Haphazard

A free day out for the curious of all ages.

Saturday 11 July, 1pm-4pm at Z-arts. FREE

Save the date and get your thinking caps on!

Intriguing images and offbeat oddities dotted around and about Manchester's historic Z-arts building.

Playful, quirky, engaging, and sometimes plain daft: this is Live Art for kids and their adults, adults and *their* adults.

hÅb|Word of Warning and Z-arts are now calling for proposals for Haphazard 2026, our ninth free ‘all ages’ Live Art afternoon on Saturday 11 July, 1pm-4pm in and around Z-arts, Hulme, Manchester, M15 5ZA.

To date, Haphazard has seen a giant periscope, a lonely wookie, a golden toilet, clown-dancing, and a tiny bee-shaped world……

Have a look at image galleries from 2025, 2024, 2023, 2019, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2013, and programmes from 2025, 2024, 2023, 2019, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2013, or our short video to get an idea of what's gone before.

This is not Live Art for children, but Live Art for ALL AGES — and we mean from tot to timeworn, 8 months to 80 years — so work should have appeal for adults and children alike (even if the kids need to explain it to the adults!)

From experience, what works best are big surreal images, interesting repetitive movement, and nothing too text heavy.

We have access to a number of spaces within Z-arts (see space info sheet below): a café, an atrium, some large rooms and small spaces, some stairwells, a studio theatre, and a big black box theatre that we may well use as a 'dark gallery'. Work immediately outside the building may also be possible.

Durational, intervention, interactive and ‘come and go’ work seems to work the best — we’re not really looking for sit-down theatre shows.

This year, in particular, we are looking for a piece that can work in the Atrium to be viewed/interacted with solely from above. 

If you'd like to hear more about what we think works for Haphazard we will have a short, informal zoom meeting on Tuesday 31 March at 3pm. Sign up here or have a look at the recording of the information session we did in 2025.

This isn’t a really formal selection process with lots of criteria, and, we will be consulting a panel of children to make selections — so please make your proposal nice and accessible. Work does need to be safe, legal, and you must have the right to perform it — and we need to have enough information to know whether we can make it work — so please fill out the Haphazard 2026 proposal form by Friday 8 May 2026 at 5pm, after which we’ll let you know if you’re on the list of possible projects and get in touch to take it from there — we aim to have made programming decisions by late May.

If you’d like to talk to us about your ideas first — please email haphazard@habmcr.org.
We have a small budget and can offer an honorarium of up to £300 per piece.
If you'd like to discuss a bigger proposal please get in touch first.

Apply here.

haphazardmcr.org

Proposal form URL: https://forms.gle/qajcu5DwnwUg3ku16
Proposal deadline: 5pm, Friday 8 May 2026.

2025's Information Session recording: https://youtu.be/2PncCQ7-YSs

We'd also be grateful if you would fill in a monitoring form at: https://forms.gle/bvmUXyCjtsh1bTX19

A free day out for the curious of all ages.

Sat 2 August. 1pm-4pm at Z-arts. FREE

Save the date and get your thinking caps on!

Intriguing images and offbeat oddities dotted around and about Manchester's historic Z-arts building.

Playful, quirky, engaging, and sometimes plain daft: this is Live Art for kids and their adults, adults and *their* adults.

hÅb|Word of Warning and Z-arts are now calling for proposals for Haphazard 2025, our eighth free ‘all ages’ Live Art afternoon on Saturday 2 August, 1pm-4pm in and around Z-arts, Hulme, Manchester, M15 5ZA.

To date, Haphazard has seen a giant periscope, a lonely wookie, a golden toilet, clown-dancing, and a tiny bee-shaped world……

Have a look at image galleries from 2024, 2023, 2019, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2013, and programmes from 2024, 2023, 2019, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2013, or our short video to get an idea of what's gone before.

This is not Live Art for children, but Live Art for ALL AGES — and we mean from tot to timeworn, 8 months to 80 years — so work should have appeal for adults and children alike (even if the kids need to explain it to the adults!)

From experience, what works best are big surreal images, interesting repetitive movement, and nothing too text heavy.

We have access to a number of spaces within Z-arts (see space info sheet below): a café, an atrium, some large rooms and small spaces, some stairwells, a studio theatre, and a big black box theatre that we may well use as a 'dark gallery'. Work immediately outside the building may also be possible.

Durational, intervention, interactive and ‘come and go’ work seems to work the best — we’re not really looking for sit-down theatre shows.

