Exhibitions & Events Jan – Apr 2012
Whitworth Art Gallery
Welcome This spring people will become looms, action weaving will animate the Gallery and the outside of our building will be illuminated at night by projections telling cotton stories. Bringing together artists and designers from South Asia, West Africa, the UK and the USA with the extraordinary textile history of the North West region, COTTON: Global Threads takes a provocative look back and forward at this definitively Mancunian product. Part of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad programme Stories of the World, this will be unlike any textile exhibition you might imagine. International themes abound elsewhere, as Air Pressure, exploring the sonic landscape of the last remaining farmers at the end of the runway of Narita airport in Japan, continues. The Devil's Wall, developed in partnership with the British Museum's Hajj exhibition, presents an extraordinary installation by Idris Khan, engaging in a very contemporary way with the cultural significance of the pilgrimage to Mecca. As ever, our events programme offers the opportunity to connect locally to the global networks Manchester operates within. We hope you are engaged and challenged and delighted.
Maria Balshaw
News... Arts for Health The Whitworth and partner museums have just been awarded two Royal Society for Public Health Awards for Innovative & Outstanding Contribution to Arts & Health Practice and Research for the Who Cares? Museums Health & Wellbeing programme. Now Whitworth Art Gallery, The Manchester Museum and Manchester Art Gallery, in partnership with Central Manchester University Hospitals will present the first ever Hospitals, Museums & Galleries Week. From 6 to 12 February, informative and creative activities will be held at Central Manchester University Hospitals, to enhance the wellbeing and satisfaction of hospital staff, patients, and visitors. They will promote the positive contribution to health and wellbeing that engagement with museums and galleries can bring about. w: www.healthandculture.org.uk w: http://artsforhealth.wordpress.com Manchester Children’s Hospital, 2011. Photo: Ruth Spencer
Dark Matters Shadow • Technology • Art To 15 January 2012 Dark Matters brings together the work of ten internationally acclaimed contemporary artists who employ a range of technologies, media and machinery to explore ideas surrounding shadow, darkness and illusion. Populated by half-seen spectres, visual riddles and distorted reflections the exhibition engages with themes of temporality, absence, truth, mortality and wonder. w: www.darkmattersart.com
Dark Matters: Works from the Collection
Dark Matters, 2011. (Daniel Rozin, Peg Mirror, 2007) Photo: www.WeAreTape.com
To 15 April 2012 This display of works from the Whitworth’s collection reveals ideas surrounding shadow and darkness as captured by the artist in a variety of media. This selection of prints, drawings and paintings demonstrates how artists have employed tone and darkness to enhance the pictorial space as well as convey the symbolic power of shadow to evoke time, mystery, loss and solitude.
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COT TON Global Threads 11 February – 13 May
Cotton was the world’s first global commodity. At the heart of the exhibition are displays of fashion and textiles that examine India’s extensive global trade networks in cotton centuries before production shifted to Northern Europe, and the impact that cotton had on Western fashion, providing the catalyst for the Industrial Revolution. The displays also take a provocative look at cotton’s ‘dirty secrets’ – at its human and environmental impact – and at the pivotal political and economic role it has played in establishing national independence from colonial rule. The fashion and textile displays engage in dialogue with the work of seven contemporary artists working in a range of disciplines whose work addresses one or more of the exhibition themes. They include Yinka Shonibare MBE, Lubaina Himid, Chicago-based Anne Wilson, Malian artists Abdoulaye Konaté and Aboubakar Fofana, and Grace Ndiritu, while Liz Rideal’s work illuminates the exterior of the building throughout the hours of darkness. The exhibition also showcases the outcomes of a three-year programme of work with young people, taking the form of an interactive space for younger visitors. For details of the COTTON: Global Threads Events programme please see overleaf, or visit w: www.manchester.ac.uk/whitworth
Supported by the Cotton Industry War Memorial Trust.
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The Sultan Tipu's gloriously decorative tent, in the Clive Museum at Powis Castle, Powys, Wales. © NTPL/Erik Pelham
Late winter and spring sees all the ground floor galleries at the Whitworth combining to tell a compelling story about the production, consumption and global trade in cotton. With exhibits ranging in date from the late Middle Ages to the present day, the exhibition takes in Lancashire and South Asia, the Americas and Africa and is the region’s flagship exhibition outcome of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad programme Stories of the World.
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COTTON Global Threads Events
Unchosen Film Festival Monday 26 March to Sunday 1 April, free A week of film screenings for young people about children employed in the world’s textile industries.
