Upcoming events

From 16 February to 13 April 2025 parts of Castlefield Gallery may, at times, be used for meetings and events. Kay Shah’s installation Degrees of Duality has been specially developed to accommodate a variety of events including talks, workshops and community gatherings. The installation may be closed or access may be limited in order to accommodate the following events:

Thursday 13 March, 2-4pm
John Powell-Jones: Assault on the leviathan
This drop in session is suitable for all ages. No booking required.

John Powell-Jones will be hosting this drop in session to play and find out more about his new TTRPG (Table Top Role Playing Game) called, Assault On The Leviathan, made in collaboration with John Howes.
Assault on the Leviathan is a storytelling and puzzle-solving game that encourages players to think creatively and collaborate in shaping the narrative. While there will be hints and clues to guide you, there are no strictly “right” answers. How the challenges are overcome depends on the choices you as the Games Master and the players make.
Note: Full game play can take between 20 min and 2 hours depending on how players choose to develop the story. During this session it will be possible for visitors to play through a short section of the game. John will be on hand to act as games master and talk about how he made the game.

Thursday 27 March, 7-9pm
Konkylie session
£12, book your tickets here

This is the first ever Konkylie Session – a deep listening gathering set in the immersive environment of Kay Shah’s exhibition, Degrees of Duality.
Konkylie is a space for listening in communion. It’s a space to rest your head and drift away to gentle sounds. Leave the world at the door and be held by the soft environment for a few hours – in community and presence with others.
The evening will feature an ambient set by DJ, broadcaster, and ‘sound worker’ Lupini, and an instrumental performance by Seve & Sipan.
It’s soft seated and BYOC: Bring Your Own Cushion.

Friday 28 March, 12-5pm
Self in the City: (Dis)Connecting and (Un)Becoming Urban
Hosted by artist Madeleine Vietmeier and academic Dr. Emma Spruce
If you would like to participate or find out more about this or future projects, please contact: selfinspace@gmail.com

This exploratory workshop brings Manchester-based early career artists and LGBTQ+ elders together to explore the theme of urban connections and self-making. Focusing on LGBTQ+ urban life, the workshop will draw on art-based methods to explore questions including: How do we connect in an urban environment? Where do these connections happen? What kinds of spaces are needed to allow connections to flourish? How could we create these spaces? And how do these experiences influence our individual identity and sense of community belonging? Through pairing artists (who may or may not be elders) with elders (who may or may not be artists), the workshop will result in a collaborative piece that reflects both urban connections as they are, and as they could be.
This workshop will be hosted by Madeleine Vietmeier and Dr. Emma Spruce. As a dyke artist and queer theorist respectively, they are interested in facilitating socially engaged work that amplifies the creative knowledge already present in our communities. It is our hope that this workshop marks the start of a longer collaborative project that will unfold over the coming year(s). 

Saturday 29 March, 3-5pm
Woman on sea bed
Hosted by CONCH
£8.30, book your tickets here

An invitation to set sail, connect, commune and collaborate in an afternoon adventure into water, sharing words and rituals as balm for our collective and individual disconnections, disorientations and estrangements.
With water as our effervescent guide, we will immerse ourselves in water-bound tales, salty poetics and otherly-writing, flowing with kindness and care through ancestral currents to beach our soft bodies in fertile lands.
You might be a surface swimmer wanting to plumb new depths, a gardener stuck in a swamp, a writer lost in the flow. Bring your watery salves – recipes, rituals – to share, together we will swim from the shallows to tend the deep pools of our collective ecological imagination.
‘Woman on sea bed’ will be held by deep under-the-sea cable connection in collaboration with The Crows Nest, Baltimore, USA with a live exchange as part of the afternoon, followed by an optional silent walk together in Manchester to attune to the waters along the Bridgewater Canal.
Adults (18+) of all genders with open minds welcome. No prior knowledge or experience necessary. Our natures hold everything we need.

Sunday 30 March, 12-3:30pm
Poetry and Zine Workshop
This is a private event, for more information about this project or to get in touch contact grassroutesmovement@gmail.com

As part of the project Movement Migration Manchester, a collaboration between the University of Manchester and Grass Routes Movement, Rebecca Hurst, writer and poet from the university will be leading this workshop with support from the project team.
Grass Routes Movement creates activities with and for marginalised people to break down barriers to urban and green spaces, to connect with the outdoors and access opportunities to explore and experience joyfulness through movement. We do this in partnership with organisations which work with people who are marginalised, including asylum-seekers, refugees and displaced people. We are also part of the conversation about creating positive change for those who have been most affected by social and climate injustice. 

Tuesday 1 April, 7-9pm
Other People’s Poetry
£6.13, book your tickets here

Five artists present their poetry findings from different parts of the world.
Acts include: Joseph Conway (Host), Abhijeet Singh, Lauren Chadwick, Alejandro Burbano and Elmi Ali
Born out of the necessity to create accessible spaces for writers, performers and thinkers to explore their art, and for audiences who just don’t know where to start, Other People’s Poetry is a showcase of spoken word by people who are passionate to share it. Other People’s Poetry tells us that everything is other people’s, that poetry is not just written by other people, but in fact belongs to other people. It is not yours, but someone else’s. Here we morph into another form in another place; once again making space for the written art form. Poetry arranges itself in a thousand separate spaces, all at once.

Friday 4 April, 1-4pm
Stories Beyond the Horizons
Hosted by artist Mei Yuk Wong and musician and actress Catherine Li
£11.55-£16.96, book your tickets here

Interactive reading and performance.
This event will include multidisciplinary artist Mei Yuk Wong reading extracts from her draft memoir.“A Seeker’s Journey” and “In an Alternative Universe, I Don’t Want to Live in the UK” a solo performance written and performed by musician and actress Catherine Li. Through their work both Wong and Li share their experiences of growing up in Hong Kong and then moving to the UK. The event will include refreshments offering a taste of Hong Kong and a Q&A with the artists will open up the event to wider conversation with attendees.
Note: Degrees of Duality will be inaccessible from 12pm to 4:30pm for event set up and break down.

