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50 Windows of Creativity is closing out with an online auction next week

There's over 70 individually-designed pieces available from some of Greater Manchester's most beloved artists.

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant - 9th December 2020
50 Windows of Creativity / David Oates

Manchester’s innovative socially-distanced art trail is concluding next week with a festive finale to celebrate its successful run.

50 Windows of Creativity – which transformed Manchester into an art gallery to celebrate the city’s rich creative culture and went on to inspire and entertain thousands of city centre dwellers during lockdown and beyond – is to stream the auction live from the Kimpton Clocktower Hotel on Thursday 17th December.

And on top of that, the trail has also been extended until Sunday 13th December too, giving Christmas shoppers and other visitors to the city the chance to ‘window shop’ the trail to discover their favourite makers and creators ahead of the auction.

Lucky bidders will then get the chance to win beautifully-poignant and memorable pieces of art to gift, self gift, or even donate.

At the auction – which will be hosted by auctioneer and TV personality, Charles Hanson – 72 individually-designed artworks, all created by Greater Manchester artists, will be under the Christmas spotlight, with proceeds from sales going to the talented artists, designers and makers involved in the trail, as well as The Lord Mayor of Manchester Charity Appeal Trust – We Love MCR Charity.

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Charles Hanson will also be joined by auctioneer Caroline Hawley from TV’s Flog It! and Bargain Hunt.

50 Windows of Creativity

From spectacular Mancunian mosaics by Mark Kennedy and Mary Goodwin, and fine art from RP Roberts and Dreph, to stunning photography from award-winning Benji Reid, delicate craft from Kaper, and murals, sculptures and more, there is a piece of art for most people and most pockets.

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Lots are estimated to go from just £30 up to £10,000.

Viewers will also be able to bid for an original one-off commission from some of the North West’s most famous artists, including the opportunity to have a unique version of the 50 Windows artwork by iconic designer Trevor Johnson, as well as work by spoken word poet Tony Walsh, illustrator Caroline Dowsett, and a bespoke botanical commission from Charlotte Smithson, who will work with the winning bidder to create a custom piece to style a space, or create a site specific sculpture or installation.

With the online auction landing just one week before Christmas, organisers hope that bidders will be inspired to buy something extra special this year to support the city’s creative community, which has sadly been hit so hard by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

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And of course, the We Love MCR Charity, which supports Manchester’s disadvantaged communities and individuals.

Bidders can now view the auction catalogue and register to bid in the online auction here.

Lot 36 – Sasha Ray
Lot 13 – Tim Denton

50 Windows of Creativity has been created by Wild in Art, in partnership with Manchester City Council.

The project is supported by event partners Auto Trader and Dandara Living, with other businesses including Hobs Repro, Ocean Outdoor, Jamieson Contracting, TfGM, and Kimpton Clocktower Hotel also stepping forward to support the project.

Speaking on his hosting gig, Charles Hanson – auctioneer and antiques expert on Bargain Hunt, The Antiques Road Trip and Flog It! – said: “I’ve been privileged to see many incredible objects ‘under the hammer’ and the 50 Windows of Creativity artworks will be no exception.

“This is a fantastic opportunity to own an original piece of art and show support for Manchester’s artists, designers and makers, while also helping to raise funds to support the important work of the We Love MCR Charity.”

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Ben Reed – Head of Creative Development at Wild in Art – added: “We are delighted that 50 Windows of Creativity has enabled us to shine a light on Manchester’s art and creative community [and] we would like to extend sincere thanks to everyone involved,

“Particularly the artists and makers who have worked so hard to create the displays and the auction pieces.”

Lot 55 – Raptor GL Graffiti
Lot 58 – Justin Eagleton

Councillor Tommy Judge – The Lord Mayor of Manchester and Chair of Trustees of We Love MCR Charity – said: “We are delighted to  be chosen as the benefiting charity for the 50 Windows of Creativity auction.

“We Love MCR Charity supports disadvantaged communities and individuals to be the best they can be and the funds we receive from our partnership with 50 Windows of Creativity will go directly to improving lives here in Manchester.”

