Creative Tourist - Obsessive Collecting Disorder: The Living Room at Chinese Arts Centre

"If the old maxim “Know what you like and like what you know” holds true, then was no way I wasn’t going to like The Living Room at the Chinese Arts Centre. From marbles in the playground to stamps and comic books, collecting has always been a part of my life. If it weren’t for the fear of being recruited for a future episode of Britain’s Biggest Hoarders, I may not be able to keep my OCD (Obsessive Collecting Disorder) in check at all."

Creative Tourist - Obsessive Collecting Disorder: The Living Room at Chinese Arts Centre

Published 04/07/2013

Creative Tourist - All Star Lanes: Retro ten pin bowling arrives in Manchester

"If you’re anything like me, then bowling (ten pin, not crown green) has always been equal shares cool and disappointing; trapped somewhere between a 1950s Happy Days vibe and the industrial estate reality of the Megabowl. Pop-up Pin-Up Bowling Lanes came to Spinningfields a couple of years ago, complete with rock n’ roll American diner and milkshakes, and when it did, I could only think one thing: why can’t bowling be like this all the time?"

Creative Tourist - All Star Lanes: Retro ten pin bowling arrives in Manchester

Published 14/03/2013

Creative Tourist - Things to do in Manchester: life drawing, burlesque & a doctor in the house.

"One of the great things about living in Manchester is that you turn any corner and you’ll stumble upon an evening of art, theatre or music. But what about a night that combines all three? My visit to Dr. Sketchy Manchester on a dark November evening was that rare triptych of entertainment: life drawing and burlesque, set to a punk/alt-pop soundtrack. Organised by local artist Lee Crocker, Doctor Sketchy is the Manchester branch of a self-styled “Anti-Art School” founded in Brooklyn in 2005. The idea rapidly spread to 100 cities across the world, its aim simple (and apparently universally appreciated): to make life drawing fun again by taking it out of the classroom and by replacing traditional life models with burlesque performers."

Creative Tourist - Things to do in Manchester: life drawing, burlesque & a doctor in the house.

Published 13/02/2013