Saturday 5 April, 12-2pm
Mapping Identities
Hosted by artist Dalia Hany
Free, book your tickets here

Join artist Dalia Hany in creating your own art piece using diverse materials. Participants will have the opportunity to create their own maps and collages, reflecting on their unique psychogeographical experiences. Each person will receive a wide selection of tools and materials, enabling them to freely express a range of emotions through textures. While the workshop will be guided for the first 30 minutes, participants are encouraged to explore the materials in their own personal and expressive ways.
Participants will find associations between locations and emotions through words, shapes, and colours. This session will focus on creating art pieces that reflect each individual’s experiences. Materials will be provided; however, participants are also welcome to bring their own materials to incorporate, allowing for a deeper and more personal artistic experience.
The aim of the workshop is to encourage reflection on how different places affect us and how these experiences can have long-lasting impacts. Additionally, the workshop aims to inspire participants to find simple ways to start new art pieces and to use their life experiences as a creative resource.

Saturday 5 April, 3-5pm
Book launch and in-conversation: John Powell-Jones and Jamie Sutcliffe
£3, limited free tickets for Associates and anyone on a low income. Book your tickets here

To mark the launch of artist John Powell-Jones’ latest publication Web Wide World (2025) he will be in-conversation at Castlefield Gallery with writer and curator Jamie Sutcliffe.
Web Wide World (2025) is a 300 page anthology of a comic book Powell-Jones has been releasing over the last 4 years. The publication also includes commissioned texts by Jamie Sutcliffe and Aliyah Hussain as well as documentation of work connected to the comic’s story, including performances at the Lowry, Peste (AD England) and Supernormal festival, an interactive “choose your own adventure” computer game and collaborations with Aliyah Hussain, Lauren De Sa Naylor, SJ Hockett, Jamie Robinson and John Howes.
John Powell-Jones will be signing copies of the book at the event.

Saturday 6 April, 12-5pm
BUILD A RUSHCART WITH ME! (Plus optional birthday cake eating!)
Hosted by artist Lucy Wright
This is a drop in session, no booking required.

Rushcarts are a distinctly North West folk custom. Traditionally built from Juncaceae rushes and pulled through the streets during wakes week celebrations and other mill holidays, there are still annual rushcart festivals in Saddleworth, Whitworth and Sowerby Bridge.
As part of her ‘Future Folk Archetypes’ series—speculative sculptures which reimagine existing folk customs and characters as gender-flipped and manifestly contemporary beings—first commissioned in 2024 by Portico Library (learn more), Lucy Wright is currently building a rushcart, inspired by the aesthetics of the lesser-known Lancashire tradition of carnival morris dancing (written out of the history books for decades, because it was felt that working-class girls and young women couldn’t possibly be the bearers of valuable cultural heritage).
To complete the work, Lucy needs to make *hundreds* of hand-sewn flowers and reeds—using spangly holographic fabrics. The technique is manageable for anyone reasonably confident with a needle and thread—but it will take a village to create as many as are needed to create the display!
Lucy wants to invite new and old friends alike to come  and learn about the rushcart and join her in making some flowers and reeds. All materials and instructions will be provided—and even if you don’t fancy sewing, you’re still VERY welcome to drop in and say hello!
And since the workshop is so close to her birthday, there’ll be cake for everyone who comes along!
Consider it her present to come along and say hi!

Friday 11 April, 4-5:30pm
Jet Set: Breaking Barriers
A Retrospective of Art, Culture, and Race in Manchester With Denise Douglas-Armstrong
Produced and hosted by Christian Asare
Ticket booking link coming soon.

Join us at Castlefield Gallery on Friday 11 April 2025 for Jet Set: Breaking Barriers, a compelling retrospective on the legacy of artist and business owner Denise Douglas Armstrong. As the founder of Jet Set Modelling Agency—one of the first Black-owned businesses in Manchester’s Royal Exchange—Denise played a pivotal role in reshaping the city’s creative and cultural landscape. Through an evening of storytelling, rare archival images, and first-hand accounts from those whose careers and artistic visions she helped to shape, this event will explore the intersections of race, business, and the arts during a defining era.
The evening begins with a contextual introduction before Denise takes the stage to reflect on her groundbreaking work in the 1980s, accompanied by never-before-seen archival imagery and interviews. After an interval, she will return to discuss her current artistic and community-driven practice, culminating in a short reading from her published work. The event concludes with a Q&A session, offering audiences the chance to engage in a vital intergenerational conversation on art, sustainability, and the ongoing movement for equality and equity.

Saturday 12 April, 12-2pm
Live Artist Talks at Castlefield Gallery with Breezy for Creatives Podcast
Hosted by Crónán Creagh and Cameron Laird
Free, book your tickets here

Castlefield Gallery is excited to host a live artist talk on April 12th, presented by Breezy for Creatives, a podcast dedicated to insightful conversations with artists and creative professionals. Hosted by Crónán Creagh and Cameron Laird, this special event will bring together artists and associates from the Castlefield Gallery community to share their experiences, creative processes, and artistic journeys.
This live podcast will provide a unique platform for the artists to discuss their work in an open and relaxed setting, fostering conversations that delve into the nuances of their practice, inspirations, and the evolving creative landscape. As part of Breezy for Creatives’ ongoing series, the event will highlight the intersection between art, community, and professional growth within contemporary creative spaces.