Sharon Cameron – Regional Director Of Sales at Kimpton Clocktower Hotel – added: “We are extremely proud to have supported and played a part in this wonderful event and [are] looking forward to the auction being showcased in our beautiful recently-refurbished Ballroom”.

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The 50 Windows of Creativity Auction will take place on Thursday 17th December from 7pm – 11pm, and will be streamed live from the Kimpton Clocktower Hotel.

You can find more information via the Bee In The City website here.

What's On

Blossoms’ ‘Five Nights in Manchester’ residency – everything you need to know

Danny Jones Danny Jones Blossoms Manchester gigs support acts

The Blossoms boys are ramping up for their ‘Five Nights in Manchester’ residency to round off their UK tour of Gary, the fantastic fifth studio album which released earlier this year to critical acclaim.

Set to play not just one or two but five certifiably fantastic-looking gigs at five different Manc music institutions, each with a special place in our hearts and theirs, the incredible run of nights kicks off this Tuesday, 18 November and will see them play tracks from the album along with their biggest hits.

If you managed to grab yourself a ticket to at least one of these sell-out shows, you’re likely already trying to get things organised in your head to stop yourself from simply tail-spinning into an excited frenzy, so we thought we’d help you out where we can.

From the support acts to stage times, setlists and more, here’s everything you need to know ahead of Blossoms‘ ‘Five Nights in Manchester’.

Blossoms Manchester residency – all the important info

The venues and when they’re playing them

First up on the list is Manchester Academy on Oxford Road, where Blossoms will be starting their Manchester marathon of shows on Tuesday, 19 November – it will be the first time they’ve played the 2,600-capacity room since 2016.

Next up is the O2 Ritz on Wednesday (20 Nov), which many of the band members have said is their favourite venue of the lot given the number of acts they themselves have seen there and arguably their breakthrough hometown gig back in 2015, returning multiple times since then.

In at number three is the historic Albert Hall, where they’ve also taken the stage on a number of occasions, but this time their gig on Thursday, 21 November will see them perform their most polished and sprawling set yet.

The penultimate place hosting Blossoms’ Man residency is the O2 Victoria Warehouse over in Stretford, which will see them start the weekend in style this Friday (22 Nov). A big gig space made for big bands, so they’re a perfect fit.

And lastly, the Stockport boys round out the ‘Five Nights in Manchester’ mini-tour at one of the city’s very best venues full stop: the O2 Apollo. That sloping sprung floor, the stocks and the angle from the top tier – if you don’t know why this place is so special, we just can’t help you…

Who is supporting Blossoms in Manchester?

Perhaps the best part about this entire section of the tour, in our opinion, is that you’re getting a TONNE of different support acts across the five nights.

Not only are you getting different names every night but each Manchester gig will have not one but two warm-up acts, meaning you’ll fans will be treated to a total of 10 up-and-coming artists – and most of them are local too.

From Oldham’s very own Seb Lowe and Earlestown’s The K’s, who both supported them at Wythenshawe Park, to Scots Neon Waltz, local lads Delights; Manc rockers The Guest List; the ‘female Sam Fender’, a.k.a. Siobhan Winifred, London indie pop group Soft Launch, Brummy boys overpass, Leigh’s very-own Lottery Winners AND Liam Gallagher’s son’s exciting new band, Villanelle.

Phew. Let us catch our breath for a second. Sounds like an unreal few nights of nothing but non-stop indie and good times, right?

You can see whose playing where down below:

Set times

With doors opening from 7pm on all five nights in Manchester, you can expect a good half-hour or so for each support act, as well as two intervals to grab yourself a drink, nip to the loo or take a breather from your ape suit (trust us, we’ve seen plenty of people doing it) before the main event.

Blossoms are scheduled to take the stage for their highly-anticipated headline performances at 9pm throughout the residency, so you can plan accordingly depending on how far long it takes you to get to each venue from your location.

Luckily, they’re all in the city centre, so it shouldn’t be too much of a hassle to get to any of them; maybe just give yourself an extra bit of leeway to head to the likes of a busy Oxford Rd and to queue of course.

The concerts so far on this tour have lasted around two hours, meaning you’ll be heading home by 11pm, which should be just enough time to get the earworm that is ‘Gary’ out of your head.

