Art & Culture

Why there are dozens of colourful statues in Manchester this morning

The cluster of awesome, colourful sculptures will stand in St Peter's Square until September 12, before going on tour to Edinburgh and London.

The Manc The Manc - 3rd September 2021

Dozens of colourful, human-like statues have been placed in Manchester this morning for what will be the city centre’s newest public art trail.

Created by the team behind Bee In The City, Gratitude is officially open to the public today and is a free exhibition made up of 51 sculptures.

The cluster of awesome, colourful sculptures will stand in St Peter’s Square until September 12, before going on tour to Edinburgh and London.

The sculptures were all designed by renowned artists and designers including iconic Scottish fashion designer Pam Hogg, renowned sculptural artist Andrew Logan, British fashion and textile designer Kitty Joseph, one of the UK’s leading ceramic artists, Kate Malone and the project’s creative ambassador Dame Zandra Rhodes.

Charlie Langhorne, Managing Director and Co-founder of Wild in Art said:  “Gratitude is set to be a beautiful and striking tribute which celebrates the incredible courage and dedication of the UK’s NHS staff and all key workers and supports the vital work of NHS Charities Together.

ADVERTISEMENT

“We are delighted to be taking our tour to Manchester’s St Peter’s Square, after months of hard work from artists across the UK, who have dedicated their time and creativity to help us produce an installation which reflects our endless Gratitude for the care and kindness that all key workers have provided.”

Gratitude will pay tribute to NHS staff and ALL KEY WORKERS for their ongoing courage and dedication during the pandemic.

ADVERTISEMENT

Manchester artists involved include Lei-Mai LeMaow, Guy McKinley, Hammo, Jodie Silverman, Fernandes Makes, Karis Viola Lambert and Nomad Clan.

After the tour, the sculptures will be auctioned off in October, where substantial proceeds will be donated to ‘NHS Charities Together’, which supports the NHS, including its hospitals, ambulance services, community and mental healthcare providers and vital partnerships.

Free tickets will be available to reserve for each location on the Gratitude website here.

Art & Culture

Manchester’s popular LGBTQ+ Film Festival returns this summer – and you can choose what’s screened

Thomas Melia Thomas Melia

Manchester’s LGBTQ+ Film Festival is back later this year, and it’s set to be bigger and better than its summer debut.

SCENE, the LGBTQ+ film festival, is making its grand return to Manchester and is taking over some of the city centre’s most notable and popular locations.

Anyone attending can expect lots of fun – including screenings, panels, celebrations, parties, and above all, more pride than ever before.

Last year saw lots of familiar queer stars from TV and showbiz hosting events in iconic venues across Manchester city centre.

New Century Hall held a Queer As Folk screening, Q&A, and afterparty with original cast members such as Antony Cotton, alongside Owain Wyn Evans and Russell T Davies, while Davina DeCampo made an appearance at Fairfield Social Club to host a cabaret night named ‘Dragged to the Movies’, inspired by this queer film-centric festival.

Expect lots of special guests, last year saw Antony Cotton and more.
SCENE Festival is returning to Manchester later this year / Credit: Publicity Pictures (via Supplied)

First Street Manchester got involved too, with a ‘Camp Cult Classics’ movie-marathon, screening films such as The Wiz, Grease 2, and Xanadu.

Even after its inaugural year, this LGBTQ+ film festival has rooted itself into Manchester’s cultural calendar, becoming a must-see event for the city… and this year’s edition will be no different.

Usual venues such as HOME, Aviva Studios, Gay Village, and of course the First Street Outdoor cinema, will all be making a fabulous return for the festival’s second year celebrations.

This year, the festival is also partnering with The Queer Filmmakers Network for a short film submission programme titled ‘Out of MCR: SCENE Queer Shorts Showcase’, where creatives can make a short film connected to Greater Manchester that can be broadcast throughout the event, if selected by the panel.

