Manchester International Festival
I went to the Whitworth Art Gallery and Manchester Art Gallery to see the exhibitions they were showing as part of MIF.

I was looking forward to visiting the Whitworth as I knew that they were showing Projections: Works from The Artangel Collection, and as a big fan of Artangel it was exciting to have a show of their works in Manchester. In particular I was keen to see Francis Alys' Seven Walks as I have read much about this project but only seen some of the pieces in his solo show that I saw last year in London.

Another work I was excited to see after reading about it but never having seen it in real life was Tony Oursler's Time Machine which was held every evening between 8pm-11pm in the park next to the gallery. 

There was a real buzz the night that I attended, with lots of people milling around in the dark, all seeming quite excited. For me, I really enjoyed how engaging this work seemed to be for people and I know a lot of people who attended this but did not visit the gallery. As an artist who works outside in the public domain, it is this kind of reaction to art that excites me.

At Manchester Art Gallery they were showing '11 Rooms'. Each of the 11 rooms had some form of performance art piece or 'live art' show happening within it. Although I am extremely shy of anything where I may be asked to join in, I found that my confidence built as we walked around and it was a completely unique experience that I think will stay with me in away that perhaps more traditional modes of art may not.

http://mif.co.uk/