Setlist for Blossoms’ Gary tour

Now, it won’t surprise anyone to learn that most of their current setlist is made up of tunes from the new album, but we’ll warn you now that they won’t be playing Gary in full.

They’ve sprinkled hits from previous albums into the running order and, according to the Leeds show recorded on the ever trusty Setlist.fm, they have the split down as five songs from their debut, four from Foolish Loving Spaces, two tracks from Cool Like You and just one from Ribbon Around the Bomb.

Meanwhile, there’ll be seven songs off Gary. You can see the most recent show from start to finish down below, but you can always expect some surprises from these guys:

  1. Your Girlfriend
  2. Perfect Me
  3. Oh No (I Think I’m in Love)
  4. What Can I Say After I’m Sorry?
  5. I Can’t Stand It
  6. Getaway
  7. If You Think This Is Real Life
  8. Big Star
  9. Slow Down
  10. The Keeper
  11. Care For
  12. Honey Sweet
  13. Gary
  14. I Like Your Look
  15. At Most a Kiss
  16. My Favourite Room

Encore:

  1. Nightclub
  2. There’s a Reason Why (I Never Returned Your Calls)
  3. Charlemagne – obviously…
A glimpse at what the Blossoms stage will look like for the ‘Five Nights in Manchester’ shows.

Read more:

And that should be just about everything you need to know ahead of Blossoms’ ‘Five Nights in Manchester’: a once-in-a-lifetime event that’s going to go down in history and Manc music heritage.

They’ve described this as a “lover letter” to the places that helped put them on the map, not to mention a trip down memory lane now more than a decade into their career.

If you were looking for a secret ticket link from us, we hate to break it to you but this thing sold out in a flash. You can of course keep your eye out on resellers like Twickets and SeeTickets but, as always with these things, be careful and due your due diligence.

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Get ready to say hello to an eight-foot-tall gorilla and have what we already know is going to be an amazing week.

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

Featured Images — Ewan Ogden (supplied)/The Manc Group

What's On

Greater Manchester cinemas are screening loads of classic Christmas films throughout December

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant

Cinemas across the UK will be screening loads of classic festive films in the run-up to Christmas, and you can already book tickets.

With the nights drawing in, the temperatures dropping by the day, and the most wonderful time of the year now firmly in our sights, film fans looking for some wholesome festive fun in the run-up to the big day itself will soon be able to head on down to their nearest Greater Manchester cinema to catch a classic on the big screen.

Vue, Odeon, and The Light are among the cinema chains set to screen a handful of beloved Christmas films throughout December.

Although there may already be a TV channel showing Christmas films 24/7 now on air in the UK, if you fancy seeing the festivities in full screen instead, then you can watch showings of fan-favourites like Elf, Home Alone, Love Actually, and more over the next few weeks.

Greater Manchester cinemas are screening loads of classic Christmas films throughout December / Credit: 20th Century Studios | Universal Pictures

You can also see seasonal screenings of live ballet, theatre, and concert performances too.

Undoubtably one of the highlights on the lineup this year, however, has to be The Polar Express, with several cinema chains scheduled to screen the 2004 animated Christmas gem to celebrate the 20th anniversary of its release.

Starring Tom Hanks alongside a talented supporting cast of voice actors, The Polar Express is based on the beloved children’s book by Chris Van Allsburg and tells the story of a young boy who boards a powerful magical train to visit Santa Claus’ home on Christmas Eve, learning about friendship, bravery, and the spirit of Christmas along the way.

Elf, Home Alone, and Love Actually are among the films on the lineup / Credit: Krists Luhaers (via Unsplash)

Looking for a more intimate festive film experience this Christmas?

Well you can also get yourself down to one of Manchester’s most popular hotels, King Street Townhouse, where a jam-packed lineup of classics will be screened in its very-own exclusive cinema over the next two months.

Here you can also complete your seasonal experience with festive-themed cocktails, popcorn, pick n mix, and a whole host of other treats too.

Read more:

Head to your local cinema’s website to check when your favourite festive flicks are being screened.

Featured Image – Warner Bros.

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