Free things to do this weekend ft. art graduates, everyday items & photography

The weather’s taken an especially nasty turn on us – with threats of snow and all – and to make up for it, it seems the city’s giving back a wonderful range of gutsy, beautiful and engaging exhibitions. Who needs to freeze outside when there are 3 launching this weekend? All free, of course.

Experience Needed at Piccadilly Place (pictured)
‘When one door closes, a window opens.’ Perhaps, but there may be quite a few of Manchester’s recent graduates who wish to show one very particular finger to such a phrase. It’s a Catch-22, with doors closed to job hunters without enough experience, and no windows opening to gain what’s needed to progress. Experience Needed is a group exhibition showcasing the work of 21 art school graduates, who use their painting, drawing, performance, sculpture, photography, film and illustration to promote a DIY initiative to success. Along with unique events on each day, the exhibition seeks to support an environment in which artists can develop their post-university artistic practice – and to do so independently.
Fri 22 Nov – Thu 28 Nov, 4 Piccadilly Place, M1 3BN, FREE, Opening night 6 – 9pm, www.facebook.com

Everyday Relics at MOSI
It’s often the everyday items in our lives that prove to be the most valued, provoking a particular reaction whenever you see or touch them. To delve into this unique reflex, Everyday Relics takes commonplace objects and brings them to life by either prompting a familiar sense or creating a new one. Expect to pick up a 7″ vinyl record of Gary Clail’s Human Nature whilst listening to an interview with Hacienda DJ Dave Haslam or touch a piece of African fabric from MOSI’s archive and watch it come to life through film footage. Each piece has been selected to transport visitors to a particular time or place, and in doing so trigger a memory or feeling.
Fri 22 Nov – Sun 29th Jun, MOSI, Liverpool Road, Castlefield, M3 4FP, 10am – 5pm, FREE, www.mosi.org.uk

No Two Days the Same at 2022NQ
Freelance photographer Jon Parker Lee has enjoyed 10 years in the business, and to celebrate an extremely fruitful and varied decade he brings an exhibition of his work to 2022NQ. With pieces spanning the length of his career, the exhibition promises to be a unique and interesting insight to the various events of the past – as well as the move from film to digital photography – highlighting how important art can be in chronicling important events. See the full preview here.
Fri 22 Nov – Sat 7 Dec, 2022NQ Gallery, Little Lever Street, M1 1EZ, Tel: 0161 237 9360, Mon – Thu: 11am – 5pm, Fri: 11am – 10pm, Sat: 12pm – 4pm, FREE, www.2022nq.co.uk