industry Museum
The Science & Industry Museum will be opening up next week with a major new exhibition – Top Secret – featuring over 100 objects from secret communications over the course of a century. From ciphers to cyber security, there’s also a load of hand-written and declassified files from GCHQ to have a look at here too. It’s the first exhibition to be held in the museum’s new £5m Special Exhibitions Gallery.
Manchester Art Gallery
The city’s art gallery will be continuing many of the exhibitions they had on when they were last open, such as the excellent ‘Grayson’s Art Club’ from Grayson Perry. You’ll need to book a ticket for that, but if you’re just wanting to have a walk around the main gallery – you can just walk-in. They’re going to be open Wednesday-Sunday between 10am and 4pm.
Manchester Museum
The city’s natural history museum will be opening from Wednesday 19th May, operating from Wednesday to Sunday from 11am – 4pm. Admission is free but it’s advised that you book your time slots in advance so that they can handle any crowds and social distancing measures.
People’s History Museum
Still free, the People’s History Museum will be asking everyone to book a timed slot for entry when they re-open next week – just so they can keep everything nice and safe for us all. Also opening on Wednesday will be their brand-new café and bar – run by the good people at Open Kitchen, meaning it’s the first museum café & bar in the country that intercepts food that would otherwise go to waste.
The Lowry
Salford’s excellent theatre and arts space will be opening again on the 19th, with their first performance actually being outside – a critically acclaimed live production of C-O-N-T-A-C-T by Aria Entertainment and WEF Productions. From Saturday 22nd May the galleries will re-open again, and on Sunday 30th May, comedian Michael Spicer will be the first artist to perform indoors on the main Lyric Theatre stage.
Centre for Chinese Contemporary Art (CFCCA)
The NQ’s CFCCA will be opening Wednesday to Sunday, 11am till 4pm from next week – and booking is advised although walk-ins are welcome. Gallery 1 will be showing ‘Multiplicities in Flux’ bringing together works by photographer Grace Lau and filmmaker Eelyn Lee, while in Gallery 2 you can see Omid Asadi’s Autopsy of a Home.
Whitworth Art Gallery
The Whitworth will be kicking things off from Wednesday with a spotlight on their new exhibition ‘Imran Perretta: the destructors’, a new 2-screen film by London-based artist Imran Perretta and drawing on the artist’s own experience as a young man of Bangladeshi heritage. The main gallery will be open for you to have a potter around too – just make sure you book a ticket in advance.
Tuesday 25th May
Hope Mill Theatre
Hope Mill will re-open on May 25th for their first visiting production of 2021: ‘Meet Me at Dawn’, in accordance with all government guidelines and safety measures. From multi-award winning writer Zinnie Harris, Meet Me at Dawn is a modern fable exploring the triumph of everyday love, the mystery of grief, and the temptation to become lost in a fantasy future that will never be.
Thursday 27th May
National Football Museum
The National Football Museum will be open once again on Thursday 27th May, hosting a fresh line-up of exhibitions, objects and displays. They’ll be kicking off (whey!) with their first-ever dedicated Hall of Fame exhibition – celebrating the legends of football and their records, trophies and memories.
Friday 28th May
HOMEGROUND
Friday 28th will see HOME will launch a brand new, outdoor venue, HOMEGROUND, providing a place for people to socialise and enjoy great theatre, art, film, music, comedy and more. From Shakespeare’s gloriously funny A Midsummer Night’s Dream to a magical trip down the rabbit hole in Alice in Wonderland, via music, cabaret and comedy on their new theatre stage, Homeground will provide a safe and fun place to enjoy the best of Manchester’s arts and culture.
Thursday 3rd June
Bridgewater Hall
The Bridgewater Hall building will remain closed for the foreseeable future, only opening for the Hallé Summer Concerts which begin on Thursday 3rd June with Elgar’s Enigma Variations. There’s a packed calendar of performances, and they should start having some more people in there from early July (all going well).
