Free things to do this weekend ft. Garage Throwdown, Japanese Design + more

SSR DJ Showcase at Texture
The first free party of the weekend comes courtesy of the students at SSR University: Manchester’s school of sound recording. Their student DJs are taking over the decks at Texture for a long night of back-to-back sets. As you’d expect, this is uncut talent, but they’re also under the tuition of some of the best minds the local music industry has to offer, so you’re in good hands for the evening.
Fri 13 Jan, Texture MCR, 67 Lever Street, Manchester, M1 1FL. 7pm -2am, www.facebook.com

Garage Throwdown at Gorilla
Remember Garage? It’s been a while since its heyday, but your Artful Dodgers and Craig Davids can still fill a room and shift some records. Archway club venue Gorilla are throwing back to 1999 this Friday with this free Garage party, featuring DJ sets from local garagehead Chow Down alongside Oldboy, Coded Rhythm and L.Z. of Oxford’s premier dub night Freerange. You’ll need to secure yourself a ticket to guarantee entry, which can be acquired using the link below.
Fri 13 Jan, Gorilla, 54-56 Whitworth Street West, Manchester, M1 5WW. 11pm – 4am, gorilla.seetickets.com

Maurice Carlin at HOME (pictured)
HOME stages this one-off exhibition on Saturday, celebrating another of region’s art institutions. Temporary Custodians of Islington Mill 2018-2028 is an experimental piece constructed of 100 unique prints produced using modern inks and traditional techniques. The prints are available for sale, but they come with a catch: In purchasing the work, you also take over custodianship of it, and its representative slice of the complete installation. A great opportunity to take home not just a piece of art, but a piece of something much bigger.
Sat 14 Jan, HOME, 2 Tony Wilson Place, First Street, Manchester, M15 4FN. Tel: 0161 200 1500, 2pm – 8pm, www.homemcr.org

Last Chance to See Modern Japanese Design at Manchester Art Gallery
This exhibition of Japanese design has been on display at Manchester Art Gallery for the duration of 2016, but if you still haven’t caught up with it then this weekend is your absolute final chance. From fashion and furniture to ceramics and jewellery, there’s a wide variety of pieces to see – all from designers working over the past 50 years. See our full preview for more detail.
Until Sun 15 Jan, Manchester Art Gallery, Mosley Street, Manchester, M2 3JL. Tel: 0161 235 8888, 10am – 5pm, www.manchesterartgallery.org