Delaine Le Bas: Un-Fair-Ground | Exhibition Preview

This is your opportunity for a first look at this stunning exhibition before it opens to the public, and to step into Le Bas’ world of folklore, mythology and witchcraft. Featuring striking new works alongside iconic and rarely seen drawings, paintings and textiles from the Whitworth’s collection, Un-Fair-Ground is immersive, theatrical and deeply atmospheric.

📅 Thursday 12 February 2026

⏰ 6pm - 8pm

🍸 Bar opens from 5.30pm

What to expect

• A first look at Delaine Le Bas: Un-Fair-Ground
• Music throughout the evening, including a specially-curated set by DJ Lazlorrobot
• Drinks available from the bar
• A welcoming, celebratory opening-night atmosphere
• At 6pm, the evening begins with a short live performance by the artist with two performers*
  *Please note: capacity for the performance is extremely limited and entry is first come, first served.

Programme

• 5.30pm - Bar opens and music
• 6pm – Performance by artist (prompt start)
• 8pm - Preview ends
  

Important Information

• Please arrive early. The performance starts promptly at 6pm, and due to limited capacity in the performance gallery, latecomers will not be admitted.
• Once the performance has completed all visitors will be able to explore the space freely.
• Access note: The Parkside entrance will be closed due to winter evening hours, please access the gallery through our Oxford Road entrance.
• Paid bar available.
  

Exhibition information

Delaine Le Bas: Un-Fair-Ground

Preview: 12 February

Opens 13 February – 31 May 2026

Find out more: https://www.whitworth.manchester.ac.uk/whats-on/exhibitions/delaine-le-bas/

Image credit

Delaine Le Bas Un-Fair-Ground detail at Un-Fair-Ground Glastonbury Festival 2024. Courtesy of the artist, ISOR CIC, RTA Collection. Delaine Le Bas was assisted by Rose Waudby. Photographer: Stephen Devine.

About the venue

The Whitworth is a venue with level access throughout, and facilities to support you during your visit. Alongside this our visitor team will be on hand to assist you in the gallery. Find out more about planning your visit to the Whitworth and accessibility information for you.

If you’d like to speak to a team member about any access or additional needs, please get in touch with the gallery and we will be happy to assist you. Email [email protected] or telephone 0161 275 7450.

About the artist

Delaine Le Bas (1965 Worthing, UK) studied at St. Martin's School of Art, London. A practising artist since 1988, she works with fabrics, film, performance, painting, photography and sculpture, creating large-scale immersive installations. She was one of sixteen artists who formed ‘Paradise Lost’ at the First Roma Pavilion at the Venice Biennale, 2007. She worked with her late husband, artist Damian Le Bas (1963-2017), on the installations ‘Safe European Home?’ and ‘Frontier De Luxe’. In 2017, they collaborated on the stage designs, costumes and texts for ‘Roma Armee’, Maxim Gorki Theatre, Berlin.

In 2015, she created the ongoing installation and performance work ‘Romani Embassy’. Her works were shown in the Prague Biennale in 2005 & 2007, the Venice Biennale in 2007, 2017, and 2023, the Gwangju Biennale in 2012, Critical Contemplations at Tate Modern in 2017, and the ANTI Athens Biennale in 2018. She has participated in all of the Berlin Herbstsalons, most recently in 2025.

In 2022, Le Bas was commissioned by Tate Liverpool for ‘Radical Landscapes’. She presented ‘The House of Le Bas Established: 1984’ at the Whitechapel Gallery Archive in 2023. Site-specific installation ‘Incipit Vita Nova’ was created for Secession Vienna in 2023. A major solo show, ‘Delainia17071965Unfolding’ opened at Tramway for Glasgow International in 2024. Delaine Le Bas was a nominee for the 40th Turner Prize, showing a new version of ‘Incipit Vita Nova’ at Tate Britain, London, from September 2024 to February 2025.

In 2025, Le Bas was in residence at ‘The White House’, Dagenham, for Create London, making the installation and performance work ‘A Stranger In Silver, Walking On Air’ and presented a solo exhibition of new work ‘+Fabricating My Own Myth Red Threads & Silver Needles’ at Newcastle Contemporary Art. She presented a solo booth installation at Frieze London, and she is an artist in residence at Celle Ligure in Genoa. In 2026, she will present ‘Un-Fair-Ground’ at the Whitworth in Manchester.

Public collections include The British Council, Musée des civilisations de lʼEurope et de la Méditerranée (MUCEM) and Brighton Museum and Art Gallery. The scenography, sculptural furniture, figures and performative elements of Delaine Le Bas’ installation works are supported by furniture designer and maker of objects, Lincoln Cato. She is represented by Yamamoto Keiko Rochaix.

About the performers

About Ronke Osinowo - performer Ronke Osinowo (b.1973) is a British Nigerian artist based in London. Raised in a Romany household, their multidisciplinary practice spans written text, imagery and performance. Their work examines identities that exist beyond the confines of traditional class structures, often focusing on the liminal, the dislocated and the uncanny. Ronke has collaborated with Delaine throughout the years in various guises, with notable performances in ‘To Gypsyland’ (2013) at 198 Contemporary, ‘Stranger in Silver Walking on Air ‘(2025) at The White House and ‘+Fabricating My Own Myth Red Threads & Silver Needles’ (2025) at Newcastle Contemporary Art.

About Hḗrā Santos – performer Hḗrā Santos is a trans artist and activist whose practice centres on performance, visual arts, and fashion. Their work explores themes of gender, identity, trauma, memory, and movement, employing various mediums to create an experimental biographical expression infused with abstraction. Hḗrā’s artistic journey navigates the intersections of these complex concepts, offering a profound exploration of personal and societal narratives.

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