What's On
An immersive light show featuring projected birds ‘flying’ across buildings is touring Manchester and Salford
Make sure you don’t miss this!
The travelling art installation Mystery Bird has officially landed in our city, bringing a magical story to the people of Salford and Manchester. The tour will take place over the coming days, visiting families and residential homes across the city.
The travelling ’show’ has been created by a collection of artists from the North West whose combined skills in model-making, projection, design, sound, augmented reality and even beatboxing have brought this spectacular piece to life.
The Mystery Bird is a giant birdcage filled with projected birds and accompanied by a bespoke soundscape, which will be released to ‘fly’ across buildings, trees and the streets of Greater Manchester.
Chris Payne
In addition to the Mystery Bird travelling installation, Quays Culture worked with artist Jack Hardiker to create a special free Instagram filter so users can welcome the birds into their own homes and gardens via their mobiles.
Using the filter, Quays Culture are also asking for the public to share a video of their own Mystery Bird experience that will be collated into a community film to share the joy of the experience with the nation.
To get involved follow these steps:
- Open the filter via the Quays Culture Instagram and record the birds flying around you.
- Make bird sounds to release more birds!
- Save the video to your camera roll and email to mysterybird@quaysculture.com
- Tag @quayscultureuk in your IG videos #mysterybird
The idea has taken inspiration from the public’s heightened awareness of nature during the pandemic, offering solace, comfort, motivation and relaxation.
Programme Producer at Quays Culture, and Co-Creator of Mystery Bird, Jude Jagger said of the project: “So many people mentioned enjoying birds, listening to birdsong and getting involved with nature in general during the first lockdown.”
Co-Creator Gemma Saunders added: “Despite Covid-19 being devastating there are some aspects of this situation that have made us re-focus on important factors in our lives. We want to play that back to people and deliver an ‘art at your front door’ wonder that will be truly special.”
Manchester based beatboxer and vocal sculptor Singh is best known for the Tweet Music album, commissioned by the National Trust after research found that listening to bird song before you are twelve makes people calmer and boosts positivity. And indeed, listening to bird song is relaxing, soothing and a re-connect to nature for all age groups.
This latest work features endangered birds on the RSPB list and local birds like the Willow Tit (a regular in Wigan), Grasshopper Warbler, Lapwing, tree Sparrows, Starlings plus ‘saved’ birds like the Peregrine Falcon intertwined by his electronic score, creating the sounds, rhythms and feelings of bird song. This premiere performance will be broadcast from the travelling installation.
“This work celebrates all birds, big and small; birds with personalities, displayers, the gangster birds as I call them – the sparrows; birds that people aren’t familiar with. I hope my work will connect everyone to the amazing creatures in our life that perhaps we haven’t noted until now,” said Singh.
Chris Payne
The birds themselves have been created by artist Helen Musselwhite. She said: “I have worked with these six birds, some of whom aren’t commonly known, to show their personality, their lives and their passions. I show the birds in flight, banking, swooping, flying and static. I have ‘lived’ these birds for months and want to share their story. It is the story of us all at present; a feeling of being trapped, unsure, not able to be free – that is the Mystery Bird story.”
Helen worked with animators Illuminos to make the birds ‘come to life’, and Jack Hardiker has produced an Augmented Reality element for the public to interact with.
Rob Vale and Matt Vale, from Illuminos, are tasked with bringing the birds to life. They have spent months studying the six birds to then animate them realistically.
Chris Payne
“It has been fascinating to watch the movements of the group as they are so different,” said Illuminos director Rob. “The Willow Tit for example is a nervous jumpy bird. It jumps around and then perches. The Grasshopper Warbler sits with its head down and makes a strange insect noise then leaps straight ahead and starts it’s strange performance over again.”
“The Starlings are so interesting too,” said Matt. “They run and rattle about then hop around. The characters of the birds are so different and it has been incredible to bring them to life.”
The team at Illuminos had the huge challenge of how to present the birds in a cage, fabricated by M3 Industries, with a 360 degree viewing programme whilst travelling on a moving vehicle.
Mystery Bird is on until this Sunday, December 13th, and will be touring neighbourhoods in Salford and Manchester so keep your eyes peeled.
Keep up to date on the Mystery Bird website, or on Quays Culture’s socials, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
What's On
Huge ’80s vs ’90s music festival featuring Vengaboys, 911, Five and more coming to Manchester
The ultimate event for pop music nostalgia
All your favourite music acts from the ’80s and ’90s are set to make an epic comeback at a new music festival here in Manchester.
Now, there’s no disputing that the music born from these two decades is perhaps the best and most iconic the world has to offer – so the idea of an entire music festival built upon it sounds a little too good to be true, doesn’t it?
