Arena attack anniversary: Embracing Manchester exhibition at St Ann’s Church

A new collection of paintings by artist Ghislaine Howard depict a poignant event in Manchester’s history. Days after the Arena attack in May 2017, when St. Ann’s Square became a focus for people to pay their respects to the victims of the bombing, a young man called Baktash “Bako” Noori stood in the Square blindfolded with his arms outstretched. A handmade sign at his feet read, ‘I’m Muslim and I trust you, do you trust me enough for a hug?’. After a while, many people accepted his invitation, and the hugs were captured on video. Inspired by this event, Ghislaine Howard produced a set of 40 paintings, each depicting one of the embraces. These will be displayed in St. Ann’s Church, with further larger scale paintings shown in the windows of House of Fraser. An acclaimed artist, Howard’s work has been presented at Manchester Art Gallery, Imperial War Museum North, and The British Museum.

Thu 17 May – Wed 6 Jun, St Ann’s Church, St. Ann Street, Manchester, M2 7LF, Tel: 0161 834 0239, 10am – 5pm, FREE, www.stannsmanchester.com