Sally returned to art during COVID after a thirty-year gap, having completed a foundation course at Bradford College of Art and Design, and a degree in textile design at Nottingham Trent University in the late 1980s.
Award-winning artist Barbara Sykes’ new exhibition at the Weavers Factory, ‘The Human Condition’ is a retrospective of her landmark figurative works plus a brand new collection of emotive portraits created in the lockdown of 2020.
Landscape artist Rod Billington explores the fragile relationship between nature and the built environment. Will our rampant love of consumerism be our downfall, or will the next generation bring light and hope?
Artist Sina Sparrow returns to the Weavers Factory with his newest collection of work “SANCTIFIED”, exploring his love for religious and occult art, mythical and mystical beings, and paganism. The exhibition is in two parts, the first re-imagines contemporary pop stars as saints, the second re-interprets historical saints through the medium of Pop Art and illustration.
In March 2020 Anthony Marn’s exhibition ‘The Space Left Behind’ portrayed the moment his parents’ took their own lives and the effect it had on his childhood. But just a few days after the exhibition opened Covid19 hit and the gallery was forced to close. So we’ve invited Anthony back to reflect on his original theme and expand it by exploring his very earliest memories.
We’re delighted to welcome Royal College of Art graduate and printmaker Sarah Battle, who will be launching a new range of collages for her first exhibition at the Weavers Factory.
In 1790 the Northumberland-born wood engraver Thomas Bewick published A General History of Quadrupeds. MAFA artist John Hewitt’s exhibition of digital prints, Quadrupeds Quadrupled, forms a modest tribute to that landmark work of Natural History.
Our first exhibition for 2022 celebrates Joan Charnley’s 1949 textile design thesis ‘Horizontality and Verticality - the Importance of Stripe in Textile Design’, with our first ever book (a 220-page art book featuring the story behind the thesis), plus brand new limited-edition prints from the book and Joan’s 1952 textile “Stars and Stripes” textile design. We’ve also invited students from Oldham college to create new designs inspired by Joan’s thesis
Our 2019 ‘Joan Charnley Bursary’ artist Seamus Killick returns after his apperance on Grayson’s Art Club, with exclusive Giclée prints of paintings from his Pilotenkueche International Residency.
Our annual Manchester School of Art prize returns with graduates from MMU’s 2021 BA(Hons) Illustration with Animation. The winners will have their work promoted and sold on the Weavers Factory Print Shop
Saddleworth artist Lucy George’s debut solo exhibition chronicles her artistic journey from childhood, school and onto her foundation course at Manchester School of Art. From September 2021 Lucy will be studying Knitwear Design at Nottingham Trent University.
We are delighted to launch our brand new ‘Weavers Factory Print Shop’ with 20 Giclee prints of paintings from Isabel’s sell-out exhibition ‘Scraps, Patches and Rags’
Julian Bovis is an urban landscape artist and curator of the Weavers Factory gallery. After 20 years as an art director on Fleet Street he left to become a full-time artist. His first solo exhibition was at the Architects Gallery, London, in October 2013. For the exhibition he created 20 super-sized original black and white drawings, all of which are being sold for the first time, here at the Weavers Factory.
Artist and writer Isabel uses paint, fabric and collage to explore the subject of “home” in her first solo exhibition ‘Scraps, Patches and Rags” at the Weavers Factory in Manchester. Isabel explores a wide range of contemporary themes including loneliness, misogyny, racism and abandonment.
Mid-century artist and studio potter Joan Hoverstadt shunned the limelight for a life of education. This unique retrospective shines a light on a fascinating body of work hidden from the art world for over 50-years
When he was 5 years old his mother took her own life. Eight years later his father did the same. In his moving new exhibition ‘The Space Left Behind’, Anthony Marn explores how art can become pivotal to the grieving process
For over 50-years Joan Charnley designed textiles for a wide-range of design houses across the country. Her first design was bought by Sanderson in 1951, followed by ‘Beachcombers’ which was acquired by the V&A museum. In this exhibition artist and Weavers Factory curator Julian Bovis re-visits some of Joan’s finest designs and re-interprets them for the 21st Century
In 2019 we awarded the Joan Charnley Prize to three textile graduates from Manchester School of Art. The winners, Hannah Sheldon, Warren Reilly and Megan Ditchfield have each created a brand new design inspired by the extensive archive of Weavers Factory patron Joan Charnley.
Welcome to ‘Baublicious’ - the Weavers Factory’s first ever Christmas exhibition. You’ll discover original paintings, drawings, sculptures and pottery, plus amazing one-off pieces. We also have a wonderful range of scarves, socks, cards, candles, vintage glass and ceramics, all hand-made by artisan makers we know and love.
Award-winning portrait artist Elizabeth Wood’s first solo exhibition in 35-years reveals a large body of forgotten paintings, discovered at the back of her garden shed and not seen in public for a generation. Works include portraits, landscapes from the 1950s and conceptual paintings from the 1960s
Design graduates Jack-Victor Westerdale and Ivon Haywood launch their first ever furniture range exclusively at the Weavers Factory. After meeting on the Furniture Design and Make course in Oxford, Jack and Ivon moved north to Ivon’s hometown of Littleborough in Rochdale to set up a workshop. “Measure Twice, Cut Once” at the Weavers Factory will be the only opportunity to purchase one-off prototypes from Jack and Ivon’s post-graduation furniture range before it goes on sale to the general public.
Artist and London DJ Sina Sparrow presents a retrospective of his work, including vivid colour illustrations of some of his favourite music and movie idols, autobiographical hand-drawn comics and zines, and large-format portraits of dead male adult film stars (18+)
Yorkshire-born ceramicist Pat Kaye creates a brand new body of work on the subject of the domestic chicken. Expect creative installations, sculpture, earthenware, plates, egg cups, bowls and ceramic buttons
Artist Simon Buckley’s new exhibition ‘We Play In Time’ focuses on Saddleworth and the Dobcross Silver Band. Simon will create a time capsule of the Dobcross Silver Band through the medium of low-light photography, video, sound and interviews. He will create a brand new piece of music inspired by the voices of the musicians and photograph the seven villages of Saddleworth at dusk, revealing a silent and hidden world.
Multi-media artist Seamus Killick explores Saddleworth’s dark history. Using a mixture of installation, sculpture, 3D modelling and painting, Seamus creates a imaginary time 50-years in the future where people roam a bleak dystopian landscape.
In our inaugural art exhibition we explore the history of Saddleworth, the Weavers Factory and its patron Joan Charnley. Landscape artist John Hewitt and illustration students from Manchester Metropolitan University will illustrate the building and the village’s history, whilst design students from Oldham College of Further Education will create an exhibition inspired by the textiles of Joan Charnley.