Action Weaving
Talk & book signing with Lucy Siegle Friday 24 February 6:30pm, free, booking essential The One Show presenter and Observer journalist Lucy Siegle is author of To Die For: Is Fashion Wearing Out the World? Booking essential e: whitworth1@manchester.ac.uk
Walking the Warp Manchester Saturday 25 February, 1 – 5pm, free, drop-in New movement performance choreographed by Professor Anne Wilson, Walking the Warp Manchester is a one-off durational work developed in collaboration with young dancers at the Lowry’s Centre for Advanced Training.
Wednesday 18 – Saturday 21 April, 10am – 5pm Sunday 22 April, 12 – 4pm Free, drop-in Learn to weave and participate in a weaving ‘race’, supervised by Travis Meinolf, Action Weaver.
COTTON: Teachers Pack An educator’s resource is available for KS3 – KS5 students, teachers and lecturers. Contact Denise Bowler for further details. t: 0161 275 8455 e: denise.bowler@manchester.ac.uk Supported by
To find out more about our COTTON: Global Threads events visit: w: www.manchester.ac.uk/whitworth
Air Pressure To 12 February Our globalised contemporary world has been made possible and shaped fundamentally by international air travel; but at what costs to our sense of place and our wellbeing? This multi-media installation uses sound recordings, on-site and archive film to explore the clash between traditional farming life in Japan, the technology and economy of international travel. The project follows one remaining family who, despite pressure from the authorities since the 70s, are still living at the end of the runway at Narita International Airport. w: http://airpressure.posterous.com
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Created by Rupert Cox, Department of Social Anthropology, The University of Manchester, and Angus Carlyle, Sound Artist & Reader, The University of the Arts, London. In collaboration with Professor Kozo Hiramatsu, Acoustic Scientist, UK President, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science.
Rupert Cox & Angus Carlyle, Air Pressure, 2011
Idris Khan, The Devil's Wall, 2011. Courtesy of Victoria Miro Gallery, London and Yvon Lambert Gallery, New York.
Idris Khan The Devil’s Wall 24 February – 13 May 2012 This is the first UK showing of Idris Khan’s new installation The Devil's Wall, which draws inspiration from rituals and practices of the Hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca that is one of the pillars of Islam and is undertaken by millions of Muslims each year.
For details of our programme of Hajj-related activities and events, supported by the British Museum, visit w: www.manchester.ac.uk/whitworth
Here Khan exhibits three new sculptures and a series of drawings based on an aspect of Hajj ritual. Incorporating sculpture, literary texts, drawings and photography, Khan uses repeated actions and texts in his work to explore his own Islamic heritage, making The Devil’s Wall a pilgrimage of self-discovery that can have powerful resonances for viewers experiencing the installation. Highlights from the Whitworth’s collection, selected with Idris Khan, are also on display.
This exhibition is supported by the Victoria Miro Gallery and Yvon Lambert Gallery.
Movie Nights Rembrandt
Séraphine
Roman Holiday
Friday 9 March
Friday 23 March
Friday 30 March
The difficulties and set backs of the painter’s life are memorably captured by Charles Laughton’s performance in this classic movie.
An exceptionally beautifully filmed biopic of the French painter Séraphine Louis (1864-1942) coming to terms with the ways of the art world.
Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn with a Vespa or two romp around the eternal city in this much loved feel good movie.
Dir. Alexander Korda, 1936, cert.U, 85 mins
Dir. Martin Provost, 2008, cert. PG, 126 mins
Dir. William Wyler, 1953, cert. U, 118 mins
All movies start at 6.15pm, come early for a glass of wine. Advance tickets £5 (£6 on the night) Students free on production of student ID card. To book advance tickets, e: fow@manchester.ac.uk
Friends of the Whitworth Dark Matters, 2011. (Animate Projects) Photo: www.WeAreTape.com
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Adult Programme Bringing art, people and ideas together. The Adult programme promotes new ways to use our exhibitions, collections and spaces. For the most up to date news and events visit: www.whitworthadultprogramme.wordpress.com
Crafternoon Tea
Handmade Social
On Wednesdays
Thursdays 12 January & 8 March Wednesday 1 February 12.30 – 3pm, free Join us here in the Gallery for arts and craft activities from around the world. A fun and friendly way to learn new skills, meet people and share in the different cultures and traditions Manchester has to offer.
18 January, 15 February, 21 March & 18 April On Saturdays 21 January, 18 February, 17 March & 21 April 1 – 3pm, £5 Monthly social art and craft workshops. Enjoy a cuppa whilst trying your hand at some new, unusual techniques in a fun and friendly atmosphere.
