BLOG | Joshua Brown – Lockdown Artist

Josh has been coming to Venture Arts for three years and loves drawing, printing, painting and photography. He spoke to Venture Arts volunteer Megan about what inspires his art and how his creativity has got him through lockdown.     Age: 26 Attending VA since: October 2017  Interests: Drawing, Printing, Painting and Photography  Goals: Have … Continued

Amy Ellison’s ‘Cocktails’ has been acquired by the Grundy for their main collection and is to be exhibited alongside the work of Tracey Emin and Joseph Kosuth this autumn.   Grundy Art Gallery in Blackpool has announced the launch of its autumn 2020 exhibition ‘The Lights’. Taking its title from how the Blackpool Illuminations are … Continued

Explore the stories, creativity, views and histories of disabled people.   Due to Covid19 Manchester Histories Festival delivered its first ever DigiFest this month. The celebrations included an online gallery, showcasing work by disabled artists. Ten of our artists contributed work, a mixture of film, digital photography, illustration and photographs, all linked to the themes … Continued

“Let’s pretend we are from the future. Mother Nature is on the edge of collapse. Where will we be when it dies? And how will the world look when it is reborn?”   Last year HOME launched Future 20 – a year-long artist residency and training programme for emerging artists aged 18-25. Venture Arts artists, … Continued

Bring a smile to your face every time you reach for the PPE.   These uplifting designs will transform your experience of wearing a mask. Designed by Anne Hermon, our unique limited edition masks feature original artwork by four Venture Arts artists:   ‘Cocktails’ by Amy Ellison (modelled by Amy) ‘Crocodile’ by Andrew Johnstone (modelled … Continued

Venture Arts’ Public Engagement Assistant, Amber Okpa-Stother, shares her experience of working and staying active through lockdown.   Amber first came to Venture Arts in 2008 when she joined our Young People’s Art Club. She became a talented photographer, filmmaker and ceramicist, who went on to work on a variety of projects. Amber is skilled … Continued

Dear friends and supporters,   An astonishing number of you have helped our artists feel less isolated from the world during lockdown. Thanks to you, our people have had a friendly, reassuring and consistent experience provided by Venture Arts whilst they’ve been stuck at home. However – they still need your help. Our artists are desperate to get back to the studio. Remote art sessions … Continued

Emlyn writes about the highs and lows of his experience of lockdown and how he has come through it more passionate than ever about about his art.   Emlyn has epilepsy and autism, which sometimes causes him to be nonverbal. He is a passionate and skilled photographer, known for his bold, nature inspired images. His ‘Pigeon’ … Continued

Being in lockdown has been challenging for all our artists, but the creation of art has not stopped. For many it has in fact taken new and unexpected turns, with one to one zoom sessions developing their creative practise in new ways.   We spoke to Louise Hewitt about how lockdown has been for her. … Continued

As part of our Learning Disability Week celebrations, we held a photography competition. Open to all, the only stipulation for the competition was that the photograph had to be taken outside. We had a stunning selection of entries, varying wildly in subject and style. Thanks so much to all who entered. After some serious deliberation we … Continued