Middlesbrough Art Week

Middlesbrough Art Week is back for its 6th edition and takes place across the town from Thursday 28th September to Saturday 7th October. Formerly known as the Weekender, MAW now extends to a full week of exhibitions, talks, workshops, performances, events and exciting public interventions. This years’ MAW programme presents over 120 artists made up of regional, national and international artists, So what can folks expect to stumble across this year…..?

Programme Highlights:
Japanese artist Saeborg creates latex body suits as extensions of her own skin, deploying them in
performances. Motivated by her strong desire to transcend fixed identities (such as gender) and
even the human body itself, she dons bodysuits that caricature sows or insects as toy-like figures,
creating playful dystopias composed of the ecosystem’s basest creatures. For MAW23, Saeborg
will present their inflatable sculpture Pigpen and also perform at Middlesbrough Art Weeks’ closing
party on Saturday 7th October.

Local photographer Jason Hynes and winner of Portrait of Britain 2020 continues his project
Hometown during this year’s festival. Hometown is all about photographing the people of
Middlesbrough, 200 in total, in the run up to the town’s bicentenary. During the festival, five
portraits over 4m high to be showcased in Centre Square on a specially designed structure. For
folk that want to get more involved, the MAW team will be on hand during the festival to sign
people up for their own portrait.

Summat for the Bairns was the breakout success of MAW last year and is back at MAW23 for
another week of free, creative, playful workshops. Happening at Pineapple Black (Hillstreet
Shopping Centre, Primark entrance) with multiple workshop stations, kids of all ages can get
creative and maybe just a little bit messy. Expect Polaroid Photography, Soap Sculptures, Brick
Building, Drawing, Painting and a whole lot of creative fun.

TISH / Paul Sng
“Tish celebrates the vision and profound humanism of the artist Tish Murtha, a
photographer whose powerful imagery captured the essence of working-class
communities. Directed by Paul Sng (Poly Styrene: I Am A Cliche, Dispossession), this
documentary unveils the life experiences, struggles, and achievements of Murtha,
questioning the value placed on art and artists from working class roots – as well as
following Tish’s daughter Ella, in her drive to preserve her mother’s legacy.”
Tish will be screened at The International Centre in Middlesbrough on Oct 4th followed by
a Q&A with Jen Corcoran & Guests.