Yoga Every Thursday 8.30 – 9.45am, £3 A fantastic way to start your day. Use our gallery spaces to exercise, relax and simply feel better. Please bring own yoga mat.
Alternative Camera Club On Saturdays
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Art APPreciation
In partnership with Third Wave. w: www.third-wave.net
Close Knit: The Art of Knitting Saturday 28 April 2 – 4pm, free Uninspired by scarves? Bored of balaclavas? Take inspiration from the Gallery’s textiles and modern art collections to knit a work of art. From knitted sculptures to yarn bombing, this artist led session will help you realise any ideas, large or small.
Serious About Art:
New digital art project for older people, working in collaboration with Johnnie Johnson Housing. Residents will meet for monthly art classes to expand their knowledge and learn new skills. They will then help create a new ‘APP’ to open up the gallery’s collection to more isolated members of our communities. w: www.jjhousing.co.uk We’re committed to supporting and promoting the Valuing Older People initiative. The Adult Programme offers a range of activities that aim to be inclusive and interesting for all ages, why not drop in and have a look. Contact Ed Watts to find out more: e: ed.watts@manchester.ac.uk t: 0161 275 7450
Weekend Courses
21 January, 18 February & 17 March
Satirical Illustration
11am – 1pm, £5
Saturday 14 & Sunday 15 January
A series of photographic talks, discussions and critiques, cocurated with photo artist Mishka Henner. Get away from stale chat of f-stops and focal lengths and simply revel in images old and new!
11am – 4pm, £35 Join artist Stephen Nuttall and discover a darker side of illustration. Taking inspiration from Dark Matters, you’ll be guided to create your own illustrations and even the beginnings of your own graphic novel.
Booking is essential for all sessions t: 0161 275 7450
Booking essential for weekend courses, contact: e: ed.watts@manchester.ac.uk t: 07824 538 019
Contemporary Textiles Saturday 10 & Sunday 11 March 11am – 4pm, £35 Explore Cotton: Global Threads, with a contemporary textile artist and develop skills and creativity to make your own work of art.
Dark Matters, 2011. (Animate Projects) Photo: www.WeAreTape.com
Tuesday Talks 17 January to 6 March 11am – 12.30pm Each Tuesday leading artists and curators offer an insight into contemporary art practice, through their own driving forces, influences and sources of inspiration. Programmed by Professor Pavel Büchler and supported by the Manchester Metropolitan University.
Whose Story Counts? Madness from the Inside Out Bobby Baker & Gail Hornstein in conversation Tuesday 14 February, 6 – 8pm, free Bobby Baker, performance artist & writer (2011 winner of Mind Book of the Year) and Gail Hornstein, professor of psychology, Mount Holyoke College, USA, discuss how artists and researchers have explored their own and other people’s experiences of mental illness and therapy through performance, drawing and writing. In collaboration with CIDRA and the Institute for Cultural Practice, The University of Manchester.
After Hours Saturday 25 February 7.30 – 10.30pm, free Join us to celebrate the start of the Manchester Histories Festival with an offbeat evening of discussions music and performance responding to our exhibition, COTTON: Global Threads. w: www.manchesterhistoriesfestival.org.uk Saturday 21 April 7.30 – 10.30pm, free Taking inspiration from action weaver Travis Meinolf, join us for an evening of interesting and unique performances that intertwine themselves into our exhibitions and spaces.
Marina Warner Stranger Magic Thursday 5 April, 6pm £7 (£5 Concs) Join us for an evening with acclaimed author Marina Warner, as she discusses her latest book, Stranger Magic: Charmed States & The Arabian Nights. Introduced by Carol Mavor. In partnership with The Centre for New Writing, CIDRA, and Art History & Visual Studies, The University of Manchester. For booking details t: 0161 275 7450 e: whitworth@manchester.ac.uk
Want to learn more about our Gallery? Join our general Gallery tours every Tues, Wed, Thurs & Sun 2 – 2.30pm, free Dark Matters, 2011. Photo: www.WeAreTape.com
www.manchester.ac.uk/whitworth/whatson/events 07
Dark Matters, 2011. (Shadow Lab) Photo: Marty Stalker
Families Free Artist Led Workshops
For babies and their grown-ups
For children of all ages, their families and carers
Colourful Sundays
Treasure Baskets
Drop-in creative workshops
2, 16 & 30 March 13 & 27 April 10.30 – 11.30am & 1.30 – 2.30pm Explore and play with baskets of everyday, natural and sensory, objects.
Every Sunday 1.30 – 3.30pm All year round!
