It was a total privilege and such fun to attend the preview of the 2022 Home Open art exhibition at the weekend. It’s on until March 27 2022 and is free to enter for anyone living within the Greater Manchester boundary. My photograph ‘Filaments-1’ was chosen for display and I was thrilled to see my artwork on the same wall as a beautiful framed ‘Pankhurst’ print by Mancsy and next to wonderful wordsmith and all-round cultural diamond Sarah-Clare Conlon.
My “Filaments” series was started in summer 2020 – “Filaments is a quiet still series of images that expose beautiful miniature natural landscapes hidden in plain view.”
This quote from MikeSian Studio, one of the participating artists, sums up perfectly why the Home Open art exhibition is so good and well worth a visit –
These shows are everything that an open art show should be. They remove barriers and champion creativity over profile, placement or connections – but more importantly, they create an environment in which you judge artwork on gut feeling and reaction. No build-up or preconception – you just get to discover what you like based on feeling and instinct. Dead happy to be involved.”
The gallery team have done a fabulous job to stage this mammoth celebration of Mancunian talent. They had 2,271 entries and chose work from 400 artists to display. The art covers all artistic disciplines and all sizes; from a huge full-size canoe to a tiny locket. Bravo to all of the Home team – it can’t have been easy!
I will definitely be going back for further visits, as there is so much to take in, but here are a few of the pieces that stood out for me on first viewing. I’ve tried to add any links to the artists where I could find them:
- 129. AudrinkaArt – Fantastic Suzie
- 140. Mark Carey – todmordensun
- 79. Caz Latham – Oxford Rd
- 227. Ged King – Walking
- 192. Fritz Fitton – OutOfTheCavernsOfTheRain
- 284. Lola Murphy Wood – ManchesterBee
- 273. Paul Mellor – Serayah from Oldham
- 245. Faye Cooke – Touch
- 283. Andrew Johnstone – untitled (shell)
- 399. Martin Murrey – In Bed Gold Bed
- 463. Emily Seville – Grannys Garden Nos 1
- 463. Emma Blackburn – Daddy Doll
- 2. Emma Reynolds – Community Action
- 25. Ngozi Ugochukwu – Let’s Take a Moment
- 10. Jen Orpin – Stand Your Ground https://www.saulhayfineart.co.uk/jen-orpin
- 74. Mancsy – Pankhurst 2021