After-hours festival Museums at Night returns later this month, complete with a series of events to charm visitors through the doors of Manchester’s museums, galleries and heritage sites. For full listings, head to Culture24. Running from Thursday 15 May to Saturday 17 May, here are three in particular we recommend checking out…

Art and an Ice Cream at Manchester Art Gallery
Champions of gourmet ice cream Ginger’s Comfort Emporium will be swapping  artisan markets for the contemporary Victorian surroundings of Manchester Art Gallery to provide late-night treats as part of a sensory response to the gallery’s current exhibition, Joana Vasconcelos’ Time Machine. And while the ice cream alone is enough to tempt anybody, Now Wave and Sounds From the Other City will be ensuring there are treats for all the senses – including performances from lo-fi electronic talent East India Youth (pictured) and Casey Dieniel’s solo project, White Hinterland. All for FREE.
Thu 15 May, Manchester Art Gallery, Mosley Street
 M2 3JL, 6pm – 9pm, FREE, manchestergalleries.org

Bad Language at Portico Library
Manchester’s pioneering spoken word night Bad Language takes over the Portico Library for a special one-off event, fittingly situated among the book-lined shelves of the Georgian building. Poet, writer and performance artist Rosie Garland will headline the night, with support coming from former director of National Poetry Day, Jo Bell, plus comic novelist Rodge Glass and author of Call It Dog, Marli Roode. Hosted by Joe Daly and Fat Roland, expect the usual mix of comedy and surreal lyrical musings – but this time in the grand, domed setting of the Portico.
Thu 15 May, Portico Library, Mosley Street, 
M2 3HY, 7pm – 10pm, £6 (£4 conc), eventbrite.co.uk

#HookedOnMusic Silent Disco at MOSI
Ever wonder why you just can’t get a song out of your head? In a quest to get to the science behind what makes music catchy, MOSI’s Captain #Hooked exhibition will be disguising research in the form of a silent disco. Taking the form of an interactive quiz, the aim is to test your musical knowledge and get you thinking about the hooks. So grab a pair of headphones and make room on MOSI’s gallery ‘dancefloor’ for the liveliest science experiment you’ll probably ever take part in. The event is free but advanced booking recommended.
Thu 15 May, Museum of Science and Industry, Liverpool Road, M3 4FP. 7pm – 11pm, FREE – booking recommended, eventbrite.co.uk

Thu 15 May - Sat 17 May
Words:
Hannah Phillips
Published on:
Thu 8 May 2014