The best pieces in Playroom are those that manage to poke fun at the idea of having a function to them, that joyfully play at having a raison d’être. They visibly pretend to be serious, which in turn becomes satirical of the forces that ask them to be serious in the first place, yet remain full of fun.

“Can machines think? Are there imaginable digital computers which would do well in the imitation game?” asked Alan Turing in his landmark paper, Computing Machinery and Intelligence. Turing’s study was published in 1950, but the question whether machines can successfully imitate human behaviour still resonates today. Eight artists delve into our fascination with artificial intelligence and man/machine relationships in The Imitation Game at the Manchester Art Gallery this year.

This spring, MCASD will host a solo exhibition by Do Ho Suh, an artist who crafts evocative works that reflect ideas of identity, and personal space.

Every so often, something happens on the gallery scene that pushes a fresh perspective into the wider cultural viewfinder. When Friedman Benda recently launched a splashy double show in New York, we all left with the funny feeling that we’d been transported to somewhere new, somewhere that might be sacred, and somewhere that is softly transforming the frontier where art and design co-mingle.

Known for his multi-didactic works that go from staging group therapies to theatre plays, Pedro Reyes is constantly renovating his oeuvre and exploring new ways of involving the audience.

In the summer of 1970, a young Gabriele Basilico – “before he was Basilico”, set out from his parent’s house in Caorle on the Venetian Riviera for Kabul. Little did he know he would become a genius for freezing moments of haunting beauty in the unlikeliest places.

For his first US museum survey outside of California for 40 years, this new exhibition displays Robert Irwin’s work from 1958-1970, a time in which the artist developed dramatically.

The Women in Photography panel at The Photography Show 2016 will bring together Max Houghton, Marcia Michel, Vicki Churchill and Juno Calypso in a discussion about the industry.

Karen Thomas (b.1963) is acclaimed world-wide for her pop-culture figures and loosely dynamic painting style. We speak with the painter about her distinguishable style and recent projects.

Photographer Maroesjka Lavigne’s latest exhibition Land of Nothingness is currently on view at Robert Mann Gallery, New York. Lavigne’s second show with the gallery invites viewers to step into the unforgiving landscape of Namibia.

Concerned with the disintegration of humanity, Goshka Macuga (b. 1967) poses fundamental philosophical questions in his contemporary artistic practice, including a striking address to the inevitable aspects of life. Fondazione Prada presents the Polish artist’s solo exhibition To the Son of Man Who Ate the Scroll, until 19 June.

Coinciding with Manchester’s Year of the Monkey celebrations, the CFCCA launched its 30th anniversary programme in February. We speak to curator Ying Tan about the centre’s commitment to representing Chinese arts in the UK.

Hauser Wirth & Schimmel launches its new gallery in Los Angeles with the Revolution in the Making: Abstract Sculpture by Women, 1947 – 2016.

Revealing the extent and impact of William Henry Fox Talbot’s pioneering experiments with photography, London’s Science Museum presents a major new exhibition on the rise of a medium.

The Singapore Tyler Print Institute will unveil The River is Within Us, the first solo exhibition of UK-based artist Shirazeh Houshiary in Southeast Asia.

KARST’s white gallery warehouse is preoccupied by surfaces in its latest seven person show. The Earth is Our Radio draws on all manner of barriers, boards and blockades, with tell-tale markings of run down urban environments and revalued economics.

BALTIC presents the first solo UK exhibition by Omer Fast, best known for his video works that question the conventions of storytelling, media reportage and historical representation.

Taking place in New York City, from the 3-6 March, The Armory Show represents an essential event in the artistic calendar. The 22nd edition features emerging and established artists, represented by 205 galleries from 36 countries worldwide.

Wellcome Collection has opened the second part of a year-long exploration into human consciousness. States of Mind examines the universal topic of conscious experience. We speak to the curator.

Michael Simpson’s Flat Surface Painting at Spike Island, Bristol, is rooted in a fascination with Venetian and early Flemish painting, questioning the nature of painting itself. We review the show.

American artist Robin Kang (b.1981) threads nuances between technological advances and the history of the textile industry via Jacquard loom handwork and patterned circuitry imagery.

Robyn Saurine’s art is influenced by experiences and travels in the Australian Outback, Asia and Italy. She explores the world of texture, portraiture, stylised drawing, colour and collage.

The Whitworth brings Ben Rivers’s most ambitious work to date to Manchester. We speak to Mary Griffiths about Rivers’s film that migrates between the realms of documentary, fantasy and fable.

