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Tuesday 10am - 5pm Wednesday 10am - 5pm Thursday 10am - 5pm Friday 10am - 5pm Saturday 10am - 5pm Sunday 12pm - 5pm

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esea contemporary, 13 Thomas Street, Manchester (2026)

22/08/2026

📢New event
📰Chris Zhongtian Yuan in Conversation with Valentin Diakonov
🗓️Sunday, 13 September
⏰4–5.30pm

Join us for the finissage of 'Two Improvisations,' featuring a conversation between artist Chris Zhongtian Yuan and Valentin Diakonov, Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art from the Whitworth Art Gallery.

Exploring themes of diasporic practices and making on the move, this conversation will reflect on Yuan's multidisciplinary practice and the ideas that shape 'Two Improvisations.'

Together, Yuan and Diakonov will discuss how migration, cultural memory, storytelling, performance, music, and curatorial practice intersect, considering artistic experimentation as a way of navigating identity and belonging across borders.

The conversation will be followed by an audience Q&A and marks the closing weekend of the exhibition.

🔗Find out more and book your place via the link below: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1996641069186?aff=oddtdtcreator

Chris Zhongtian Yuan: 'Two Improvisations' is generously supported by Arts Council England , Greater Manchester Combined Authority, the British Council ‘Connect Through Culture’ Grant, and Manchester City Council.

Photography by Jules Lister.

20/08/2026

📢Opportunity to participate
🏃'Dance With Me': Digital Bodies, Living Memories with Donald Shek
⏰Apply by Monday, 7 September

Applications are now open to take part in artist Donald Shek's immersive workshop exploring dance, movement, and the act of being through 3D scanning and AI motion capture.

The workshop, which takes place on 20 September, forms part of Shek's forthcoming exhibition, 'Dance With Me,' a new project examining how dance has served as a site of connection beyond the barriers of language. Through themes of nostalgia, belonging, and cultural time-loops, the project offers an intimate exploration of diasporic identity and the ways movement carries memory across generations. The exhibition will be presented at Manchester’s Paradise Works in winter 2026.

No previous dance experience is required to take part in the workshop and people of all generations and abilities are warmly welcomed. Places are limited and will be allocated through a submission process.

🔗Find out more via the link below: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScNTX62jy8m9xUbOD4F_bV6QnaKm69KKabvq1HIJ3GjxuDojQ/viewform?usp=send_form

Image credits:
1. Image courtesy of Donald Shek.
2-3. Puppetry AR Workshop at Rich Mix, London. Photo courtesy of Donald Shek.
4. CAN Workshop at SouthBank Centre. Photo courtesy of Donald Shek.

18/08/2026

Umi Ishihara: ‘Nocturnal Melody’
📅10 October 2026 – 17 January 2027

esea contemporary presents 'Nocturnal Melody,' a solo exhibition by Umi Ishihara, touring from Gasworks.

Combining film and installation, the exhibition unfolds within the transformative space of the night, where women come to life after dark: eyes glowing, claws extended, climbing high.

'Nocturnal Melody' follows the experiences of Eri and Catalina, two dancers based in Tokyo whose lives are fuelled by music, nightlife and desire. They share their stories of childhood, growing up, dreams and politics as we join them in dressing rooms, dancing on stage and in the club, all under a cloak of darkness. In this world, orthodox rules and societal expectations loosen their hold; performance, labour, intimacy and sociality become intertwined in everyday life.

'A rare dive into a shadowy world, moved by sympathy rather than sensationalism.' Chris Hayes, Art Monthly

🔗Find out more about ‘Nocturnal Melody’ via the link below: https://www.eseacontemporary.org/exhibition/umi-ishihara-nocturnal-melody

The exhibition is supported by Japan House London Trust, Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation, Matsuura Arts Foundation, the Kumagai Masatoshi Culture Foundation, the Yoshino Gypsum Art Foundation, Arts Council England, and Greater Manchester Combined Authority.

15/08/2026

'It’s a kind of listening, really, you have to stay open to what the space and the moment are offering you.'

Artist Chris Zhongtian Yuan on the role of improvisation within his artistic process, and how it shaped the making of his current exhibition at esea contemporary.

To learn more, visitors can join a guided tour of 'Two Improvisations' on Saturdays at 2pm. Admission is free to all, with no advance booking required.

🗓️ The exhibition is open every Tuesday to Sunday until 13 September, 2026.

