‘Re-imagined’ a collaboration event with Oxford Road’s Canvas, Heads magazine and West Art Collective is set to bringing together a diverse pool of creatives in Manchester through through a panel talk, art and photography exhibition taking place on 13 and 27 May.
Kicking off on the evening of Saturday 13 May from 5-8.30pm, Heads will launch the programme with its debut Headstalk event. Heads began its journey back in summer 2022 as a physical homage to Manchester’s artistic talent, spotlighting 30 of the city’s creatives in its first ever magazine.
The event at Canvas hosts Heads’ founder Liam Heeley alongside Lucy Indelicate, founder of West Art Collective, to take guests through their artistic careers. Joined by five fellow creatives, including; Bella Penfold, Dom Hadley, Remi Akande, Tyler Parker and Zak Hardy from Dance Policy, the panel discussion will then be followed by an audience Q&A.
After the panel session, a series of portraits captured by Liam Heeley and drawn over by Pete Obsolete will be unveiled in the window of the venue, which West Art will commission different artists for across the year. Pete is a local artist and the host of interactive art event Overdrawn. This new work honours nine local Manchester creatives, including Rachel Jackson, an incredibly talented and colourful artist that will be remembered on the evening. The other eight portraits are of Krystan-Grace Sharpe-Young, Piicasa, Amy Coney, Lucy Indelicate, Jason Carr, Oskar Withak, Emily Breeze and Luke Kennealey.
To celebrate Headstalk, food and drink will be available from Canvas’ Block Steak Shop, famous for its specialty steaks and affordable lunch deals until 9pm ahead of the reveal. Apple Tree DJs will also be on the decks across both events.
Following the launch of Headstalk, a huge exhibition curated by West Art Collective and Heads is set to take over Canvas from 5pm-4am on Saturday 27 May. In true West fashion, the Re-imagined showcase will feature 50 local artists, alongside 11 hours of interactive stalls, pop-ups, photography sets, live music and a Canvas Social Paint with Pete Obsolete. Food will also be served from Block Steak Shop until late.
Established in 2019, West Art Collective provides zero cost exhibition spaces for the city’s emerging artists. Aware of the incredibly costly and competitive side to the industry, especially on the exhibition side, they aim to create events that are accessible to all creatives, offering unique spaces to showcase and celebrate their work. Both West Art and Heads want to give back and provide safe spaces for people to find others with similar interests and build a community for like-minded creatives.
Usually found at their permanent home of Antwerp Mansion hosting bonkers exhibitions and parties, the collective is making the short trip down the road to Canvas for Re-imagined. Guests can expect vintage pop-ups, a tattoo station, photography sets, interactive art sessions and prizes for the best dressed.
Free tickets for the Headstalk event on Saturday 13 May are available to book now. Tickets for West Art Collective and Heads’ Re-imagined showcase are also on sale for £10 with a £1.50 booking fee. You can book both events via the link below.
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