If you'd like to hear more about what we think works for Haphazard have a look at the recording of the information session on 16 April:

This isn’t a really formal selection process with lots of criteria, and, for the first time, we will be working with a panel of children to make selections — so please make your proposal nice and accessible. Work does need to be safe, legal, and you must have the right to perform it — and we need to have enough information to know whether we can make it work — so please fill out the Haphazard proposal form by Friday 30 May, 5pm, after which we’ll let you know if you’re on the list of possible projects and get in touch to take it from there — we aim to have made programming decisions by mid/late-June.
If you’d like to talk to us about your ideas first — please email haphazard@habmcr.org.

We have a small budget and can offer an honorarium of up to £300 per piece.
If you'd like to discuss a bigger proposal please get in touch first.

haphazardmcr.org

Proposal form URL: https://forms.gle/XTqQPiZgfK2KMrgy7
Proposal deadline: 5pm, Friday 30 May 2025.

Information session recording: https://youtu.be/2PncCQ7-YSs

We'd also be grateful if you would fill in a monitoring form at: https://forms.gle/Bo4jomDrHtw48u6W8

A free day out for the curious of all ages.

Sat 27 July. 1pm-4pm at Z-arts. FREE

Save the date and get your thinking caps on!

Intriguing images and offbeat oddities dotted around and about Manchester's historic Z-arts building.

Playful, quirky, engaging, and sometimes plain daft: this is Live Art for kids and their adults, adults and *their* adults.

hÅb|Word of Warning and Z-arts are now calling for proposals for Haphazard 2024, our seventh free ‘all ages’ Live Art afternoon on Saturday 27 July, 1pm-4pm in and around Z-arts, Hulme, Manchester, M15 5ZA.

To date, Haphazard has seen ping pong balls & squeaky toys; a singing fish & a sax-playing bear; paintball golf & human quoits; a giant periscope, a golden toilet, and a tiny bee-shaped world…

Have a look at image galleries from 2023, 2019, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2013, and programmes from 2023, 2019, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2013, to get an idea of what's gone before.

This is not Live Art for children, but Live Art for ALL AGES — and we mean from tot to timeworn, 8 months to 80 years — so work should have appeal for adults and children alike (even if the kids need to explain it to the adults!)

From experience, what works best are big surreal images, interesting repetitive movement, and nothing too text heavy.

We have access to a number of spaces within Z-arts (see space info sheet below): a café, an atrium, some large rooms and small spaces, some stairwells, a studio theatre, and a big black box theatre that we may well use as a 'dark gallery'. Work immediately outside the building may also be possible.

Durational, intervention, and ‘come and go’ work seems to work the best — we’re not really looking for sit-down theatre shows.

This isn’t a really formal selection process with lots of criteria, and, for the first time, we will be working with a panel of children to make selections — so please make your proposal nice and accessible. Work does need to be safe, legal, and you must have the right to perform it — and we need to have enough information to know whether we can make it work — so please fill out the Haphazard proposal form by Friday 31 May, 5pm, after which we’ll let you know if you’re on the list of possible projects and get in touch to take it from there — we aim to have made programming decisions by mid/late-June.
If you’d like to talk to us about your ideas first — please email haphazard@habmcr.org.

We have a small budget and can offer an honorarium of up to £300 per piece.
If you'd like to discuss a bigger proposal please get in touch first.

haphazardmcr.org

Proposal form URL https://forms.gle/Wz3q9txpiMiWRP6J8
Proposal deadline: 5pm, Friday 31 May 2024.

We'd also be grateful if you would fill in a monitoring form at: https://forms.gle/Q8QKY3qNoHxat8xM7

A free day out for the curious of all ages. 

Sat 22 July. 12noon-3pm at Z-arts. FREE

Save the date and get your thinking caps on! 

Intriguing images and offbeat oddities dotted around and about the historic Z-arts building in Manchester.

Playful, quirky, engaging, and sometimes plain daft: this is Live Art for kids and their adults, adults and their adults.

hÅb|Word of Warning and Z-arts are now calling for proposals for Haphazard 2023, our sixth free ‘all ages’ Live Art day taking place on Saturday 22 July, Noon-3pm in and around Z-arts, Hulme, Manchester, M15 5ZA.

To date, Haphazard has seen ping pong balls and squeaky toys; a singing fish and a sax-playing bear; paintball golf and human quoits; a giant periscope, a golden toilet, and a tiny bee-shaped world… Have a look at the 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019 image galleries, and 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019 archives to get an idea of what's gone before.

This is not Live Art for children, but Live Art for ALL AGES — and we mean from tot to timeworn, 8 months to 80 years — so work should have appeal for adults and children alike (even if the kids need to explain it to the adults!) 

From experience, what works best are big surreal images, interesting repetitive movement, and nothing too text heavy. 

We have access to a number of spaces within Z-arts (see space info sheet below): a café, an atrium, some small spaces, some stairwells, and a big black box theatre that we may well use as a 'dark gallery'. Work immediately outside the building may also be possible.