Art Baby Wednesdays 29 February 28 March & 25 April 10.30 – 11.30am Creative discovery sessions especially designed for babies before they learn to walk. Booking is essential. t: 0161 2757450
For under 5s and their grown-ups
Toddlertastic
Adventures in Drama, Art, Music or Dance Every Monday from 13 February onwards 10.30 – 11.30am or 11.30am – 12.30pm Booking is essential as sessions sell out! t: 0161 2757450
Creative Treats Mother’s Day Special
Sunday 18 March 1.30 – 3.30pm Bring along your mum and nana for an afternoon of creative treats. Up-cycling Enjoy spending time relaxing and Sunday 12 February having fun together getting artistic 12.30 – 3.30pm Bring your whole family and enjoy a and make a present for them to range of up-cycling activities turning take home. old fabric into new exciting things to Cotton Capers School take home. Tuesdays 3 & 10 April Holidays 5 & 12 April Creative Customising Thursdays 1.30 – 3.30pm Sundays 19 February Bring your family and try a variety 1 & 15 April of fun creative activities to re-use, 1.30 – 3.30pm re-cycle and up-cycle cotton into Bring your old cotton t-shirt, top or new and exciting things, from bag and customise them so they super hero costumes, to weaving become your favourite fashion and floor art. items.
Arty Picnics
School Holidays Wednesdays 4 & 11 April Friday 13 April 11am – 12.30pm Tue 14, Wed 15, Bring your family and some food Thu 16 & Fri 17 February (if you fancy lunch), and meet an 1.30 – 3.30pm Bring your family to meet a print artist artist for fun creative activities. and enjoy experimenting with relief Don’t worry if it’s a wet Wednesday printing onto fabric and create your or Friday we’ll have a picnic in the Gallery. own artworks to take home.
Fabric Relief Printing
Arty Party For more information about the Gallery's new creative and unique children’s birthday parties contact Novae Lee, Family Coordinator. e: novae.lee@manchester.ac.uk
School Holidays
‘The Gallery is Brilliant for Families. We bring my baby daughter and my seven year old son and we all always come home excited about what we have made.’ Aravind, dad of three
www.manchester.ac.uk/whitworth/whatson/families/freeevents 08
Calendar Event
Price
Page
8.30 – 9.45am 12.30 – 3pm 11am – 4pm 12.30 – 1.15pm 11am – 12.30pm 1 – 3pm 11am – 1pm 1 – 3pm 11am – 12.30pm 11am – 12.30pm
Adult Programme: Yoga (booking essential) Handmade Social Weekend Course: Satirical Illustration Performance by RNCM students Tuesday Talk Crafternoon Tea Alternative Camera Club Crafternoon Tea Tuesday Talk Tuesday Talk
£3 Free £35 Free Free £5 £5 £5 Free Free
06 06 06
Each Thurs Wed 1 Sun 5 Tues 7 Tues 14 Tues 14 Wed 15 Sat 18 Sat 18 Sun 19 Tues 21 Fri 24 Sat 25 Sat 25 Tues 28
8.30 – 9.45am 12.30 – 3pm 12.30 – 1.15pm 11am – 12.30pm 11am – 12.30pm 6 – 8pm 1 – 3pm 1 – 3pm 11am – 1pm 12.30 – 1.15pm 11am – 12.30pm 6.30pm 1 – 5pm 7.30 – 10.30pm 11am – 12.30pm
Adult Programme: Yoga (booking essential) Handmade Social Performance by RNCM students Tuesday Talk Tuesday Talk Bobby Baker & Gail Hornstein in conversation Crafternoon Tea Crafternoon Tea Alternative Camera Club Performance by RNCM students Tuesday Talk Talk and Book Signing by Lucy Siegle Performance: Walking the Warp Manchester After Hours Tuesday Talk
£3 Free Free Free Free Free £5 £5 £5 Free Free Free Free Free Free
06 06
Each Thurs Sun 4 Tues 6 Thurs 8 Fri 9 Sat 10 & Sun 11 Tues 13 Sat 17 Sat 17 Sun 18 Wed 21 Fri 23 Mon 26 to Sat 31 Fri 30
8.30 – 9.45am 12.30 – 1.15pm 11am – 12.30pm 12.30 – 3pm 6.15pm 11am – 4pm 1.15pm 11am – 1pm 1 – 3pm 12.30 – 1.15pm 1 – 3pm 6.15pm
Adult Programme: Yoga (booking essential) £3 Performance by RNCM students Free Tuesday Talk Free Handmade Social Free Movie Night, film: Rembrandt £6/Concs Weekend Course: Contemporary Textiles £35 COTTON: Global Threads, Tour with Jennifer Harris, Curator Free Alternative Camera Club £5 Crafternoon Tea £5 Performance by RNCM students Free Crafternoon Tea £5 Movie Night, film: Séraphine £6/Concs Unchosen Film Festival Free Movie Night, film: Roman Holiday £6/Concs
