Today's exciting Creative Lab artist is the superb Alison Matthews, external, who, inspired by our David Lynch exhibition My Head Is Disconnected, has created a piece entitled, Bobby, Lunch is Darkness (He Put His Dream Place Inside the Frame). Alison’s work is an unflinching feminist reading of female characterisation within David Lynch’s work.

Image source, MIF

In her own words:

My piece responds in part to the David Lynch programme at HOME (and its title, My Head is Disconnected). I collaborated with several algorithms to explore, remix and write into and out of lines spoken by Lynch's female characters in Mulholland Drive, Twin Peaks and Blue Velvet. I then staged these in a bespoke mini model-box theatre, created specifically for this video performance.

I'm interested in responding to Lynch from a feminist perspective and expanding on the dream logic at work in his films by using artificially intelligent algorithms. The result, Bobby, Lunch is Darkness (He Put His Dream Place Inside the Frame) is an eerie dreamworld of my own, in which the two performers (Woman 1 and Woman 2) speak to each other across a chasm, haunted by figures just offscreen.

The work is now online in full, make a brew and dive in.

Guidance warning: Contains adult themes

You can follow Alison on Twitter, external, Instagram, external, or check out her portfolio here, external.

With so many influences at her fingertips - from classical, to religious, to pop to electronica - it can be difficult to see how the obscenely talented Hatis Noit balances her craft.

According to an interview with Ravelin, external, it's actually a lack of balance that brings it all together. When asked how she brings together all her influences, she had this to say:

Our host for this evening is the phenomenal Chrysta Bell, external - long time musical collaborator with our main man David Lynch. Together, the two have released two albums - This Train in 2011 and Somewhere In The Nowhere in 2016. Feel free to dive into her dreamy discography, we couldn't possibly expect you to resist:

Stay right here, for an evening of dreamy, haunting, entirely unique music, inspired by the works of visionary director David Lynch, and hosted by his long time collaborator Chrysta Bell.

For those who don't know, Festival In My House, external invites Manchester and Greater Manchester residents to host their own micro-international festival at home - giving them support with set-up, hosting as well as budget towards putting it on.

We were lucky enough to host a Festival In My House takeover in our beloved Festival Square - from Flamenco to Ukrainian dance, we were overjoyed to celebrate the variety of cultures that make up our beautiful city. Take a look:

You can see the full Festival Square line-up here., external

Studio Orka's beautiful production Tuesday, external is open until the end of the festival (21 July), exploring what it is that makes our own individual journeys through life beautiful, unique and meaningful.

Perfect for kids and their adults alike, take a look at the trailer, and feel some feelings.

Find out more about Tuesday here., external

Everyone's a critic, eh?

Intrepid students from Newell Green High school went along to see David Lynch's exhibition My Head Is Disconnected, external over at HOME and came away with some properly brilliant responses. You can see the entire lot of them here, external, but below are some of our favourites:

Raiba:

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Faith:

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Alexia:

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Libby:

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Caitlyn:

A true story of a disconnected head,One language of a head, one language for a bodyCharcoal covered picture, hold messages from dark worldsBeautiful stories lay on walls, words with a curtain of truth lay withAn open, colourful scene, “no place like HOME”,A world where reality is combined with fiction Arranged in similar waysMake your own meaning, to begin your storyA magnificent show of the truthA story through painting and charcoal My opinion is a positive thingA brilliant display it was A show for 12+A 4 out of 5 stars.My head is disconnected A head in an open world of art A body stuck in the fear of expectationsA true story of a disconnected head“My head is disconnected“

Want to add your voices to the fray? Get down to HOME, external, and see the exhibition for yourselves. Don't forget your paints - and make sure you tag @MIFestival, external with the results!

Tonight is the final show in our three-night David Lynch Presents series, external, and we're overjoyed to be able to stream it live right here.

Musician and longtime David Lynch associate Chrysta Bell , external(who will also be taking over our Instagram, external) will be joined by two of today’s most inventive musicians for two completely unique sets.

First up, astonishing Japanese vocalist Hatis Noit , externalwill be taking to the stage, bringing their singluar and unique performance, blending Japanese classical music to avant-garde pop.

