Artist Biography

Deborah Makinde works mainly in illustration and printmaking, with scenes and characters from her favourite films and musicals featuring most prominently in her work. She also has a love of animals, and since undertaking a Venture Arts Cultural Enrichment placement in 2018 she has been volunteering regularly at Manchester Museum, demonstrating artefacts from their natural history collection to visitors. Her favourite museum object, a taxidermy badger, inspired a painting which she sold to a collector in 2019.

“[My art is inspired by] films, things from Manchester museum, animals and wrestling. [My proudest moment as an artist was] being in exhibitions and selling my badger painting. Art is fun, it makes me very happy!”

In late 2021 Deborah ran a clay votives workshop with Manchester Histories, exploring disability history in classical civilisation as part of Disability History Month.

In 2022 Deborah is taking part in Narratives, the third in our pioneering ‘Conversations Series’, in which learning disabled artists work alongside emerging contemporary artists over several months, producing new work through an equal exchange of art and ideas. This current collaboration will result in an exhibition at The Lowry in January 2023.

Exhibitions

Completely A Hustling Place, Manchester Central Library, 2021.

Environments, Outside In, National Open Art Exhibition, London, 2019

PERSPECTIVES, Venture Arts, various venues in Manchester and Salford, 2018

MADE, Venture Arts Studio Show, People’s History Museum, Manchester 2015

The Art of Nature, Venture Arts Studio Show, The Lowry, Salford Quays 2014