CELEBRATING OUR ARTISTS | Learning Disability Week 2020

We celebrate the many achievements of our community all year round, but this week even more so!   Learning Disability Week is a national week, organised by Mencap, and the theme this year is the importance of friendships during lockdown.   Venture Arts exists to raise the profile of, and create opportunities for, learning disabled … Continued

Across the country, volunteers have been making an exceptional contribution to supporting local communities and those in need. National Volunteers’ week is the perfect opportunity to recognise their selfless achievements. We want to say a huge, heartfelt ‘thanks’ to our volunteers too! At Venture Arts we’ve always been extremely proud of the energy, commitment and warmth … Continued

Lock down is a great opportunity to spend more time being creative…   Two of our artists, Sally and Amy, have produced colouring-in designs for you to enjoy at home.   Sally has drawn a rainbow inspired by the many rainbows she’s seen in people’s windows since lock down. She is currently fundraising for our … Continued

We are never short of pride at Venture Arts when it comes to how we feel about our Artists, but this month our chests are inflating even further…     Textile Artist Sally, has been slowly building her strength and stamina so that she can cycle further and for longer on her recumbent bike. Why? So she can take … Continued

Our Artistic Manager, Katherine Long, is Cotton On MCR’s ‘Manc of the Month’ for May 2020!   The online guide to Manchester’s art scene interviewed Katherine recently. They describe how she has spent the last few weeks working incredibly hard, along with her artistic team “…trying to change how Venture Arts runs and interacts with … Continued

Apart – but still together during social distancing – our participants are enjoying each other’s company through online activities run by our tutors and volunteers: virtual sing-alongs and bops; quizzes and group chats; footie club and exercise; relaxing yoga and meditation and more…   The sing-along went down well with participants. Despite a few little … Continued

Dear friends and supporters   Things are tough for all of us right now. Our lives are on hold while we all try to stop the spread of Covid-19.   It’s concerning for everyone. But for our participants, this is likely to be an even more distressing time.   Venture Arts is where they feel … Continued

Have you ever asked the universe for anything?    Last year a friend told me to ask the universe for what I wanted, and it would happen! Now I would describe myself as a realist, some may say sceptic, so I was more than a little doubtful, but I thought I might just look into … Continued

  This exhibition is the latest iteration of the Venture Arts-led Conversations Series and brings together artists, with and without disability, from Blackpool and Manchester who have worked together to investigate how artists are labelled, who makes art and who it is for. The exhibition includes works on loan from the Musgrave Kinley Outsider Art … Continued

Dominic Bennett: Hi, my name is Dominic and welcome to the HOME Open Exhibition. You’ll see a lot of art, but my favourite artwork is ‘The Little Shop of Horrors’ by me – but don’t worry I’m not here to scare you!   I love art, I come to Venture Arts – its place where … Continued