And then glorious cellist Oliver Coates, external will be knocking our Twin-Peaks-themed socks off with his fusion of classical and electronic (did you know he received the highest mark ever given to a graduating student from the Royal Academy of Music, external? Us neither, god bless the sacred art of Googling Cellists).

He's already reduced members of staff to tears with just a sound-check, so that bodes well.

It promises to be a properly electrifying evening, rounding off our homage to the great man himself: David Lynch.

See you here at 19:30 BST, for some dark, glorious glamour.

One week left and you're ready to shake things up. Luckily, so are we.

Did one live team member sign their contract purely because she was promised "a cow dressed as the mayor" as part of Animals Of Manchester, external? It's impossible to say. But yes I did.

So now that you're officially bored by unbelievable installations, external, world-renowned actors, external, free gigs, external all day, one-in-a-lifetime exhibitions, external and Dan's digestive intake, external, it's time to see what's on offer in the final week. You guys don't give us a single break, do you?

Thank You Very Much, external

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Choreographer Claire Cunningham and her ensemble of leading disabled performers invite you to join them for a drink at a Cheetham Hill social club as they pull back the curtain on the glittering and mysterious world of the professional tribute artist.

I think we can all agree that if there's one thing this festival has been lacking, it's a competent Elvis impression. We're so excited to watch these brilliant performers pull on their sparkling costumes to ask: who have we been trying to be all our lives?

Opens Wednesday, external, and runs until Saturday. We'll see you there.

DYSTOPIA987, external

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Now there's almost no point talking about this event, external, as it's entirely sold out - this is in effect simply us boasting about it. But come on, you can't blame us: a custom-built secret location, a collision of tech and grime, special guests, top secret surprises and a journey into a dark and riveting world - this show is single-handedly making me cool, and all I'm doing is writing words about it.

For those who have tickets, game on. For those who don't, our apologies.

Queens Of The Electronic Underground, external

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MIF Champ Mary Anne Hobbs (BBC Radio 6 Music) brings together five of the most exciting electronic artists on the planet for an evening of pioneering sound and breathtaking visuals. Here's the woman herself, talking more about her lineup:

Animals Of Manchester (Including Humanz), external

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It's rare that I just want to copy and paste the blurb for a show straight out, without adding some level of adorable whimsy - but come on, just look at this:

There’ll be a palace for mice and for humans, a film studio run by beetles, a hedgehog hospital, a conference of animals led by a cow, living memorials for extinct species, a Bestiary Beauty Parlour and a Life Art Library honouring animals as artists and performers.

A film studio run by beetles! How have we waited all our lives for this? Perfect for kids, big kids, and non-humans alike, Animals Of Manchester is taking over a lot of locations, hoping to explore the relationships between our animal friends, and how we can all feel more connected to each-other as a result.

Animals of Manchester runs over the final weekend (20-21 July) - lights, camera, beetles.

For the full line-up this coming week, go here, and don't miss out., external

You've got just one more opportunity to see acclaimed choreographer Trajal Harrell's Maggie The Cat, external at the Lowry tonight.

So, what's it all about?

'Troubled but tough, unloved but unbowed, Maggie the Cat is the captivating focus of Tennessee Williams’Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. Now, acclaimed American choreographer Trajal Harrell places Maggie centre stage in his magnetic new dance work, a dazzling and provocative fusion of high art and pop culture'

Intrigued? Take a peek at the teaser trailer, and find out if it's your sort of jam:

It's safe to say audiences have absolutely loved it, regardless of knowledge or experience of dance. Essentially, it just seems like a great night out. We would use the word purrfect, but it's beneath all of us.

One show to go! Find out more right here., external

Having absolutely adored Laurie Anderson's VR experience To The Moon, external (flying! exploding stars! a bit with a horse!), we wanted to give you the inside scoop as told by the artist herself.

In this interview with Mary Anne Hobbs she talks about creating her dystopic, dreamy world, her collaboration with Hsin-Chien Huang, and why it's still important that we all occasionally look up.

You can book to experience it for yourself right here, external, and we strongly recommend you do.

We're absolutely honoured to present the whole conversation between poet Lemn Sissay, external and Kenyan author Ngugi wa Thiong’o, external, as part of our Interdependence, external talks.

