Manchester Open Award 2022 Winners Announced!

Fri 4 Mar 2022

Part of: Manchester Open Exhibition 2022

The winners have been announced for The Manchester Open Awards 2022.

Last night, Thu 3 Mar, HOME hosted the Manchester Open Awards 2022. Artist, supporters, friends and families came together to celebrate the 20nominees, who were chosen from 474 artists featuring in the exhibition.

With an amazing 2,271 artwork entries, the judging panel were impressed by the range, quality, differing artistic styles, and inspirational work being created across Greater Manchester.

HOME worked closely with Castlefield Gallery on the selection for this year’s award winners, choosing from a shortlist of 20 artists. The nominated artists have been 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 in our Granada Foundation Galleries. The final award, The People’s Choice Award has been voted by the public and will receive £250 Cass art voucher, an opportunity to have a solo exhibition at the Cass Art Manchester Art Space courtesy of exhibition sponsor, Cass Art, and a bespoke development opportunity with Castlefield Gallery and HOME to be agreed with artist.

Manchester Open Award designed by 2020 People’s Choice Award winner George Fell

The winners are:

• Granada Foundation Gallery Award – Portrait of a Woman, Gwen Evans (no.435)

• Castlefield Gallery: Artist Professional Development Award 1 – Gherdai Hassell, Solar (no.409)

• Castlefield Gallery: Artist Professional Development Award 2 – Annabelle Richmond-Wright, Alexa (no. 469)

• Castlefield Gallery: Artist Professional Development Award – 50+ – Nan Collantine, Oceans Apart no.22 (thin ice skating) (no.62)

• The People’s Choice Award – Luke Armstrong , Paper Samurai (no.458)

The People’s Choice Award is voted by visitors in the first 5 weeks of the exhibition.

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”.

In the first five weeks, HOME’s award-winning exhibition has generated over £23,000 in art sales with 93 artworks sold, exceeding the inaugural exhibition’s target of £22,000 in 2020.

Kate Royle, Marketing and Sales Officer – Visual Art and Theatre, says:

“It proves that there is demand to support Manchester’s diverse local artists. The Manchester Open also serves as an accessible entry point if you are starting your art collecting journey or you just want to snap up a great work of art. It’s fantastic to see so many artists supporting other artists in these purchases and art lovers supporting local artists!”

The Manchester Open has an accompanying events programme including a performance evening on Thu 10 Mar, 19:30.

Come and see the award-winning artworks yourself! The Manchester Open Exhibition runs until Sun 27 Mar and admission is free.