April
March
January
Time
Each Thurs Thurs 12 Sat 14 & Sun 15 Sun 15 Tues 17 Wed 18 Sat 21 Sat 21 Tues 24 Tues 31
February
Date
6.15pm
Each Thurs 8.30 – 9.45am Sun 1 12.30 – 1.15pm Sun 1 Wed 18 1 – 3pm Wed 18 to Sat 21 10am – 5pm Sat 21 1 – 3pm Sat 21 1.15pm Sat 21 2pm Sun 22 12 – 4pm Sat 28 2 – 4pm
Adult Programme: Yoga (booking essential) £3 Performance by RNCM students Free Unchosen Film Festival Free Crafternoon Tea £5 Action Weaving with Travis Meinolf Free Crafternoon Tea £5 COTTON: Global Threads, Tour with Jennifer Harris, Curator Free After Hours Free Action Weaving with Travis Meinolf Free Close Knit: The Art of Knitting Free
07 06 06 06 07 07
07 07 07 06 06 06 07 04 04 07 07 06 07 06 05 06 02 06 06 06 05 04 05 06 04 06 04 06 02 07 04 06
Concerts: Supported by the Friends of the Whitworth Gina Miller Bequest.
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Monday to Saturday 10am – 5pm, Sunday 12 – 4pm The Gallery is closed on Good Friday, 6 April and is open as usual on Bank Holiday Mondays.
Access Wheelchairs, rollators, seating, free portable stools. Low lighting in most galleries. Induction loop in lecture theatre. Guide Dogs welcome.
walk: 40min from Manchester city centre. Flat paved route, not traffic-free.
For a large print version of this leaflet please call 0161 275 7450, email whitworth@manchester.ac.uk or pick up a copy at the welcome desk. Download large print A4 or audio guide at www.whitworth.manchester.ac.uk/guide
bike: Sheffield stands on-site, lockers on-site (£1 coin, refundable)
Friends of the Whitworth
Entry to the Gallery is free.
Find us We are in Whitworth Park, 1.5 miles south of Manchester city centre.
bus: 15, 41, 42, 43, 140 – 143, 147. Ask for bus-stop nearest MRI, Oxford Road. tram: St Peter’s Square + bus 10min or + walk 30min
Get more involved with the Gallery and its work. t: 0161 275 7496 w: www.friendsofthewhitworth.org.uk
train: Oxford Road + bus 10min or + walk 30min car: On-street parking (max 2hrs) on Denmark Road. Nearest car park Cecil Street. See map. Manchester travel information line t: 0161 228 7811
The Gallery Café Good Food Guide’s Best Family Restaurant in the UK 2009. Mon to Sat 10am – 4.30pm, Sun 12 – 3.30pm
Cover image: Yinka Shonibare, MBE. Boy on Globe 4, 2011
Open
Paints by Little Greene Little Greene’s environmentally friendly paints and wallpapers, including designs from the archives at English Heritage and the Whitworth, bring beautiful colour, timeless elegance and enduring appeal to your home. Little Greene is the Whitworth’s official paint sponsor. w: www.littlegreene.com
The Gallery Shop ‘a delight to visit’ Open during main Gallery opening hours. Manchester Museum The Museum is 10 minutes’ walk from the Gallery with collections and activities for families and adults. t: 0161 275 2648 w: www.manchester.ac.uk/museum Friends of Whitworth Park are working to make the Gallery’s setting even better. We need your help! t: 0161 928 5744 e: shones@altrincham.freeserve.co.uk
This year we start work on a £12m building project to transform the Gallery, adding new exhibition spaces, study rooms, learning studio and Art Garden. We still need funds and there has never been a better time to support us! To make a donation large or small please contact Jo Beggs, Head of Development. t: 0161 275 7474 e: jo.beggs@manchester.ac.uk
Whitworth Art Gallery The University of Manchester Oxford Road, Manchester M15 6ER t: 0161 275 7450 f: 0161 275 7451 e: whitworth@manchester.ac.uk www.twitter.com/whitworthart w: www.manchester.ac.uk/whitworth TM
Designed by Epigram: 0161 237 9660
The Whitworth Needs You!