Free things to do this weekend ft. Test Card, Puppet Masters + more

AV Silk Road Launch Party at Texture (pictured)
Test Card is a regular meet-up for audiovisual nerds of all walks: Projection mappers, filmmakers and video artists all come together in this trendy Lever Street hideaway. This instalment is the launch party for AV Silk Road, which is a collaborative project between Test Card, Birmingham based Chromatouch and VJ London to create a UK-wide network for AV artists so they can trade off ideas and get greater exposure for their work. As well as a wide range of audiovisual treat on offer, there’s going to resident DJs spinning until late on, so even to the casual punter this should make for an interesting party.
Fri 26 Feb, Texture, 67 Lever Street, Manchester M1 1FL, 7.30pm, www.facebook.com

Last chance to see Puppet Masters at Waterside Arts
This little exhibition has been running since October and showcases the work of renowned animators Mackinnon & Saunders, responsible for the the stop-motion puppetry that brought Mars Attacks! and The Corpse Bride to life. The exhibition, which features a selection of their work – including puppets featured in those films – closes this Saturday. See it while you still can.
closes Sat 27 Feb, Waterside Arts Centre, 1 Waterside, Sale M33 7ZF, Tel: 0161 912 5616, 10am – 5pm, www.watersideartscentre.co.uk

Owl Project at Manchester Museum
You may have seen this last time it came round, but Owl Project are back at the Manchester Museum with another of their eye-opening performances. Owl Project are experimental archaeologists who are interested in ancient craft and toolmaking techniques. The technique they’re focussed on with this performance is flint-knapping – the act of grinding a piece of flint against a rock to sharpen it – and they will be knapping some flint live, but with a twist: The motion of this pre-agricultural technique will be fed through special instruments in order to create unique electronic music. Think less Gary Numan and more Gary caveman. It’s free but in order to book tickets, you need to e-mail the promoters bianca@invisibledust.com
Sat 27 Feb, Kanaris Lecture Theatre, Manchester Museum, The University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL, 4.30pm – 6pm, events.manchester.ac.uk

Sunday Jazz at Quill
Sunday nights are jazz night at recently-opened swanky cocktail haunt Quill. You can prepare for the week ahead with a rotating bill of live performers, bringing the freshest jazz to the King Street venue. It’s likely to fill up, so make sure you call or e-mail ahead to book a table It’s also 2-4-1 on cocktails from 6pm ‘til late – hungover Mondays have never been so appealing.
Sun 28 Feb, Quill, 20/22 King St, Manchester M2 6AG, Tel: 0161 832 7355, reservations@quillmcr.co.uk, 6pm – late, www.quillmcr.co.uk