CityLife

Mad About Manchester Artists

THE angular glass enclosure that seems to be neither part of the Great Northern or the AMC Cinema, next to it is a perfect space in which to host an exhibition of art for the Not Part of Festival.

Though it may seem unspectacular at first, the small space is a treasure trove of artistic effort put in by local creatives who share a common theme of surroundings tied in with identity.

Everyday life in the city is conveyed in a way anyone can relate to – from Claire Curtin's sketches and screen prints based on Oxford Road bus journeys to the double-faceted movement of Maya Harding's tracing paper sketches with their roving lines and suggestions of the repetitive journeys we all make daily.

Another common theme of the pieces is the conflict between nature and industry - something Northerners have running through their veins.

Chris Knight's stock-still clinically white birds, perched silently around and about get this across, as does the jewellery collection curated by Manchester Craft and Design Centre's Deborah Zeldin O'Neill.

Carly Pettit's dangling earrings made from silver thread and lumps of coal sit next to Eve Redmond's 'anti-rings' – jewellery distorted and burnt "possibly by conflict".

The tension between rural landscapes and urban progression is emphasised further with Stephen Maxwell Campbell's powerful Box Tree Sculpture - made of scarred metal panels hanging from a rusty pole, decorated here and there with faint suggestions of leaves.

This little corner of Manchester personifies a certain side of the city perfectly while showcasing the indisputable talents of its inhabitants and is very much worth a visit during its fleeting residency. 

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