Chris Zhongtian Yuan: 'Two Improvisations' is generously supported by Arts Council England, Greater Manchester Combined Authority, the British Council ‘Connect Through Culture’ Grant, and Manchester City Council.

15/08/2026

‘It’s a kind of listening, really, you have to stay open to what the space and the moment are offering you.’

Artist Chris Zhongtian Yuan on the role of improvisation within his artistic process, and how it shaped the making of his current exhibition at esea contemporary.

To learn more, visitors can join a guided tour of ‘Two Improvisations’ on Saturdays at 2pm. Admission is free to all, with no advance booking required.

🗓️ The exhibition is open every Tuesday to Sunday until 13 September, 2026.

Chris Zhongtian Yuan: ‘Two Improvisations’ is generously supported by Arts Council England , Greater Manchester Combined Authority , the British Council ‘Connect Through Culture’ Grant , and Manchester City Council

14/08/2026

🚨Last chance to book
📰Off Centre: Elsewhere in Practice ‘From Island to Mountain Town’ Online Talk
🗓️Saturday, 15 August
⏰3–4.30pm

Tickets are still available for our online panel discussion with Haoduo Tang from Kindergarten Without Walls, Er Gao (Qiwo He) from Ergao Dance Production Group, Ran Zhou and Yunshan Jiang from Baopu·FELT and Dingyu Hu from the Art Museum of Pond Loach, moderated by curator and writer Binghuang Xu.

The discussion will consider what it means to work where cultural infrastructure, education, social support, and public resources remain limited, and how these conditions continually reshape artistic approaches. Rather than treating such contexts as peripheral, the speakers will reflect on how art becomes a way of making space, building relationships, and responding to local realities.

Find out more and book your ticket via the link below: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1993473933197?aff=oddtdtcreator

This online talk will be streamed via Zoom and all ticketholders will receive a link to join in advance of the event. It will also be recorded for those not able to join live.

This event is the first instalment of esea contemporary's ‘Off Centre: Elsewhere in Practice’ talk series.

Image credits:
1. Ergao Dance Production Group, 'Butterfly Island', 2025, SIDCT China contemporary Dance Biennale. Courtesy of Hu Yifan.

2. Outdoor screening at Baopu·FELT’s partner venue in a Miao village (苗寨) in Shidong (施洞), as part of Language in Action (语言行动): A Peer Learning Retreat, 2026. Courtesy of Baopu·FELT.

3. Electric Scooter Parade during the Art Gong Qi, 2025, Courtesy of Xiao Zhong.

4. Village Banquet of the Art Gong Qi, 2026, Photo courtesy of Gu Qiu.

11/08/2026

📢New event: 'After the Cloud: Rethinking AI Locally' Creative Workshop
🗓️Saturday, 22 August, 1–4pm

Join Curator-in-Residence Milia Xin Bi and creative technologist Haidar Nasralla for an interactive workshop exploring the creative possibilities of locally run artificial intelligence (AI). Together, participants will learn how to build, customise and experiment with AI models that run directly on their own computers, opening up new ways of thinking about creativity, technology and digital autonomy.

Artificial intelligence (AI) does not have to be owned or controlled by large technology companies. In this hands-on, three-hour workshop, participants will learn how to run powerful Large Language Models (LLMs) directly on their own laptops, without relying on cloud-based services. Designed to demystify generative AI, the workshop explores how locally run, open-source models can offer greater transparency, privacy and creative agency.

No prior technical background or experience is needed to attend this workshop, but advance booking is required.

🔗Find out more and reserve your place via the link below: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1993473933197?aff=oddtdtcreator

Image courtesy of Mariem Ekatherina.

08/08/2026

🗣️Meet the speakers: ‘From Island to Mountain Town’ Online Talk
🗓️Saturday, 15 August, 3–4.30pm

The panel for the first instalment of esea contemporary's ‘Off Centre: Elsewhere in Practice’ talk series, exploring how contemporary art is shaped beyond dominant cultural centres, includes:

Dingyu Hu, a curator and director of the Art Museum of Pond Loach (AMPL). Born in Qingyuan County, Zhejiang, she lives and works between Zhejiang and Liaoning, China. Her research and curatorial practice focus on county-based institutional experiments and media art.

Ran Zhou, co-founder and director of Baopu·FELT (Folk Experimental Lab & Transformation). Based between Vancouver, Canada, and Kaili, China, her recent work has focused on developing a practical framework for long-term, field-based artistic research, cultural exchange, and experimental cultural production.

