Manchester Jewish Museum has this week announced the launch season of its ‘Reimagine – Reset – Reconnect’ Trailblazers season in preparation for its reopening in Spring 2021.
The news comes following capital development in the museum – with plans to allow the public more access to its archives so they can reconnect with history.
Creative Producer Laura Seddon said: “Through our trailblazer season, we are thrilled to give audiences a taster of what’s to come in our Thursday Lates when our new museum reopens next year.
“We will be inviting diverse and innovative artists to connect with our audiences in our stunningly renovated synagogue performance space each week.”
The headline event for this month is a quiz night hosted by Chanukah Lewinsky, a proud Jewish Drag Queen with a history of activism in the community.
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Founder and host of queer Jewish cabaret ‘Homos and Houmous’, Lewinsky aims to reconnect people with their Jewish history through song, dance and fun, and describes herself as like “Julie Waters on speed.”
Dex, who embodies Chanukah Lewinsky, said: “Jewish and Yiddish theatre has always been really close to street theatre, it’s all about audience engagement and making people feel part of it. So I am excited to bring the history of the museum to life with camp and chaos and revelry. It’s going to be a new way of attaching that history.”
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This series flies in the face of the suggestion that religion and queerness cannot be safely and positively intertwined, all whilst keeping you entertained and educated.
Dex said: “I went to an orthodox Jewish secondary school, and I found that people valued discussion and were on the whole really open and supportive and the two identities of being queer and being jewish should not feel at odds.”
Once reopened, the Manchester Jewish Museum will continue to expand this cultural programme with ‘Thursday Lates’, consisting of live and online experiences throughout the rest of the year.
Thursday 26 November 2020 – Chanukah Lewinsky’s Big Quiz Night
Price: pay what you feel, all funds go to supporting the museum’s community art program and re-development of the museum.
A combination of camp quiz rounds and a ‘guess the celeb’ beamed straight into your living room, hosted by the fabulous Chanukah Lewinsky this one is a must-not miss. Including guest appearances from drag king wrestling duo Men Brûlée and Glasgow’s emerging queer, yiddish café Pink Peacock, and drag poet ‘That Ray’.
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Thursday 10 – Monday 14 December 2020 – What does the future sound like?
A series of musical digital conversations about the British Museum music scene, with musician Francesca Ter Berg and the Museum’s Creative Producer Laura Seddon, with special guests Carol Isaacs, Anna Lowenstein, Polina Shepherd and Ana Silvera. An exploration of history and music, made even better by a daily musical film gifted straight to your email for the first five days, and the opportunity to join the conversation on social media and the chance to get an extra gift in the post.
Thursday 28 January 2021 – After School Activists
An opportunity for the next generation of artists aged 16-18 to respond to the theme of 2021’s Holocaust Memorial Day: ‘Being a light in the darkness’.
Described by the Manchester Jewish Museum as: “A powerful piece of collaborative action that considers how we learn from history whilst looking to the future. A generation is standing up – why not join them?”
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Thursday 25 February 2021 – Eat the Archives
Theatre Chef Leo Burtin leads a cooking and eating journey in person and online, and will be teaching and telling the food stories of times past via the museum’s archives for example why many Jewish evacuees became vegetarians.
Thursday 25 March 2021 – Historic Jewish Quarter Experience
The Bare Project Theatre Company lead you on a multi-sensory walk around Manchester historic Jewish quarter and Cheetham Hill Road. With the area still remaining one of the most diverse in the country, discover areas of worship, work and play on this walk.
Learn more about the latest events happening in Manchester via the What’s On section.
What's On
Science and Industry Museum reveals ‘gloriously gross’ half term events lineup
Emily Sergeant
One of Manchester’s most-visited museums has unveiled its exciting events lineup ahead of half term in a couple of weeks time.
Fancy diving into the “gloriously gross” world of our brilliant bodies?
It’s certainly not an invite you get every day, but as schools across Greater Manchester break up for half term at the end of this month, and parents and carers gear up to entertain the little ones, the Science and Industry Museum has, thankfully, just announced a wide range of events and activities especially for the holidays.
Anyone who considers themselves to be “curious about the incredible inner workings of the human body” are invited to join in with the series of anatomy-themed special events, star-studded appearances, and half term transformations.
And the best bit is that a good chunk of the events planned are actually open for you to get involved with for completely free of charge.
As the curtains on Operation Ouch! are due to close for good on Sunday 9 June, the museum has chosen to dedicate the entire month of May to celebrating the record-breaking exhibition and making sure it goes out in “a blaze of glorious grossness” by having it inspire all the upcoming ‘brilliant bodies’ events – and this half term is no different.
