Events
Talks, tours, workshops and more at the Whitworth – both outdoors and in.
Find out what's on at the gallery – nearly all of our events are free. Join our newsletter list to be among the first to hear the latest news and updates.
Get a deeper insight into the Whitworth’s gallery and park. Led by a member of our Visitor Team, our daily tours (Tuesdays - Sundays at 2pm) alternate between a more detailed look at our current exhibitions and works on display, and an escape to the outdoors to share the stories of Whitworth Park. For more information, please visit our Gallery Tours page.
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Beneath the Great Wave: Hokusai and Hiroshige Visitor Experience Tour
Join one of our Visitor Experience Assistants as they delve into the history and art of Hokusai and Hiroshige.
Tuesday 14 April
2pm-2:45pm
Free, booking requiredBook your place now
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Spring Exhibitions Preview
Join us for a special evening to celebrate the opening of Michaela Yearwood-Dan: The Practice of Liberation, the artist’s first UK institutional exhibition. Enjoy a relaxed, social atmosphere as the gallery comes alive for the season, with all exhibition spaces open. Discover bold and thought-provoking works and spend an evening immersed in creativity.
Thursday 16 April
6pm - 8pm
Free, booking requiredBook your place now
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Meditation in Nature
Join a Meditation in Nature experience in the Alex Bernstein Garden, inspired by the exhibition Beneath the Great Wave: Hokusai, Hiroshige, and ukiyo-e print and the poem Hokusai Says by Roger Keyes.
Thursday 16 April
6pm-7pm
Free, booking requiredBook now
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British Sign Language Tour of Delaine Le Bas: Un-Fair-Ground
Join Hope Lambert for a British Sign Language tour of Delaine Le Bas’ exhibition Un-Fair-Ground. Whether you are a fluent BSL user or learning, this is a great event to engage with others in a entirely BSL environment.
Saturday 18 April
2pm-3pm
Free, booking requiredBook your place now
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Beneath the Great Wave: Hokusai and Hiroshige Visitor Experience Tour
Join one of our Visitor Experience Assistants as they delve into the history and art of Hokusai and Hiroshige.
Tuesday 21st April
2pm-2:45pm
Free, booking requiredBook your place now
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Radical Collections: Delaine Le Bas and Clémentine Deliss in conversation
An exciting opportunity to listen to Turner Prize–nominated and exhibiting artist Delaine Le Bas in conversation with Clémentine Deliss, the international curator, cultural theorist, and author of the Metabolic Museum. Join us as Le Bas and Deliss explore questions of ownership, artistic intervention, and the radical possibilities of the Metabolic Museum.
Thursday 23 April
6pm - 8pm
£5-£15, booking requiredBook your place now
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Upcycling Workshop with Delaine Le Bas and Wendy Roby
Learn how to transform your pre-loved clothing into unique, wearable art using creative techniques guided by Delaine and Wendy themselves. Whether you want to refresh a favourite jumper or turn a forgotten t-shirt into something entirely new, this is your chance to get expert tips, experiment with colour and texture, and take home a piece you’ll be proud of.
Saturday 25 April
1pm-3pm
£10, booking requiredBook your tickets now
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Still Parents: Sip & Paint
Join us for a relaxed 'Sip & Paint' workshop for for parents who have experienced the loss of a baby in pregnancy or just after birth. Led by artist Sophie Brown (@sophiebrownstudios), one of our own Still Parents participants, Sophie will guide you step by step to create your own painting, with simple, easy-to-follow prompts.
Sunday 26 April
1:30pm - 4pm
Free, booking requiredBook your place now
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Pilates this April
You will be guided through a flowing sequence of movements designed to improve posture, develop flexibility, build core strength and leave you feeling thoroughly energised and reconditioned!
Sunday 26 April
9am - 10am
£8.50, booking requiredBook now
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Listening with Trees: Inside Lud's Church and How to be a Forest
Experience an immersive evening of music and nature. Four musicians use instruments, electronics and real sounds to create something totally new and inspired by forests and wild places. Inspired by our exhibition Performing Trees, hear music in a way you've never experienced before.
Thursday 30 April
6pm-8pm
£5-£10, booking requiredBook now
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Artist in Residence
Join Venture Arts artist Sally Hirst most Thursdays in our Everyday Art School space on our Mezzanine.
Every Thursday
10am-2pm
Free, drop inFind out more
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Live working sessions with Sarah Lee and Sally Hirst from Venture Arts
Everyone is welcome to come say hello and find out more about Sarah and Sally's work. They will be working in the Performance Space of Delaine Le Bas: Un-Fair-Ground, where Sarah's work is exhibited throughout the run of the show.