Brittany Nelson’s medium of choice is the tintype, a unique direct-positive exposure used for portrait photography. Tintype in the 1850’s was the foremost technological advancement in photography, and Nelson adds a further dimension to this process, combining it with 21st century practices and bringing it into the purely material realm.

Hauser & Wirth Somerset are hosting a major solo exhibition of new and recent work by Subodh Gupta, bringing together a sculptures and installations by the New Delhi-based artist. We review the show.

Glasgow International Festival’s seventh edition opens on 8 April 2016. Directed by Sarah McCrory, the 2016 programme is comprised of new works, site-specific commissions and events across the city.

Focused on a series of sculptures from a crucial decade in Alberto Giacometti’s life, this London show provides a deep insight into the development of the Swiss sculptor and painter’s practice.

Whitechapel Gallery’s Electronic Superhighway brings together over 100 works to show the impact of computer and Internet technologies on artists from the mid-1960s to the present day.

Carolina Amaya is a visual artist from Colombia. She works with mixed media materials such as textiles, photography, oil and acrylic, exploring the subject of dreams, intuition and other ways of life.

International Pop navigates a fast-paced world packed with bold imagery, revealing a vibrant period shaped by social, political, and cultural changes.

Kunsthal Rotterdam’s exhibition Astonish Me!, is a collaboration with Musée de l’Elysée, Lausanne, and includes more than 300 never-before exhibited works, including prints and photomontages.

Dean Melbourne unveils his second solo show in London this February at Gallery 8. Curated by Coates and Scarry, the exhibition showcases Melbourne’s most recent paintings and works on paper.

Returning for its second year as part of Dubai Art Season, World Art Dubai will take place from 6-9 April at the Dubai World Trade Centre and will showcase a global collection of more than 3,000 paintings, sculptures and photographs.

CFCCA Manchester is currently showing Xu Bing’s Book from the Ground, a novel written in a universal language of icons, alongside a recreation of the artist’s studio: we explore the exhibition.

The Aesthetica Art Prize celebrates the work of emerging and established artists from around the world, championing excellence in art across a range of media. Olga Woszczyna was longlisted with her work Entity III, which is influenced by contemporary architecture and goldsmithing. She is inspired by cities with their variety of cultural and design influences and the art of jewellery.

This winter, David Zwirner, New York, hosts an exhibition of new work by Scottish artist Karla Black, the artist’s second solo show with the gallery.

Emotional Supply Chains addresses the construction of individual identity in the digital age, with a selection of works that have all been drawn from the Zabludowicz Collection and produced since the year 2000. Including six new commissions, the show features 16 leading international artists.

Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac opens a comprehensive solo exhibition of new sculptures by Tony Cragg in the vast halls of the gallery space in Paris Pantin.

We explore the first UK solo presentation of works by Betty Woodman, one of the most important contemporary artists working with ceramics today, including a number of new mixed media pieces.

20th century sculptor Giacomo Manzù is best known for delicate and moving work focusing predominantly on portraiture and religious imagery. We review his current exhibition at the Estorick Collection.

Vienna-based manufacturer WOKA reproduces iconic lamp designs from the early 20th century, including pieces by the Wiener Werkstätte and the Bauhaus, which have fallen out of production.

Curated by Nate Hitchcock and Annette Doms, UNPAINTED lab 3.0 celebrates new art forms across four days in the city of Munich.

The Contemporary Jewish Museum’s exhibition Roman Vishniac Rediscovered, reveals the full range of Vishniac’s radically diverse body of work, much of it only recently discovered.

The Aesthetica Art Prize is now open for entries. We rediscover Alexandra Vacaroiu’s work in film, which featured in the Video, Installation & Performance strand of the Art Prize 2015 Longlist.

We review Australian psych-pop band Tame Impala’s sold out, accomplished recent live show at Alexandra Palace, London, which was nothing short of regal rock, filled with enraptured gig-goers.

The British Council and the British Fashion Council showcase innovative work by emerging fashion designers from 24 countries in Fashion Utopias.

Design Shanghai returns for its fourth iteration from 9-12 March. Taking place at the Shanghai Exhibition Centre, this year’s fair promises to feature work from over 300 product and design brands.

White Cube Mason’s Yard presents an exhibition of paintings by Korean artist Park Seo-Bo, best known for his Ecriture series of the late 1960s. We review the show, which traces the works’ origins.

YSP hosts the first UK museum exhibition of work by Brooklyn-based artist KAWS, whose practice includes painting, sculpture, design and more.

In over 100 photographs, sketchbooks and ephemera, this exhibition explores the motivation behind Saul Leiter’s work and is the artist’s first major show in a British public gallery.