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Having seen photos of the long queue that was weaving around the corner and down the road for opening night I was hopeful and expecting a lot upon my visit to Manchester Open Exhibition 2020. Apart from the galleries that hold works from very distinguished and well-known artists, reaching a high number of visitors on the first day is quite an achievement for a gallery, especially when there is such an expansive age range from beginner to professional artists.
So, one month later, I finally took myself to visit HOME, Manchester.
I must admit I was expecting it to be quiet and most likely to be just myself and a couple of other visitors wandering around the space, including the invigilators. To my surprise, there was a steady flow of people coming through the doors all keen to view every single piece that was on display. There was many a discussion about individual pieces and how they have been made, their content and its message. This was a clear positive reaction to the artwork and the work of the curators in stimulating such discussions.
Anything and everything was on show. With over 500 pieces of artwork with a diverse range of media (painting, photography, sculpture, installation, video, textiles and ceramics), style, technique, quality and ability there is something for everyone to enjoy. There are very few exhibitions that have such a variety in artwork, and they have stayed true to their motto of ‘everyone is an artist’ regardless of any back catalogue of work or previous exhibitions.
HOME is also a cinema and theatre attracting more visitors to the gallery broadening their audience even more. With a great deal of events going on every week this is a place to visit and will continue to be a profound place in Manchester for the years to come.
Written by Beki Billings
Beki Billings is a recent graduate in Fine Art from De Montfort University,Leicester and is currently helping out at Saul Hay Gallery as part of the university graduate internship programme