Did you know? Until 13 April, Castlefield Gallery’s top floor has been transformed into a pop-up shop and social space, interspersed with ephemera and items from the gallery’s 40 year archive. Visitors can settle in with a complimentary warm drink, explore archive materials and a selection of the gallery’s print portfolio, which is available to purchase, including prints by the likes of Mark Leckey, Rachel Goodyear, Gordon Cheung and more. And most of these prints, books, artist multiples and limited editions can be also be purchased online!
We are currently growing the membership offer and are keen to engage with artists and creatives who identify with one or more of the following:
- Being from a low socio-economic background
- Disabled or with a long-term health condition
- Being from the Global Majority
- Being neurodiverse
With the generous financial support of the Brian Mercer Trust, Castlefield Gallery is offering 25 new 12-months memberships. 20 of these memberships will be allocated to artists from the North West region, and 5 will be allocated to artists living and working elsewhere in the UK.
20/02/2025
📣 We have a new website!
As some of you may have noticed, we have a new website!
We worked together with Carbon Creative to develop a site that showcases our new branding, improved user experience, and enhanced functionality.
Check out what's new:
👉 An online shop where you can buy multiples, books, and more!
👉 An environmental responsibility page, where you can learn about our commitment to Manchester’s 2038 net zero objective and what we put in place to achieve it.
👉 An exclusive area for our Associates, where they can access resources, video recordings of our previous events and much more!
👉 An updated "About" section where you can learn more about the gallery, our staff and trustees, and how to work with us. And you can also admire amazing portraits of our staff members designed by artist Eve Gittins!
+ much more!
🌱 And the good news is...
This new website achieves a carbon rating of B! According to websitecarbon.com, it makes it cleaner than 66% of all web pages globally.
Volunteers are an essential and welcomed part of our team at Castlefield Gallery.
We welcome volunteers from all walks of life, whether you are an art student, work in the arts sector, or do not have much knowledge or experience of art galleries and want to meet new people in a creative environment.
Volunteering with our charity will help you gain experience in gallery administration, exhibition installation, visitor services and much more!
“The 1:1 advisory sessions with Helen and Gass [are] very helpful. They offered me different kinds of advice. This helped me figure out how to further develop my practice and where to look for funding. A big thank you to the team!”
Remember: one of the many benefits of joining Castlefield Gallery Associates is the opportunity to sign up for one-to-one Advisory Sessions with Castlefield Gallery's Curator and Director! Advisory sessions take place every month and are a fantastic way for artists to get feedback about their work, ask career-related questions or make a strategy to develop their projects.
Our next sessions will be on Thursday 23 and Thursday 30 January.
📸 Environmental Justice Questions Workshop with Harun Morrison. Photos by Maariyah Fulat.
16/01/2025
We are launching two new exhibitions in February!
These two artist commissions, developed with Castlefield Gallery Associates, will close our 40 year anniversary programme.
Join us for the preview on Thursday 13 February, 6-8pm at Castlefield Gallery!
🔸 40 Years of the Future: WINDOWS
Together with Castlefield Gallery, guest curator Kate Bryan (Broadcaster and Curator) has selected artist Matthew Wood’s proposal for 40 Years of the Future: WINDOWS. Wood will create a breathtaking series of large-scale monochrome drawings, realised in his bold, distinctive and fluid style for our gallery in Manchester and high street spaces at New Art Spaces: Chester and New Art Spaces: Warrington.
🔸 40 Years of the Future: Degrees of Duality
Castlefield Gallery Associate and Manchester Open Awardee Kay Shah will transform the lower level of Castlefield Gallery’s Manchester venue into an immersive environment. Shah’s 40 Years of the Future: Degrees of Duality, will be a large-scale installation simultaneously operating as a multifunctional space.
Throughout the exhibition period Castlefield Gallery’s top floor will be transformed into a pop-up shop and social space, interspersed with ephemera and items from the gallery’s 40 year archive.
Exhibitions continue until 13 April 2025.
📸 Images:
2. Matthew Wood, Vol-Au-Vent, 2024. Image courtesy of the artist
4. Kay Shah, Exchange and Interchange, 2023. Image courtesy of the artist
20/12/2024
Castlefield Gallery wishes you a happy holiday season and a wonderful new year!
Thank you to all visitors, artists and partners who engaged with us and supported us throughout the year!
Please note, Castlefield Gallery will be closed over the winter break from Sunday 22 December to Tuesday 7 January inclusive.
In the meantime, you can enjoy the videos that we shared online throughout the year on our YouTube channel!
Looking for a unique gift for this holiday season? Discover vibrant and striking art prints just like this one on our online shop. Perfect for any art lovers or just to add a touch of creativity to your home.
Did you know?
Griselda Po***ck, Professor emerita of Social & Critical Histories of Art at the University of Leeds, wrote an essay to accompany our current show 40 Years of the Future: Jo McGonigal x Frank Bowling.
