From the origins of the football ‘Casual’ subculture in Liverpool to a celebration of Britain’s first internationally renowned designer of Caribbean descent at the Whitworth, the North West hosts a dizzyingly diverse array of exhibitions for every artistic appetite throughout the winter months.

Here are some of the best.

Art of the Terraces | Walker Art Gallery | Liverpool | Sat 5 Nov - Sun 12 Mar | 10am-6pm | Pay What You Think

Fusing art, fashion and football, Art of the Terraces comes to Liverpool’s Walker Art Gallery in celebration of the ‘casuals’ scene, an explosively transgressive phenomenon which began on the city’s football terraces, before rapidly disseminating across Britain and informing decades of artwork, music, design and even generational linguistics.

Visitors will see artwork by leading contemporary artists such as Leo Fitzmaurice, Turner Prize winners Mark Leckey and Mark Wallinger, Pete McKee, Lucy McKenzie, Ross Muir and Dave White.

William Brown St , Liverpool, United Kingdom, L3 8EL, Tel: 0151 478 4199
The Art of Banksy | MediaCity | Fri 28 Oct - Sun 8 Jan | 10am-5pm | £21.50

Described as ‘the world’s largest collection of [his] authenticated works’, The Art of Banksy will feature around 145 pieces that span prints, canvases and sculptures created by the artist, presented in a purpose-built 1,200 square meter temporary structure in association with HOME.

Visitors will be able to see some of the artist’s most noteworthy works, including Girl With Balloon, Flower Thrower, Rude Copper and Brace Yourself.

MediaCity UK, M50 2NT, Tel: 0161 200 1500
The Confessional | HOME | Fri 20 Jan - Sat 18 Feb 2023 | 10am-5pm | FREE

Taking place both in a virtual space and on live screens at HOME, The Confessional runs for a month as ‘a ritual for the digital age’ created by art and performance company idontloveyouanymore. Part of PUSH Festival 2023, the exhibition allows visitors to lock their worries, secrets and inner agonies in a ‘virtual crate’ which joins hundreds of others in ‘the confessional’, all of which will be virtually set alight in a cathartic 48-hour burn throughout the last days of the festival.

2 Tony Wilson Pl, Manchester, M15 4FN, Tel: 0161 200 1500
Dandy Style | Manchester Art Gallery | Fri 7 Oct - Mon 1 May 2023 | FREE

From fashion to fine art, Dandy Style at Manchester Art Gallery is a fantastically detailed exhibition chronicling the male image from the 18th century to the present day. Showcasing work from Thomas Gainsborough, David Hockney, Vivienne Westwood and more, the display explores the evolution of elegance, uniformity and spectacle over the last 250 years.

Mosley St, Manchester, M2 3JL, Tel: 0161 235 8888
Ukraine: Photographs from the Frontline | Imperial War Museum North | Fri 14 Oct - Sun 1 Jan

A new exhibition coming to Imperial War Museum North captures the devastating reality of those living amidst conflict in Ukraine.

Ukraine: Photographs from the Frontline presents photographs from internationally-renowned photojournalist, Anastasia Taylor-Lind, with staggering photos captured during her time in Ukraine between 2014 and June 2022 being displayed publicly in a UK exhibition for the first time.

Trafford Wharf Rd, Trafford Park, Stretford, Manchester M17 1TZ, Tel: 0161 836 4000
Althea McNish: Colour is Mine | The Whitworth | Fri 21 Oct - Sun 23 Apr 2023 | FREE

One of the UK’s most influential textile designers and ‘the first designer of Caribbean descent to achieve international recognition’, Althea McNish made a transformative impact on mid-century aesthetics. Colour is Mine charts her incredible career with a display featuring her original designs, unseen personal items and most celebrated textile and wallpaper designs.

Oxford Road, Manchester M15 6ER, Tel: 0161 275 7450
Turner Prize 2022 | Tate Liverpool | Thu 20 Oct - Sun 19 Mar 2023 | FREE

The Turner Prize returns to Tate Liverpool in 2022. The prize is awarded to a British artist for an outstanding exhibition or other presentation of their work in the preceding year as determined by a jury.

The four shortlisted artists for the Turner Prize 2022 are:

  • Heather Phillipson
  • Ingrid Pollard
  • Veronica Ryan
  • Sin Wai Kin

See spectacular pieces from all four artists for free, before the winner is announced in December at an award ceremony in Liverpool.

Royal Albert Dock, Liverpool L3 4BB, Tel: 0151 702 7400
Liam Spencer: The Irwell: Afterlife | The Whitaker | Rawtenstall | Thu 22 Dec - Sun 19 Feb | FREE

Charting the astonishing recovery of what was once Manchester’s filthiest river, Liam Spencer’s exhibition explores the Irwell’s resurrection in a series of photographs, paintings, drawings and films which examines an inspiring story of natural defiance set against a backdrop of global environmental decay. Providing a story of hope for our ecological future, Afterlife reveals the discreet but impressive range of wildlife now present all the way from Rossendale to Salford, including trout, kingfishers and even otters.

 

 

Haslingden Rd, Rawtenstall, Rossendale BB4 6RE, Tel: 01706 260785
Thu 20 Oct - Sun 19 Mar
Words:
Wolf McFarlane
Published on:
Thu 15 Dec 2022