Durational, intervention, and ‘come and go’ work seems to work the best — we’re not really looking for sit-down theatre shows.

This isn’t a really formal selection process with lots of criteria, but work does need to be safe, legal, and you must have the right to perform it — and we need to have enough information to know whether we can make it work — so please fill out the Haphazard proposal form by Friday 2 June, 5pm, after which we’ll let you know if you’re on the list of possible projects and get in touch to take it from there — we aim to have made programming decisions by mid/late June.
If you’d like to talk to us about your ideas first — please email haphazard@habmcr.org.

We have a small budget and can offer an honorarium of up to £300 per piece.
If you'd like to discuss a bigger proposal please get in touch first.

haphazardmcr.org

Proposal form URL https://forms.gle/Wz3q9txpiMiWRP6J8
Proposal deadline: 5pm, Friday 2 June 2023.

Thank you for your interest in Haphazard.  The call for artists is now closed, we'll be in touch with all those who applied very shortly.

HAPHAZARD 2019 

A free day out for the curious of all ages. 

Sat 27 Apr 2019. 12noon-3pm. FREE

Save the date and get your thinking caps on! 

Intriguing images and offbeat oddities dotted around the historic Z-arts building in Manchester.

Playful, quirky, engaging and sometimes plain daft: this is live art for kids and their adults, adults and their adults.

hÅb | Word of Warning and Z-arts are now calling for proposals for Haphazard 2019, our 5th free ‘all ages’ live art day taking place on Sat 27 Apr 2019, 12-3pm in and around Z-arts, Manchester M15 5ZA.

To date, Haphazard has seen ping pong balls and squeaky toys; a singing fish and a sax-playing bear; paintball golf and human quoits; a giant periscope, a golden toilet and a tiny bee-shaped world… Have a look at the 2013, 2015 , 2016 + 2017 image galleries and 2013, 2015, 2016 + 2017 archives to get an idea of what's gone before.

This is not live art for children but live art for all ages - and we mean from tot to timeworn, 8 months to 80 years - so work should have appeal for adults and children alike (even if the kids need to explain it to the adults!) 

From experience, what work best are big surreal images, interesting repetitive movement and nothing too text heavy. 

We have access to a number of spaces (see space info sheet below): a café, an atrium, some small spaces, some stairwells and a big black box. 

Durational, intervention, and ‘come and go’ work seems to work the best - we’re not really looking for sit-down theatre shows.

This isn’t a really formal selection process with lots of criteria, but work does need to be legal and you must have the right to perform it!  

So we can get all the info in one place, we’d be grateful if you could fill out the Haphazard proposal form by Wednesday 27 February 2019, after which we’ll let you know if you’re on the list of possible projects and get in touch to take it from there - we aim to have made programming decisions by mid March.  If you’d like to talk to us about your ideas first – email haphazard@habmcr.org or call 0161 232 6086 and talk to Tamsin.

We have a small budget and can offer an honorarium of up to £300 per piece.  If you'd like to discuss a bigger proposal please get in touch first.

haphazardmcr.org

HAPHAZARD 2019 

A free day out for the curious of all ages. 

Sat 27 Apr 2019. 12noon-3pm. FREE

Save the date and get your thinking caps on! 

Intriguing images and offbeat oddities dotted around the historic Z-arts building in Manchester.

Playful, quirky, engaging and sometimes plain daft: this is live art for kids and their adults, adults and their adults.

hÅb | Word of Warning and Z-arts are getting together again for the 5th Haphazard, taking place on Sat 27 Apr 2019 in Manchester. There will be a call for proposals in the New Year, but we know ‘all ages’ can be a challenge - so we wanted to  give you a heads-up and some thinking time! 

To date, Haphazard has seen ping pong balls and squeaky toys; a singing fish and a sax-playing bear; paintball golf and human quoits; a giant periscope, a golden toilet and a tiny bee-shaped world… Have a look at the 2013, 2015 , 2016 + 2017 image galleries and 2013, 2015, 2016 + 2017 archives to get an idea of what's gone before.

This is not live art for children but live art for all ages - and we mean from tot to timeworn, 8 months to 80 years - so work should have appeal for adults and children alike (even if the kids need to explain it to the adults!) 

From experience, what works best are big surreal images, interesting repetitive movement and nothing too text heavy. We have access to a variety of spaces: a café, an atrium, some small spaces, some stairwells and a big black box. Durational, intervention, and ‘come and go’ work seems to work the best - we’re not really looking for sit-down theatre shows.

If you’d like to talk to us about your ideas – haphazard@habmcr.org or call 0161 232 6086 and talk to Tamsin.

haphazardmcr.org

HAPHAZARD 2017

A free day out for the curious of all ages. 