Thursday 7 May
10am-2pm
Free, drop-in -
Still Care: Who Will You Thank?
Join us for a relaxed and creative afternoon just for maternity healthcare professionals, a chance to pause, connect and take an afternoon for yourself. In this workshop, you’ll create your own thank you postcards using a mix of visual art and creative writing.
Sunday 10 May
1pm-4pm
Free, booking requiredBook your place now
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Sunday Concerts
Friends of the Whitworth present a series of free Sunday Concerts that are open to all. At 3pm on selected Sunday afternoons, students from the Royal Northern College of Music perform in our South Gallery, overlooking Whitworth Park.
Sunday 10 May
3pm - 3.45pm
Free, drop inRead more
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Nightless Cities: The pleasure quarters as timescapes in early modern Japan
Join us for second talk of the series with Dr Angelika Koch-Low on the topic Nightless Cities: The pleasure quarters as timescapes in early modern Japan, introduced by Professor Erica Baffelli.
Thursday 14 May
6:30pm-8pm
sold out - explore more events in the seriesBook your place now
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Outdoor Art Club
Play-based outdoor workshops for all the family, but particularly brilliant for two to eight year-olds – featuring a mud painting studio, water play and potion station.
Saturday 16 May
10:30am-1:30pm
Free, drop-inRead more
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Romani Resistance Day with Delaine Le Bas, Juice Vamosi and Gemma Lees
To mark Romani Resistance Day, Delaine Le Bas will be in conversation with Juice Vamosi, co-founder of the UK-based KaskoSan Roma Charity. Romany Gypsy performance artist and poet Gemma Lees will perform poetry from her book ‘1000 years’ and lead creative writing and poetry workshops inspired by Gypsy, Traveller, Roma, Showmen, and Boaters (GTRSB) writers.
Saturday 16 May
1pm-4pm
Free, booking requiredBook your place now
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Performing Trees: Curator Tour
Join Valentin Diakonov, Curator (Modern and Contemporary Art), for a more in-depth look at his exhibition Performing Trees.
Thursday 21 May
5:45pm-18:45pm
Free, booking requiredBook your place now
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Curator Tour
Join Hannah Vollam, Assistant Curator (Art), for a more in-depth look at Delaine Le Bas: Un-Fair-Ground. This tour will give new insights into Le Bas' work and practice, including new works that were created for the exhibition.
Thursday 28 May
6pm-7pm
Free, booking requiredBooking link coming soon
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Studio Nights: Photography
Get the best out of your smartphone camera as we share tips on taking creative photographs and noticing strange and beautiful details of the everyday world.
14 May 2026
6pm-8pmFree, booking required - email steven.roper@manchester.ac.uk
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Beneath the Great Wave Curator Tour with Imogen Holmes-Roe
Join Imogen Holmes-Roe, Curator of Historic Fine Art as she gives an overview of this landmark exhibition, where Imogen will be pulling out some of the social and historical themes from within the exhibition.
Thursday 4 June
6pm-7pm
Free, booking requiredBook your place now
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Connoisseur or conman? Manchester’s forgotten Japanese art collector
Join us for our third talk in the series with Dr Lewis Ryder on the topic Connoisseur or Conman? Manchester’s forgotten Japanese art collector introduced by Professor Erica Baffelli.
Thursday 18 June
6:30pm-8pm
Free, booking requiredBook your place now
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A virtual journey in Edo Japan (1603-1868): mapping famous places
Join us for our fourth talk in the series The Floating World: People and Landscapes in Edo with Dr Sonia Favi on the topic A virtual journey in Edo Japan (1603-1868): mapping famous places, introduced by Dr Erica Baffelli.
Thursday 17 September
6:30pm-8pm
Free, booking requiredBook your place now
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Beneath the Great Wave Curator tour with Imogen Holmes-Roe
Join Imogen Holmes-Roe, Curator of Historic Fine Art as she gives an overview of this landmark exhibition, where Imogen will be pulling out some of the social and historical themes from within the exhibition.
Thursday 24 September
6pm-7pm
Free, booking requiredBook your place now
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Beneath the Great Wave Curator Tour with Imogen Holmes-Roe
Join Imogen Holmes-Roe, Curator of Historic Fine Art as she gives an overview of this landmark exhibition, where Imogen will be pulling out some of the social and historical themes from within the exhibition.
Thursday 29 October
6pm-7pm
Free, booking requiredBook your place now
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