Alongside this, a curated selection of submitted films will be screened during SCENE Festival, and audiences have the opportunity to vote their favourite – with the winner announced on 20 August.

Gary Williams, Head of Events at CityCo, who are the producers of SCENE Festival, commented: “We were blown away by the response to the first SCENE Festival – the audiences, the energy, and the love for queer storytelling in all its forms.

“We’re thrilled to bring it back for 2025 as part of Manchester’s iconic Pride celebrations”.

Isobel Stainsbury, Senior Engagement Manager at Manchester Pride, added: “As we continue to grow and evolve, we welcome more events that spotlight the diversity of our communities while fundraising for Manchester Pride to ensure we can continue to celebrate, promote the rights, equality and visibility of LGBTQ+ people in Greater Manchester.”

Read more:

SCENE, the LGBTQ+ Film Festival, is coming to Manchester city centre as part of Manchester Pride from 15 to 19 August – with a full lineup and tickets to be released HERE.

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

Featured Images – Publicity Pictures (via Supplied)

Art & Culture

The Rocky Horror Show at the Palace Theatre, Manchester – a night of unapologetic fun

Clementine Hall Clementine Hall

The cult classic musical, The Rocky Horror Show, began its two week run in Manchester last night.

If you’re looking for an understated, subtle musical that’ll have you elegantly tapping your foot to the beat – then this is not the show for you.

The Rocky Horror show is wonderfully weird, wildly extravagant and about as over the top as you can get. It’s about as camp as Christmas, and it’s a night out that you won’t forget.

For someone who is completely new to the Rocky Horror world, the experience of attending the show can be quite daunting as you join the queues of fishnet-wearing fans to scan your ticket.

Image: Supplied

But as soon as you’re seated and the first round of hecklers get started as soon as the curtain flies up, the anxiety melts away.

This is a show where you’re encouraged to sing and dance along, which we all did without hesitation.

The atmosphere in the Palace Theatre was nothing short of electric, from start to finish there were roars of laughter erupting from every tier of the auditorium and why? Well, there’s a couple of reasons.

Image: Supplied

Headlining the cast was Australian super star Jason Donovan starring as the iconic Dr. Frank N.Furter, and his performance was well and truly mesmerising.

Not only did Jason play the sassy sweet transvestite side of the role so perfectly, strutting across the stage with a corset and feather boa, but there were also moments of stillness that felt rather moving.

All in all, a captivating performance which underlines Donovan’s star studded status in the musical theatre universe.

Images: Supplied

Throughout the entire cast there wasn’t a weak link, Connor Carson and Lauren Chia are suitably sexy and strong as Brad and Janet.

Job Greuter delivers a freakishly brilliant Riff Raff whilst Jackie Clune gives a masterclass in comic timing as the omnipotent Narrator.

A standout moment was of course the Time Warp singalong, where the whole cast led us in the iconic dance as we shimmied back and forth in the stalls.

Overall, if you’re looking for a fantastic night out of frivolity and fun then the Rocky Horror Show is for you and we’re looking forward to seeing theatre-goers clad in gold hot pants and fishnet ties strutting around Manchester over the next two weeks.

The Rocky Horror show is at the Palace Theatre until Saturday 31 May and you can get your tickets here.

Read more: An outdoor cinema is screening a Wicked sing-a-long this autumn

Featured image – Press image

More Art & Culture

Art & Culture

An outdoor cinema is screening a Wicked sing-a-long this autumn

Wolf Alice Manchester gig tickets 2025

Art & Culture

Wolf Alice announce massive Manchester gig as part of new European tour

John Cooper Clarke Salford Lads and Girls Club gig

Art & Culture

John Cooper Clarke to speak at one of Greater Manchester’s most legendary venues

Audio

Clint Boon takes us around Manchester's iconic Deaf Institute

Eats

We go meatballs deep with Mira's traditional Neapolitan sandwiches