This exhibition reveals a more personally lovable artist than the renowned English modernist of later years. Above, Ben Nicholson's 1940 (Christmas). At Mima until 6 November 2011
Photograph: Angela Verren Taunt 2011
A momentous look back at the film, video, photography and installation work of an Irish artist renowned for his ambiguous take on cultural history, such as Case Study: Loch Ness (pictured). At Irish Museum of Modern Art until 31 October 2011
Photograph: Courtesy of the artist and Lisson Gallery
This disinhibiting exhibition celebrates country music parallels drawn between the outback States and Liverpool, which, in case you didn't know, has been called the "Nashville of the north" by reputed music historian Kevin McManus. Above, Bruce Lee's Howler's Roost. At The Bluecoat until 18 September 2011
Photograph: Courtesy of the artist and Webb Gallery, Waxahachie, Texas
Staying loyal to his north-east working-class subject matter, the work of Norman Cornish remains instantly recognisable through an adherence to a range of social realist mannerisms redolent of the first half of the last century. Above, Miners on the Pit Road. At University Gallery, University of Northumbria until 7 October 2011
Photograph: Courtesy of the artist and University Gallery
Ruth Ewan puts her work at the service of the disempowered, from disenchanted children to rebels disgusted by the global rat race. At Dundee Contemporary Arts until 9 October 2011
Photograph: Courtesy of the artist and Dundee Contemporary Arts
The Design Museum is dusting down its impressive collection for this survey of everything from architectural maquettes to haute couture dresses and park benches. Above, Margaret Calvert and Jock Kinnear's Road Signage, 1965. At The Design Museum until 22 January 2012
Photograph: Courtesy of the artist and The Design Museum
The springy premise here is storytelling, allowing eight young photographers to bounce ideas around between documentary, fiction and more abstract work. Chiara Tocci's 2009 series Life After Zog and Other Stories (pictured) records the lives of Albanian immigrants in her native Italy. At Ffotogallery, Turner House until 3 September 2011
Photograph: Courtesy of the artist and Ffotogallery
Self-organising and the politics of information are the lively themes of workshops and debates in Auto Italia's project space in a former car showroom. This artist-run initiative is collaborating with young activists, writers and artists to create events in the spirit of Autonomia, a leftwing movement of Italian intellectuals in the 1970s. At Auto Italia South East until 28 August 2011
Photograph: Courtesy of Auto Italia South East