The ‘80s V ’90s Festival will be taking over the Bowlers Exhibition Centre where a number of iconic acts from the (you guessed it) 1980s and 1990s will be going head-to-head to put on the show of your lives.
Bowlers Manchester / Facebook
Nostalgic artists confirmed for the line up include the Vengaboys, Five, Limahal, Chesney Hawkes, 911, Lee Latchford Evans, Andi Peters, Samantha Fox and Gary Davies.
Throughout the event, guests will be able to meet and greet the artists, so make sure you get an old school poster ready to sign for those real ’80s and ’90s vibes.
And this line up isn’t the only blast from the past in store for the event – there will also be a number of vendors in attendance who will be selling retro garms and goods.
@vengaboys / Instagram
Sound good?
Well, luckily for you tickets are on sale now! To buy your own, head here.
The festival will be taking place at the Bowlers Exhibition Centre on Saturday January 29th, 2022 between 2pm – 11pm. All guests must provide valid ID proving they are over the age of eighteen.
What's On
You can now spend the night at a haunted museum sleeping in a bodybag
This experience is not for the faint-hearted…
Calling all horror fans: You can now spend the night sleeping in a bodybag in an actual haunted museum.
Held at the Haunted Museum and Spirit Shop Stoke in Fenton, Stoke-on-Trent, the popular Ghost Hunters of Stoke team will be giving keen ghost-hunters the opportunity to partake in their very own ghost hunt.
They are offering visitors guided tours, tarot card readings, a seance and spirit board sessions and haunted sleepovers – with the chance to sleep in an actual bodybag, too.
Ghost Hunters of Stoke on Trent / Facebook
The museum boasts ghostly artefacts from all over the world, including a poltergeist mirror containing the spirit of a ‘little girl and a shadow person’ and a replica of the famous Annabelle Doll.
Business owners and long-time ghost hunters Craig Longson and Jason Dean wanted to create somewhere that could put Stoke-on-Trent on the map as a paranormal destination.
Craig told Stoke on Trent Live: “I’ve always wanted to open something like this… We took on the building five weeks ago, and a lot of hard work has gone into turning it into what you see now. We want to give people the wow factor.
“Whether you’re part of an investigations team, or a member of the public, there will always be team members on hand to help. We’ve got the most advanced equipment from all across the world, so we can give everyone the ultimate experience, all under one roof.”
Ghost Hunters of Stoke on Trent / Facebook
Lead investigator Justine Farley also added: “With the space that we’ve got, we’ve got the opportunity to change things up quite regularly, if we want to. As we get new artefacts, we can move things around and add new things. Our team have also got such unique ideas so we can keep things fresh.”
And for any skeptics out there, the ghost hunters themselves claim to have witnessed genuine paranormal activity in the building. Craig said: “Occasionally… It depends what happens. If you’re in a pitch black room and you see something or feel something.”
Justine added: “We’ve all felt that shiver from the top of your head, all the way down to your toes. When we’ve witnessed things like the pram moving on our live video, it made us all go completely cold. It’s a heavy pram, with metal wheels. Witnessing something like that is just amazing.”
You can find out more about The Haunted Museum and Spirit Shop on Facebook, and also keep up to date with the latest investigations from Ghost Hunters of Stoke-on-Trent on Facebook and YouTube.
What's On
The Cube Live Experience is coming to the Arndale if you’re up to the challenge
Know anyone who could take this on?
A live experience version of the hit ITV gameshow The Cube is set to land at Manchester’s Arndale, new plans have revealed today.
First airing back in 2009, The Cube sees contestants complete a variety of physically and mentally challenging tasks from within a 4m × 4m × 4m perspex cube in order to win a top prize of £250,000.
The show has proven to be a huge hit among viewers at home and now, they will get the chance to compete in the famed cube themselves.
Urban Playground
Urban Playground, the entertainment complex nestled within the Arndale, has announced that The Cube Live Experience will be coming to the shopping centre for guests to partake in their very own gameshow.
The Cube Live will feature a whole array of the most popular games and challenges from the original TV series, and will allow teams of up to four to compete as both single and two players.
According to Urban Playground, participants will have to ‘overcome extreme nerves and intense pressure’ to take on the ‘deceptively simple’ tasks.
Urban Playground
The Cube Live will also come with its very own Cube Bar for participants to enjoy a celebratory drink after their challenge (or one to soften the blow of being defeated by a Cube, in some instances.)
While it is known that The Cube Live Experience will definitely be located in the Arndale, further details surrounding the exact location and opening date are yet to be revealed.
But to be the first to hear news and updates on the opening date and ticket sales, register your interest here.
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