HOME announce Manchester Open Award 2022 winners

HOME have announced the five winners of this year’s Manchester Open Awards, with £10,000 worth of prize funding being distributed to local creative talent.

The biennial Manchester Open Exhibition was created as a way to celebrate and offer a platform to the city’s most promising and impressive minds.

This year HOME received a total of 2,271 entries, with 474 artworks from 446 artists being displayed in the venue’s gallery until Sun 27 Mar.

Working closely with Castlefield Gallery, winners were chosen from shortlist of 20 artists, broken down into five award categories.

Over £10,000 of prize funding will be distributed between the winning artists, with artist development packages managed by Castlefield Gallery and HOME.

One artist will receive a solo exhibition at HOME’s Granada Foundation Galleries. The final award, The People’s Choice Award has been voted by the public and will receive £250 Cass art voucher and a bespoke development opportunity to be agreed with the artist. 

The awards and winners are as follows:

• Granada Foundation Gallery Award – Gwen Evans, Portrait of a Woman, Oil, acrylic and airbrush on board (Gallery No.435)
• Castlefield Gallery: Artist Professional Development Award 1 – Gherdai Hassell, Solar, Mixed media collage archival print (Gallery no.409)
• Castlefield Gallery: Artist Professional Development Award 2 – Annabelle Richmond-Wright, Alexa, deconstructed computer chair, hand-stitched foam, latex and found object high heels. (Gallery No. 469)
• Castlefield Gallery: Artist Professional Development Award – 50+ – Nan Collantine, Oceans Apart no.22 (I think it’s going to rain today), Oil paint and oil bar on canvas (Gallery No.62)
• The People’s Choice Award – Winner Luke Armstrong, Paper Samurai, paper sculpture (Gallery No. 458)

Runners up for The People’s Choice Award are:

• 2^nd place – Michelle Topping, Evade, graphite and colouring pencil on paper
• 3^rd place – Carlos Feng, Isolation, acrylic on canvas
• 4^th place – Jen Orpin, Stand Your Ground, oil painting on canvas
• 5^th place – Arnold Pollock, Kam, film.

Helen Wewiora, Director and Artistic Director, Castlefield Gallery, says: “It’s an honour to have been asked to be part of the Manchester Open judging panel again. Submissions for the 2022 exhibition evidence the wealth of artistic and creative talent in the city and city region. The finalists shortlisted for the Manchester Open Awards this year further demonstrate a high level of creative skills and artistic promise”.

You can still catch a glimpse at all the work until the end of this month. Book your spot using the button below.