Free things to do this weekend ft. Goldfrapp, books and markets

This weekend appears to be one of perusal, with plenty of free arty exhibitions and stalls to take a leisurely stroll around. Some of these events are particularly good at filling those tender few hours when you’ve read the Sunday papers in bed with soft-boiled eggs and a brew, but the roast is still hours away. Oh, the problems we all face these days.

Alison Goldfrapp Performer as Curator at The Lowry
The Lowry presents its first Performer as Curator exhibition – doing exactly what it says on the tin – and to kick things off they’ve enlisted the help of none other than the glorious Alison Goldfrapp. The exhibition will feature works that have inspired her own artistic vision, with everything from painters, film-makers, illustrators and photographers used to explore themes of transformation, metamorphisis and identity that often recur within tradition fairy tales. The collection is made up over over 20 artists, including Lotte Reiniger, whose fairy tale silhouette animation is a thing of strange and poetic beauty in its own right.
Sat 19 Oct 2013 – Sun 2 Mar 2014, The Lowry, Pier 8, The Quays, M50 3AZ, Tel: 0843 208 6000, Sun – Fri 11am – 5pm; Sat 10am – 5pm, FREE, www.thelowry.com

Manchester Artists’ Book Fair at the Holden Gallery
We all know that Manchester’s full to burst with wonderful creative types, so take the chance to scope out the talent with the Manchester Artists’ Book Fair at Manchester School of Art’s Holden Gallery. The fair will host over 40 tables manned by suppliers, art publishers, illustrators and book artists, who will all be showing off risographed, screenprinted, relief printed, etched soft and hard backed books, zines and pamphlets, posters printed using woodcuts, letterpressed goodies, decorative papers and bone folders, book sculptures – and more, believe it or not. Needless to say, there’s ingenuity aplenty from both old and new faces, so head down to soak up the skills.
Fri 18 – Sat 19 Oct, Manchester School of Art’s Holden Gallery, Cavendish Street, M15 6BR, Fri: 2pm-6pm, Sat: 11am-5pm, FREE, www.manchesterartistsbookfair.com

Waterside Market at The Lowry Outlet
The Lowry Outlet welcomes its monthly Waterside Market for its penultimate run of the year. With two days of quality artisan goods, this one’s certainly good truly embracing the art of the weekend amble (or for the smug among you, the weekend saunter). Well-known names in the local cheese industry such as Derek Priestly and Winter Tam, award-winning bakes from the likes of Harvies and The French Corner and meaty goodness from Barnhouse Bistro and Pig & Co mean that stomachs can be very well fed in the manner that they should after working so hard in the week. Similarly, a mention must also go out to Guerrilla Eats, the street food collective returning to Salford this Saturday.
Sat 19 – Sun 20 Oct, Lowry Outlet Mall, Salford, M50 3AH, all day, FREE, www.lowryoutlet.co.uk