40 Years of the Future: Jo McGonigal x Frank Bowling continues until 2 February 2025.
📸 Image: Jo McGonigal, Lie Still in the Stress of that Storm (2024) and Frank Bowling, Sasha's Green Bag (1988). Photographed by Jules Lister
15/11/2024
📢 Time-limited opportunity!
Collect or gift Castlefield Gallery 40 Years of the Future: Editions
From 14 November - 13 December 2024
40 Years of the Future: Editions are a series of beautifully engraved, signed limited edition art works developed with a group of celebrated, award-winning artists:
- Ryan Gander OBE RA
- Joy Division and Peter Saville CBE
- Bob and Roberta Smith OBE RA
- Shezad Dawood
- Lindsey Mendick
- Simeon Barclay
- Hannah Perry
Only nine editions in each artist series, the works are engraved cocktail shakers adorned with a set of inventive, playful and stunning designs. Each artist has donated their design in support of Castlefield Gallery!
First revealed with Soho House for 40 Years of the Future: Lates, the new edition series is a fundraising collaboration, developed with Castlefield Gallery Artist Patron, Ryan Gander OBE RA. ✨
This is the first, and a time limited opportunity that 40 Years of the Future: Editions are publicly available.
- Online via Castlefield Gallery’s shop
- By enquiring in person at the gallery
- We are here to help. The works have a range of price points and we can agree payment plans. Please get in touch via [email protected]
By collecting from 40 Years of the Future: Editions you will be supporting Castlefield Gallery to continue to invest in the artists and art of our times and our future.
We are a registered charity.
Castlefield gallery relies considerably on donations and earned income. Proceeds of sales will enable the gallery’s future work; to importantly continue to support artists and independent creatives at every level. Our purpose is to support artists, build creative communities and make new art happen. We work nationally and internationally, our home in the Manchester City Region and the North West of England.
📸 Photo by Michael Pollard
30/10/2024
Have you seen our new exhibition yet? 👀
40 Years of the Future: Jo McGonigal x Frank Bowling explores new ways of thinking about the relationship between painting, sculpture and architecture.
Come and visit us, we're open Tuesday-Sunday, 12pm-5:30pm!
40 Years of the Future: Jo McGonigal x Frank Bowling continues until 2 February 2025 at Castlefield Gallery.
📸 Image: In Conversation: Ben Bowling and Jo McGonigal at Castlefield Gallery photographed by Iqra Saied.
24/10/2024
In September was the second edition of Portraits of Recovery's amazing Recoverist month. Now that it finished, we would like to take this opportunity to present the Art Residency we’ve been working on, in partnership with Portraits of Recovery and ANEW. The residency aims to produce a compelling new body of work, co-created with the ANEW recovery community. This collaborative art will be showcased in a future exhibition at Castlefield Gallery, offering the public an opportunity to engage with narratives that challenge stereotypes and embrace a holistic view of recovery. Their work will not only resonate with art enthusiasts but also provoke meaningful conversations about substance use and recovery.
The residency is part of a wider project called Chaordic. Chaordic is a pioneering initiative, led by Portraits of Recovery, at the forefront of social and cultural change on substance use and recovery. At the heart of Chaordic’s mission lies the concept of Recoverism, a dynamic social art movement that re-writes the narrative by redefining people and communities in recovery and supporting them to reimagine the world they live in.
09/10/2024
We are very proud to announce that our exhibition Omid Asadi (October 2023 - January 2024) has been nominated for this year’s Manchester Culture Awards in the Best Exhibition category. Omid Asadi is also nominated for Independent Creative of the Year - huge congratulations to him!
Good luck and congratulations to all finalists! 🎉
Image: Omid Asadi, Resonance and Remnants (2023) photographed by Jules Lister
07/10/2024
Let’s explore photography through myths, feelings, and personal stories!
Imagine a photography practice that empowers you to re-imagine your memories, myths, and childhood through the lens of photography. Imagine how a photography practice can shape the narrative of your story, your emotions, and your message.
This ‘Pilot Exhibition’ is leading up to the annual festival in May 2025, focusing on exploring new art and exhibition spaces, innovative photographic approaches, and fostering a photography network in Chester.
50 works, from participants at all levels, from Chester, across the UK, and internationally, are excited to present their works, many of which have been created specifically for this event. These works have been developed through individual efforts and bespoke sessions. They cover a variety of photography genres and topics, including landscape, still life, street, family photos, and more conceptual.
This exhibition will then continue at the Grosvenor Museum from 25th to 27th October 2024.
📸 Image: Alexandru Modoi, At home, every dinner is a celebration, 2024.
01/10/2024
Don't miss Selves, an installation by Dawn Woolley, at Castlefield Gallery New Art Spaces: Warrington.
