Arts and culture news

Gallery Oldham has opened two new shows that put everyday women and Indo-British history centre-stage. 'Women. Portraits: Trades & Professions', launched in December, lines the walls with images of women at work, while September's 'Indian Perspectives' brings together more than 100 drawings and paintings that trace long-standing cultural ties between Oldham and the sub-continent.

The double bill arrives as the building that houses the gallery and library is being overhauled after the council secured £564,375 to modernise heating, lighting and access. Staff say the upgrades, due to finish later this year, should make it easier to keep blockbuster shows on the road and protect fragile works from the damp that has crept into the 1970s structure.

Across town, the Fox and Pine pub has quietly collected another hospitality award, landlord Chris Riley credits an 'unexpected' savoury pie-he will not name the filling-that outsells every other dish. Riley told the council's podcast that footfall from recent gallery marketing has helped fill tables on weekday lunchtimes, a boost he had not predicted when he took over the lease.

Meanwhile, the shuttered Oldham Coliseum will stay dark until 2026. The council confirmed the delay in June, saying specialist steelwork and ventilation for the Victorian auditorium are taking longer than expected, pushing the reopening past the original autumn 2025 target. No temporary venue has been booked for this year's panto season, leaving local performers looking elsewhere for work.

Festival Oldham and the Summer Music Festival will try to fill part of that gap when they return to the town centre on the first Saturday of July. Organisers have booked extra sound stages after last year's crowds spilled onto Union Street, and they promise a line-up that leans heavily on young brass and choral groups from Oldham's secondary schools.