Just over an hour from Leeds, you'll find a huge Banksy exhibition inside a purpose-built space in Greater Manchester.
Opening this month, with tickets on sale now, this is going to be well worth the trip across to the North West.
The Art of Banksy event will take over a 1,200 sq metre structure in the heart of MediaCityUK, celebrating one of the world’s most famous artists, reports The Manc.
It’s set to open on the Piazza space on 21 October and will remain until 8 January 2023.
With his iconic street art-style work including Balloon Girl, Kissing Coppers and Flower Thrower, not to mention paintings like Show Me The Monet, Banksy is up there with the most influential artists of all time.Â
The massive new art event, presented in partnership with HOME, will feature 145 authenticated Banksy works from 2002 to 2017, on display in a way not possible in a museum or gallery.Â
Banksy's Show Me The Monet. Credit: Sothebys
It will also include an extremely rare Banksy art work, Leopard and Barcode, whichhasn’t been publicly seen for more than a decade.
The piece was originally sprayed onto the side of a house near Bristol, but after being saved from demolition work by a local architect, spent years wrapped in a blanket under a spare bed.Â
The Art of Banksy will show how art has the power to affect social change, inspire the public and lay bare the undercurrents of social issues.Â
It will be at the Piazza in MediaCityUK between 21 October 2022 and 8 January 2023.
The exhibition has been produced by GTP Exhibitions Ltd and will be presented by The Art of Banksy Touring Ltd in association with HOME. The exhibition is not curated or authorised by Banksy.
Tickets for The Art of Banksy are priced from £19.50 (concessions available) and can be booked online at artofbanksy.co.uk or over the phone, on 0343 208 1838.
Yard Act are back as they announce first round of UK headline dates since 2024.
We are so, so back.
It's been a few years, but Yard Act have just announced a small selection of UK gigs for later in the year including a homecoming gig at the O2 Academy on Friday 6 November.
The dates follow the band’s first show of the year at the 6Music Festival this Friday across The Pennines in Manchester.
After Leeds, the lads will be performing shows at the O2 Victoria Warehouse on Friday 13 November before making their way down south to the O2 Academy in Brixton on Thursday 26Â November.
Images: The Hoot Leeds
Yard Act completed the touring for their critically acclaimed second album Where’s My Utopia? with a victory lap back home at the 5000 capacity Millennium Square in Leeds in August 2024.
It was a record that brought a stark change of pace to the acerbic, post-punk of their debut, embracing something altogether more playful and bringing a different energy. It shifted the dynamic on stage too, with the addition of dancing backing singers and additional musicians and openly challenged listeners to reconsider who they thought Yard Act were.  Since then, the band have remained active, whether writing Where’s My Utopia’s follow-up on scratching the itch to get back on stage, heading out across the UK and Europe with The Hives, which was preceded by an intimate one-off show at Blackpool Tower last May.  Following a lengthy stint in the studio, the band now look to the Autumn for three big UK dates and we cannot wait.
Tickets go on artist presale from 10am on Wednesday 25 March before hitting general sale at 10am on Friday 27Â March. Sign up here.
Viral brunch cafe Acai and the Tribe is coming to Leeds city centre this spring
Clementine Hall
Leeds health nuts assemble, because acai bowls and superfood smoothies are coming to a city near you.
Incase you've been living under a rock for the past year or so, you may not be clued up on the whole acai bowl trend that has been sweeping up the nation.
Acai is a super berry grown and harvested in the Amazon rainforest, and not only is it absolutely delicious but it has a myriad of health benefits.
Acai and the Tribe first opened four years ago in Manchester, and ever since then it's only gone from strength to strength opening up three other locations across the country.
Images: The Manc Group
Next stop? Leeds. And we couldn't be happier about it.
So, what can we expect from this aesthetically-pleasing and ultra trendy female-owned business? Well, loaded acai bowls that look almost too good to eat, superfood smoothies, coffees, matcha and savoury options like avocado toast.
Announcing the very exciting news to Instagram, Acai and the Tribe said: "You asked, we listened. LEEDS… your new lifestyle arrives soon."
They will be opening on 88 Vicar Lane as part of the Vicar Lane regeneration scheme, which has already scene some great new restaurants being announced such as Sticks'n'Sushi and Dishoom.
It seems like this part of town is suddenly going to be the place to be, and we're very happy to see it.
We'll keep you updated with opening dates as and when we know more but for now, you can find out more about Acai and the Tribe here.
The Hoot -
14th October 2022 