Yunshan Jiang, a multidisciplinary artist and graduate of the Contemporary Art Practice programme at the Royal College of Art, UK. She is currently a project coordinator at Baopu·FELT. Born in Shenyang, a major industrial city in Northeast China, she has recently been developing her artistic practice and research in Southwest China.

The event will be moderated by curator, writer, and researcher Binghuang Xu, and will also feature Haoduo Tang from Kindergarten Without Walls, and Er Gao (Qiwo He) from Ergao Dance Production Group.

🔗Find out more and book your ticket via the link below: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1993473933197?aff=oddtdtcreator

This online talk will be streamed via Zoom and all ticketholders will receive a link to join in advance of the event. It will also be recorded for those not able to join live.

06/08/2026

‘40 Years, 40 Voices’: Charmaine Poh

Charmaine Poh (b. 1990, Singapore) is an artist working between Berlin and Singapore. Through film, photography, performance and media, Poh examines visibility, care and q***r embodiment across Asian contexts. Her work considers how identities are formed, negotiated or withheld, engaging opacity, futurity and practices of repair.

Recent projects explore kinship, intergenerational memory and the entanglements of nature, technology and the body, often combining documentary techniques with staged gestures and speculative imagery.

A co-founder of the independent magazine Jom and member of the Asian Feminist Studio for Art and Research, Poh was named Deutsche Bank’s Artist of the Year 2025 and participated in the 60th Venice Art Biennale. Her work also featured in esea contemporary's recent exhibition, 'Thresholds of Becoming.'

2026 marks esea contemporary’s 40th anniversary year. From our beginnings as a grassroots Chinese Visual Arts Festival to our role today within the UK and European arts landscape, our work has been shaped by listening, convening, and holding space for voices that might otherwise go unheard.

‘40 Years, 40 Voices’ continues this journey.

Shared throughout the year, these voices do not define a single story, but trace the many lived experiences, histories and diasporic imaginaries that shape who we are becoming.

Image credits:
1. Portrait of Charmaine Poh, courtesy of artist. Photography by Mengwen Cao.

2,4, 6-8. Charmaine Poh, The Moon Is Wet (2025), 24:30, 3-channel video installation. Commissioned by PalaisPopulaire. Film still courtesy of the artist.

3. Charmaine Poh, GOOD MORNING BODY, 06:23, Single-channel video.Film still courtesy of the artist.

5. Photography by Jules Lister.

04/08/2026

🗣️Meet the speakers: ‘From Island to Mountain Town’ Online Talk
🗓️Saturday, 15 August, 3–4.30pm BST

The first event in our new talk and editorial series, ‘Off Centre: Elsewhere in Practice’, is an online panel discussion bringing together practitioners from four independent art organisations across China.

Our moderator, Binghuang Xu is a curator, writer, and researcher based in Guangzhou, China, where she co-runs Making Space. Her practice centres on socially engaged art, ecological art, diasporic perspectives, and alternative education. Through fieldwork, writing, exhibitions, workshops, and long-term collaborations, she explores how artistic practice can respond to historical rupture and rebuild relationships between people, places, and forms of knowledge.

Qiwo He, known professionally as Er Gao, was born in 1985 in Yangjiang, Guangdong, and is now based between Guangzhou and Zuotan Village, Shunde. He is the founder of the Ergao Dance Production Group (EDPG). Er Gao's artistic practice explores the intersections of identity, gender, and culture, weaving fleeting moments of togetherness into what he describes as a 'Trans-family'—a gathering across fluid space-times, or an 'interdisciplinary fluid family'.

Haoduo Tang is an artist, junior high school art teacher, member of the École Psychanalytique du Savoir-y-faire, founder of Banban Grocery Store, and initiator of Kindergarten Without Walls. His socially engaged practice focuses on the growth, education, and wellbeing of children from disadvantaged backgrounds through localised, site-responsive community art.

They’ll be joined by Ran Zhou and Yunshan Jiang from Baopu·FELT, and Dingyu Hu from the Art Museum of Pond Loach.

🔗Find out more and book your ticket via the link below: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1993473933197?aff=oddtdtcreator

This online talk will be streamed via Zoom and all ticketholders will receive a link to join in advance of the event. It will also be recorded for those not able to join live.

esea contemporary

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Tuesday	10am - 5pm
Wednesday	10am - 5pm
Thursday	10am - 5pm
Friday	10am - 5pm
Saturday	10am - 5pm
Sunday	12pm - 5pm