Free things to do this week ft. Didsbury Parsonage, Cornelia Parker + more

Summer Exhibition at Didsbury Parsonage
The Didsbury Parsonage Trust launches its summer exhibition this week, set to coincide with the Didsbury Arts Festival later this month. The exhibition is based around the same theme as the festival, which is the idea of ‘Roots’, and over a dozen lesser-known local artists have contributed pieces. If you’ve not been to the Parsonage yet, this is a great opportunity to check out the cosy gallery, as well as its permanent exhibition of J. M. W. Turner originals.
Sat 10 Jun – Sun 2 Jul, The Old Parsonage, The Parsonage, 853 Wilmslow Road, Manchester, M20 2SG. 9.30am – 5pm, www.didsburyartsfestival.org

MMU Writers at Burgess Foundation
Live literature promoters Bad Language come to the Anthony Burgess Foundation this Tuesday for a special presentation from MMU’s brightest writing talent. Novelist Sue Fox, and poets Rachel Davies and Zaffar Kunial present work based around the theme of gender and sexuality. See our full preview for more information on what to expect.
Tue 13 Jun, International Anthony Burgess Foundation, 3 Cambridge Street, Manchester M1 5BY. Tel: 0161 235 0776, 6.30pm, www.anthonyburgess.org

Cornelia Parker Exhibition Preview at The Whitworth (pictured)
The Whitworth launches its latest exhibition this weekend, and you catch a free preview this Thursday. The exhibition is called Verso, and is the latest work by renowned artist Cornelia Parker, perhaps best known for blowing up a garden shed and suspended its pieces on wires. Verso was produced during Parker’s time as an honorary professor at Manchester University, building her work from photographs of objects in the gallery’s collection. The exhibition itself opens Friday and runs through to November.
Thu 15 Jun, The Whitworth, Oxford Road, Manchester, M15 6ER. 5pm – 6pm, www.eventbrite.co.uk

Jonathan Schofield at 70 Oxford Street
Writer and tour guide Jonathan Schofield is giving this free talk on Thursday, covering Manchester’s history of radical action. Provocatively titled ‘Has Manchester Betrayed Its Radical Traditions?’, Schofield will be taking in everything from the Roundheads, through the Peterloo Massacre right up to present day. This event is part of the Humanities in Public Festival, and booking ahead via Eventbrite.
Thu 15 Jun, 70 Oxford Street, Manchester, M1 5NH. 6.30pm – 8pm. www.eventbrite.com