Art & Culture

A giant tiger sculpture has appeared in Manchester city centre for Chinese New Year

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson - 31st January 2022

An enormous sculpture of a tiger has taken shape in the heart of Manchester this week.

The massive beast has been installed at St Ann’s Square as part of the city’s Chinese New Year celebrations.

The tiger is surrounded by red lanterns that have been hung in the trees around the square.

Manchester city centre will be filled with celebrations between 1 and 6 February as we ring in the Lunar New Year.

This year is the Year of the Tiger, and according to the Chinese zodiac, people born in this year are predicted to be brave, competitive, unpredictable, and confident.

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The huge tiger sculpture in Manchester city centre. Credit: The Manc Group

The sculpture itself has been commissioned by Manchester BID and created by Decordia Events, and is brand new for 2022.

The installation is a structural take on the traditional tiger, made from wood and recycled corrugated plastic.

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Its origami-like structure creates an illusion for passers-by – it looks fragile and weak but actually stands strong and towers overhead – even withstanding the battering from Storm Corrie this week,

The tiger’s inner structure also matches the stripes and markings of a real tiger, casting shadows at night with surrounding lights.

Read more: All the celebrations lined up for Chinese New Year 2022 in Manchester

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You can see the huge beast now at St Ann’s Square in Manchester city centre.

Elsewhere in the city there’ll be live performances, workshops, street food, stalls, a funfair, traditional lion dances, exhibitions, Chinese acrobatics, singing, poem reading, and Kung Fu across the city.

The heart of the action will, of course, be Manchester’s beautiful Chinatown.

You can read our full guide to Chinatown here.

Featured image: Fabio De Paola/PA Wire

Art & Culture

National Portrait Gallery to debut ground-breaking digital exhibition in Salford

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson

The National Portrait Gallery has announced a ground-breaking new experience that’s set to make its debut at MediaCity in Salford.

Some of the world’s most famous paintings will be brought to life in an immersive digital exhibition, called Stories – Brought to Life, that will tell the stories behind iconic portraits.

FRAMELESS Creative has partnered with the National Portrait Gallery on the project, which will be the first major touring art experience by any UK art institution and makes up a long-term partnership called National Portrait Gallery Unframed.

Those who attended the hugely popular and acclaimed Van Gogh Alive experience will already know a little of what to expect – famous paintings reimagined with digital projections, visual effects, and audio technology.

FRAMELESS has been granted access to the National Portrait Gallery’s collection to create Stories – Brought to Life, which will tell the tales of people who have shaped history, from the Tudors to the present day, in an innovative new way.

While the exhibition will premiere here in Greater Manchester next year, there’s a planned national and international tour to follow.

The National Portrait Gallery will be debuting a ground-breaking digital exhibition in Salford / Credit: MediaCity

Rich Storton, general manager at FRAMELESS Creative said: “We are delighted to announce this new long-term partnership with the National Portrait Gallery. We hope that by unleashing the power of digital storytelling we can help the Gallery to bring art to a whole new audience.

“We’re living in a changing world and there is a real need for new experiences that help open up art and culture to new audiences and crucially help ensure that national institutions such as the National Portrait Gallery and their incredible collections continue to be accessible and have cultural significance for the next generation.

“MediaCity is a vibrant cultural hub attracting a hugely diverse audience. This combined with its proximity to major transport links and focus on technology made it an obvious choice for premiering our first experience.”

Rosie Wilson, Director of Programmes, Partnerships and Collections at the National Portrait Gallery said: “The National Portrait Gallery aims to share our unique collection of portraits with as wide an audience as possible and explore the human stories that shape our history and culture.

“This exciting new partnership with FRAMELESS, inspired by our Collection, will enable us to take these stories outside of the Gallery walls and bring them to life in new, innovative ways.”

Caroline Aikman, Director of Marketing, Brand and Place at MediaCity said: “We are honoured that the National Portrait Gallery and FRAMELESS have chosen MediaCity as the first stop on the tour of this unique immersive experience.

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“We’ve hosted many arts and culture events, experiences, festivals and exhibitions over the last few years and we can’t wait to welcome visitors to Salford when the experience opens its doors in May next year.”

For more information head HERE.

Featured image: FRAMELESS (via Supplied)

Art & Culture

There’s some FREE festive craft workshops taking place at MediaCity this Christmas

Thomas Melia Thomas Melia

A handful Christmas-inspired workshops are happening down at MediaCity, and lots of them are free to take part in.

Starting tomorrow (11 December), anyone who’s looking to get artsy in the run up to the big day can try their hand at three different Christmas activities, and have a go at making and creating items to keep and treasure forever.

There’s a free ‘Bauble Bar’ where you can learn how to make those brilliant hanging ornaments that make your tree gorgeous.

This workshop is suitable for all skill sets, which means you don’t have to be the next Da Vinci to design one of these little trinkets, as a friendly host will be walking round the class to help everyone make a beautiful creation to take home with them.

The second free event is a Christmas card making workshop, where there will be stationery provided for you to create some cute and snazzy designs, so get ready to freestyle your own drawings if you’re confident, or hone your craft by following the range of patterns and templates that will be on-hand for you to trial.

This final crafty class gives visitors the opportunity to create a two-layer wreath that’s sure to become part of your annual festive decor.

The ‘Christmas Wreath Making’ class provides all the materials you could need, but due to the cost of this, this isn’t a free event and tickets are a reasonable £10 instead.

/ Credit: | Ksenia Ya | Jonathan Borba (via Unsplash & Pexels)

All of these fun Christmas activities are happening at innovative event space, Hot House, which is designed to host creative workshops like these festive-themed crafts.

Although the ‘Bauble Bar’ and the ‘Christmas Card Making Workshop’ are both free, booking a ticket to secure your space is still required.

Read more:

Everyone interested in any event or all three can book a ticket to here.

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Image – Supplied

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