The Science and Industry Museum has revealed its ‘gloriously gross’ half term events lineup / Credit: Science Museum Group
As well as exploring the exhibition before it closes, mini Mancs can also bring a bear (or any soft squishy friend) to the museum and take them round the departments of the ‘Teddy Hospital’, as well as learn all about looking after their brains, bones, and bottoms with fun and fascinating activities, and find out how their skeleton works, what their poo is made of, and why we have blood.
The museum‘s team of Explainers will also be back in action this half term.
They’ll be putting on interactive science shows packed with “fun facts and wow moments” that explore how and why our bodies are all the same, but different too.
There’s so much to discover and explore about our ‘brilliant bodies’ at the museum this month / Credit: Science Museum Group
Away from the ‘brilliant bodies’ events, if you haven’t had the chance the make the most of the museum’s smash-hit gaming exhibition, Power UP, then this upcoming half term is the ideal time to do so.
Revolution Manchester, the museum’s interactive Experiment gallery, and the Textiles Gallery are also open for exploring for free all throughout the half term week.
Both free entry tickets to the museum, and charged-for tickets for Operation Ouch! Food, Poo and You and Power UP, can be booked now on the Science and Industry Museum website.
You can find more about all the activities taking place at the museum over the half term here.
Featured image – Science Museum Group
What's On
Manc icons to be turned into trail of stunning floral installations lining city centre streets
Emily Sergeant
Caroline Aherne and Emmeline Pankhurst are among the ‘Manchester Icons’ set to turned into floral installations for a new trail that’ll line the city centre streets.
In case you missed it, it was announced back in January that Manchester is all set to become one of the most picturesque places in the UK once again this summer, and that’s because the city will be getting dressed up in celebration of the annual Flower Festival – which is back by popular demand for its seventh year.
The four-day festival – which is organised annually by Manchester BID and CityCo, and is often dubbed the “most Instagramable event of the year” – always sees Manchester bloom to life, with plants and flowers covering landmark buildings, shop windows, doorways, balconies, statues, fountains, and more right across the city centre.
This year’s Festival will take place over the late May bank holiday weekend from Friday 24 – Monday 27 May 2024.
And now, the theme for this year’s floral trail has now been revealed by the Festival’s organisers.
‘Manchester Icons’ is the name and theme of this year’s trail – which is always one of the most popular events at the Festival each year – and visitors are being told they can expect to see 10 glorious displays inspired by Manchester-born figures, music icons, and even legendary buildings.
All the installations in the trail are created by local artists, gardeners, and flower enthusiasts.
The late Manc actress Caroline Aherne, Manchester suffragette icon Emmeline Pankhurst, Girls Aloud and Stockport-raised band member, the late Sarah Harding, and local singing legend Rowetta are among the ‘icons’ who will be turned into floral art pieces, alongside other famous sites such as Gnome Island, the Hacienda, and Boddington’s brewery.
Manchester will be filled with fresh blooms as annual the Flower Festival returns this summer / Credit: Carl Sukonik & Fabio De Paola | The Manc Group
King Street, New Cathedral Street, St Ann’s Square, the Corn Exchange, and Manchester Arndale are just a few of the sites the installations will call home in a couple of weeks time.
The names and locations of the 10 installations are:
‘What first attracted you to the comedian Caroline Aherne?’ – New Cathedral Street
‘The Girls Aloud Tribute Garden’ – St Ann’s Square
‘Emmeline’s Town Hall’ – On the corner of King Street and Cross Street
‘Queen Bee Rowetta’ – The Royal Exchange
‘Gnome Island’ – King Street
‘The Second Summer of Love’ – Manchester Arndale
‘Boddingtons Blooms’ – Corn Exchange
‘The Iconic Hive’ – New Cathedral Street
‘This is Manchester’ – St Ann’s Square
‘The Hacienda Gardens’ – On the corner of King Street and Deansgate
Alongside the headline floral trail, organisers say this year’a Manchester Flower Festival is also set to bring “fun and frivolity” to the city’s streets – with a cocktail trail, al-fresco dining, live music, lots of family entertainment, floral workshops, arts and crafts markets, and so much more.
Manchester Flower Festival 2024 is free for all to attend from Friday 24 – Monday 27 May, and you can find out more about the floral trail and everything else happening across the four days here.
Featured Image – Carl Sudonik (via Manchester BID)