Ngugi tells the story of his influential career, explores questions of writing and identity, and - like everyone who visits our beautiful city - is baffled by just how much it rains.

Take half an hour out, and listen to these fantastic men talk - inspiring, rousing and fascinating.

We have one day of Interdepedence left this coming Saturday, on the topic of Life Hacked, external - take a look at the full programme, and come along.

It's another day of absolutely free business in our beautiful Festival Square, and the perfect place to spend a lazy Sunday. Plus, you can always guarantee some spectacular dogs.

Take a look at the lineup below, and learn more about all our acts here, external.

We assume you're all only just cracking the curtains after a wonderful night dancing away to local legend Dave Haslem in Festival Square, external, so we'll try to use the smallest words we can. In short: yay Sunday! But, also, shhh.

First of all, for our official How To weekend guide, you can Go Here - but if you're looking for a more gentle approach, we've got you covered.

I want...

A small wander about

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Silence except for the comforting echo of footsteps? We've got exhibitions that are perfect for you. If you want bleak, dark art we recommend the David Lynch retrospective over at HOME, external, or for a meaningful exploration of home and loss, head over to Ibrahim Mahama's A Parliament Of Ghosts, external. For those who want to stretch their legs, take a look at our walking tours, external, and learn more about our glorious city.

I want...

To have a small adventure

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Look, you'd like to do something, sure - just nothing too exhausting. We recommend taking a look at our spellbinding Atmospheric Memory, external, an installation that explores what thoughts, words and ideas are contained within the air around us. You might also love To The Moon, external - a dreamy, surreal VR experience created by legendary artist Laurie Anderson.

If all else fails, just get down to Festival Square , external- we've got free music, delicious food and activities throughout the day.

I want...

To not leave the house

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Not even a problem. We've all been there. How about instead, you take a wander through a mysterious world from the safety of your very couch - play our game Songs Of The Lost, external, created by Paloma Dawkins, absolutely free. We're more than happy to bring the very strange party to you.

It's Sunday. Sink into it.

We've got an absolutely stellar line-up for you in Festival Square, external tonight, with performances from Liam Frost, Phoebe Green, ARGH KiD, OneDa and Chini from Mouse Outfit.

BBC Introducing Manchester will be broadcasting live, and you can listen to it here from 20:00 BST. Perfect Saturday night listening.

It's 2019, what else can we do but laugh, eh?

Brilliant, self-proclaimed 'black sheep' Sophie Duker, external talked to us about her regular night Wacky Racists, external, how we have to tackle prejudice straight on, and how as a "triple threat" (a woman, a minority and not identifying as straight), she has to curtail her own expression of anger...

She then introduced the wonderful Mary O'Connell, whose set about pretty privilege, lunging and why office working isn't for her was wonderful, not to mention riddled with language that mean it will absolutely never get streamed on our live page. Which is a shame. Because she's great.

Finally, it takes a brave woman to perform burlseque at 4pm on a Saturday afternoon, and Pippa Sa - in her guise as Maiden Gyyna, was that brave woman.

Thanks again to gal-dem, external for bringing us these fierce, funny and brilliant women to their Interdependence session - it was a pleasure.

What can we learn from the previous generations of activists?

Seasoned activists Angela Lawrence , externaland Rhoda Dakar , external- known for their brilliant community work - chatted to local activists Nia Mack and Katie Cosgrave about the lessons that can be passed down between those looking to build a better world.

Inspiring, hilarious, warm and determined, it was an honour to be there.

Jade Jackman, external and Akinola Davies, external are both amazing filmmakers, discussing realism and perspective within their respective works, led by Gal Dem's Kemi Alemoru, external.

We've opened the afternoon with a super conversation between Emma Dabiri, external, author of Don't Touch My Hair, external, and Gal-Dem's editorial lead Charlie Brinkhurst-Cuff, external.

We've gone into a close look at Studio Creole, external, with the creators and translators. Speaking here are Adam Thirwell and John Collins who instigated the Studio Creole project, as well as Japanese writer Sakuya Murata and translator Emiko Murakami, plus actress Lisa Dawn and writer Frederico Martelli, all of whom have been integral parts of the Studio Creole production. It's a big one.

The technology and performance within this project sound so exciting, great insights.