📅 04 October 2024 - 23 November 2024
📍 Castlefield Gallery New Art Spaces: Warrington, Sankey St, Warrington WA1 1TH
The Selves installation is something between a stage set for an absurdist play, a hall of mirrors, and an exploded 3-dimensional photograph. Masks, garments, and props scatter the space, inviting visitors to play different characters and create q***r selfies.
“Castlefield Gallery has never been a space to shirk challenging exhibitions, and in their 40th year, they continue to support projects that rigorously question our position in the world.” The Fourdrinier
This is your last chance to catch 40 Years of the Future: Where Should We Be Now? before it closes on Sunday 6 October!
Come and visit us, we’re open Wednesday-Sunday, 12-5:30pm
40 Years of the Future: Where Should We Be Now? is presented in partnership with the University of Salford Art Collection.
📸 Image: Preview of 40 Years of the Future: Where Should We Be Now? at Castlefield Gallery
19/09/2024
Join us for the preview of 40 Years of the Future: Jo McGonigal x Frank Bowling on Thursday 17 October, 6-8pm at Castlefield Gallery! No need to book, just come along!
Housed in Castlefield Gallery’s distinct architect-designed interior, this dynamic exhibition will bring together site-specific ‘spatial paintings’ by Jo McGonigal with paintings and sculptures by Sir Frank Bowling.
Each artist’s practice has a highly imaginative and unconventional engagement with pictorial and physical space. As an exhibition 40 Years of the Future: Jo McGonigal x Frank Bowling will explore new ways of thinking about the relationship between painting, sculpture and architecture.
If you prefer to book a timed visit with additional restricted capacity in the gallery and enjoy our new exhibition at your own pace, come to our Saturday Slow Preview on Saturday 19 October. This is also a chance for you to ask questions to Castlefield Gallery Curator and Deputy Director Matthew Pendergast. Refreshments will be provided.
Book your free tickets here: https://www.tickettailor.com/events/castlefieldgallery/1364141
Exhibition continues: 20 October 2024 — 02 February 2025
This exhibition is generously supported by the Henry Moore Foundation and the University of Leeds
📸 Image:
Jo McGonigal, Dirty Gold, 2016. Image courtesy of the artist.
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“Castlefield Gallery is the centre to the periphery, which in my thinking is the best position to work from and where I want to be. Castlefield Gallery oozes with explorers and pioneers, and understands that the currency of a scene is its ability to import and export culture, not sit stagnant in its own melting pot.” Ryan Gander OBE, Castlefield Gallery Artist Patron
Established by artists in 1984, Castlefield Gallery is the first public contemporary visual art gallery to have opened in Manchester. The arrival of Castlefield Gallery in the city was a significant catalyst of what became a period of rapid cultural growth, and the increase of the presence of visual artists in the city and city region. As a registered charity, our mission drives our work to focus on artistic and career development for artists, as well as deepening audiences’ relationship to contemporary art. Over the last three decades we have become an integral part of the North of England’s cultural fabric and a vital support to artists across the North West and further afield.
Castlefield Gallery delivers a programme of exhibitions, projects and events from our main gallery in central Manchester, whilst also commissioning, curating and producing off-site and public art, national and international artist residencies, and exchange programmes. We export art and culture developed and produced in the region through exchange so as to enable meaningful relationships between artists both nationally and internationally to flourish over extended periods of time.
Partnership is at the heart of everything we do, in the last year alone our work has delivered exchanges and residencies for artists between the region, and Glasgow, London, Budapest, Geneva, South Korea (Busan and Gwangju), and Prague.
Castlefield Gallery Associates is a �200+ strong artist, curator and writer membership group who access artistic, skills and career development opportunities via our work, as well as New Art Spaces – pop-up, art and production spaces located across Greater Manchester.
Our development programme extends� to providing bespoke artist mentoring, coaching and CPD, working with those at all career stages, including new graduates. We subsidise this activity in order to� keep costs for artists and our members affordable.
Over the last three decades we have grown to become a proven leader and enabler in the development of visual artists, many Castlefield Gallery ‘alumni’ going on to experience national and international acclaim, including Turner Prize winners and nominees, exhibitors at major festivals, biennials, triennials and international presentations.
Castlelfield Gallery is a registered charity, a National Portfolio Organisation of Arts Council England and Manchester City Council Cultural Partner.
In May 2018, we launched Castlefield Gallery Guardians & Patrons.
Until August 2019 Castlefield Gallery is a recipient of Arts Council England’s Catalyst: Evolve, an initiative that encourages the growth of private giving and organisational resilience. For this time-limited period Arts Council England will match each new donation we secure pound-for-pound.
Castlefield Gallery is a limited company (Reg. No. 1838334) and registered charity (No. 515571) that owns its city centre venue thanks to Arts Council England’s capital lottery funding in 2000.
We make new art happen
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