Sat 1 Apr 2017. 12noon-4pm. FREE

Intriguing images and offbeat oddities dotted around the historic Z-arts building.

Playful, quirky, engaging and sometimes plain daft: this is for kids and their adults, adults and their adults — in short, anyone looking for a different day out.

Turn up at any time and come and go as you please.

"Great madcap fun… Wacky and creative… Kids loving it."

CALL FOR PROPOSALS

hÅb | Word of Warning and Z-arts are calling for proposals and expressions of interest from artists for Haphazard, our fourth free ‘all ages’ live art day, taking place on Sat 1 Apr 2017 in and around Z-arts, Manchester M15 5ZA.

And… since it’s taking place on April Fool’s day - we thought we’d throw the gauntlet down and invite imaginative ideas that play the fool…  (*not* an invitation for spoof applications please!) 

To date, Haphazard has seen ping pong balls and squeaky toys; human dogs, cats, giant rats and the Gendersaurus Rex; hula-hooping and human quoits; a giant periscope, a golden toilet and a tiny bee-shaped world… 

Have a look at the 2013, 2015 + 2016 image galleries and 2013, 2015 + 2016 archives to get an idea of what's gone before.

We are now looking for work for Haphazard 2017: 

This is not live art for children but live art for all ages - and we mean from tot to timeworn, 8 months to 80 years - so work should have appeal for adults and children alike (even if the kids need to explain it to the adults!) 

From experience, what works best are big surreal images, interesting repetitive movement and nothing too text heavy. This year we’ll award bonus points for ideas that play with the idea of the April Fool. 

We have access to a variety of spaces (see space info sheet below) most suitable for durational, intervention and ‘come and go’ work rather than sit-down shows. We have a small budget and can offer an honorarium of up to £300 per piece (bigger proposals please get in contact first).

This isn’t a really formal selection process with lots of criteria, but work does need to be legal and you must have the right to perform it!  

So we can get all the info in one place, we’d be grateful if you could fill out the Haphazard proposal form by Friday 27 January 2017, after which we’ll let you know if you’re on the list of possible projects and get in touch to take it from there.  If you’d like to talk to us about your ideas first – email haphazard@habarts.org or call 0161 232 6086 and talk to Tamsin or Cat.

Haphazard 2016

A free day out for the curious of all ages. 

Sat 20 Feb 2016. 12noon-4pm. FREE

Intriguing images and offbeat oddities dotted around the historic Z-arts building.

Playful, quirky, engaging and sometimes plain daft: this is for kids and their adults, adults and their adults — in short, anyone looking for a different day out.

Turn up at any time and come and go as you please.

"Great madcap fun...Wacky and creative… Kids loving it."

CALL FOR PROPOSALS

hÅb | Word of Warning are calling for proposals and expressions of interest from artists for Haphazard, our third free ‘all ages’ live art day, taking place on Sat 20 February 2016 in and around Z-arts, Manchester M15 5ZA.  

To date, Haphazard has seen ping pong balls and squeaky toys, hula-hooping and human quoits, an interactive jungle, bucket headed dancers, a crochet monster and brain-eating divas dotted around theatre, gallery, atrium, basement and cafe… 

Have a look at the 2013 and 2015 image galleries 2013 and 2015 archives to get an idea of what's gone before.

We are now looking for work for Haphazard 2016. 

This is not live art for children but live art for all ages, so work should have appeal for adults and children alike (even if the kids need to explain it to the adults!) 

We have access to a variety of spaces - from black box to gallery to café (see space info sheet below) - though the programme emphasis will be more on durational and ‘come and go’ work than traditional black-box shows.  We have a small budget and expect to pay up to £300 for smaller pieces/interventions, up to a max of £1000 for one main ‘focal’ work. 

This isn’t a really formal selection process with lots of criteria, but work does need to be legal and you must have the right to perform it!  

So we can get all the info in one place, we’d be grateful if you could fill out the Haphazard proposal form by Friday 8 January, after which we’ll let you know if you’re on the list of possible projects and get in touch to take it from there.  If you’d like to talk to us about your ideas first – email haphazard@habarts.org or call 0161 232 6086 and talk to Tamsin or Cat.  

hÅb | Word of Warning are calling for proposals and expressions of interest from artists for Haphazard, our second free ‘all ages’ live art day, taking place on Sat 28 February 2015 in and around Z-arts, Manchester M15 5ZA.  The first Haphazard saw some 10 pieces of work: in the gallery, the atrium, the basement and the cafe… in fact everywhere except the theatre space.  It involved hula-hooping, ping pong balls, squeaky toys, musical sculptures, bucket-headed dancers and a rather disturbing minotaur, for an audience ranging from 8 months to 80. Have a look at the image gallery and info about the first Haphazard.

Haphazard