Free things to do this weekend ft. Art Sheffield, Think Studios & nightclubbers past

It’s good to get out of the city, even if it’s just to go to somewhere else equally as industrial and built up. We’re urging the good folk of Manchester to travel to Sheffield or – slightly closer to home – Stockport this weekend for some free action. However, if you’d rather stay here we’ve also thrown something local in for good measure.

Art Sheffield
It’s likely that everyone will have a bit more time on their hands – it being the weekend and all. What we might suggest is that you get on a train and hop across the Pennines for Art Sheffield, a festival of contemporary art with plenty of exhibitons, performance, installations, publishing, film, food, talks and conversation, all kicking off this Friday. The festival is running for two months, but this weekend features a documentary about controversial German artist Joseph Beuys, whose work can also be found at the festival, an artist talk with Mikhail Karikis, the 4th Sheffield International Artist’s Book Prize and much, much more. Read our preview here.
Fri 4 Oct – Sat 14 Dec, Various venues, times and prices, www.artsheffield.org

Think Studios at Stockport’s Vernon Mill
Stockport’s former cotton mill is opening its doors for its annual show of art, demonstrations and entertainment. Sprawling across two floors will be lots of traditional and contemporary work from a range of artists, whose efforts use paint, charcoal, ceramics, textiles, glass, photography and sculpture to create the varied show. There’s even salvage art using reclaimed items, showing us all up with its eco-points. There’s a pop-up cafe and microbrewery on site too, and with affordable art on offer this free thing ain’t half bad to do.
Fri 4 – Sun 6 Oct, Vernon Mill, Mersey Sreet, Stockport, SK1 2HX, Fri 7pm – 9.30pm, Sat 10am – 7pm, Sun 10am – 5pm, FREE, www.thinkstudios.info

David Chadwick’s We Were All Here, Once at Cornerhouse (pictured)
A while ago we wrote about Chadwick’s upcoming exhibition, We Were All Here, Once. At that time, he was asking for nightclubbers past to get in touch for his work on Manchester’s clubbing scene in the late 1970s and early 80s. Looks like he’s done it, and the mix of raw, mostly candid photos presents an intimate portrayal of the party people of yesteryear. It’s fair to say that Mancunians (whether born and bred or adoptees) are proud of their diverse nightlife, and what better way to celebrate than to check out its legacy – which might show us a thing or two.
Thu 3 Oct – Tue 5 Nov, Cornerhouse, 70 Oxford Street, M1 5NH, Tel: 0161 200 1529, Tue – Sat 12pm – 8pm, Sun 12pm – 6pm, FREE, www.cornerhouse.org