Bankley Studios & Artists Gallery

A solo show from Bankley Open Call 2022 winner Laura Bygrave

Opening Night
7-9pm Friday 4th August 2023

Exhibition Continues
12-4pm Saturdays + Sundays until 20th August

Bankley Gallery is very excited to present Bullhuman, a debut solo exhibition from Laura Bygrave. After being selected as the Winner of Bankley Open 2022 by judges Ruth Murray and Matt Rettalick, Laura has been working on a series of new works, which will be shown alongside paintings made in the last three years.
‘Lying in bed reading a story about a great big bullfrog, my son asks why ‘a frog could be a bull-frog when it’s not a cow-creature?’. I explain how the word bull can be used to describe a hot headed, puffed-up, huge version of a species - bullfrogs, bulldogs… It can also describe a clumsy person, someone who might thrash around in a china shop.
As I’m saying this it strikes me that this idea of ‘bull’ could describe my primary feeling when I’m in the studio - a bull-headed, thrashy feeling. A feeling of being too quick to catch up with a rational voice in my head. At this point the studio is a place to be without elegance, my physical hand and envisioning head are not in step with each other. A bullhuman is present, as material disruptions, as heavy-handed simplification, mess, and speed’.
All Free, No Booking Required

This Friday! Bankley Exchanges #1:
Charlotte Dawson, Naomi Harwin, Karanjit Panesar

Opening Night
7-9pm Friday 23rd June 2023
Exhibition Continues
12-4pm Saturdays + Sundays until 9th July

Bankley Exchanges is a series of exhibitions bringing together artists from studio groups in neighbouring cities, and exploring their work in relation to one another. For the first edition, Charlotte Dawson (S1, Sheffield), Naomi Harwin (Paradise Works, Manchester) and Karanjit Panesar (Serf, Leeds) present works that investigate the power of objects and their ability to become holders of memory, both collectively and individually.
@charlottedawsonart @naomiharwin @karanjitpanesar
All Free, No Booking Required
Photos include Bankley Artists Will Marshall will_marshall and Joe O’Rourke from our Gallery Team visiting our exhibiting artists studios a few weeks ago!
A really exciting event. We can’t wait to welcome you all!

HAPTICS
Opening Night: Friday 24th March 2023, 7-9pm

Exhibition Continues: Saturdays and Sundays, 12-4pm, until 2nd April

A network of multi-media pieces by eight artists from Manchester School Of Art @mcrschart , exploring the perceptual intimacy of time-based artworks. ‘Haptics’ is transforming Bankley Gallery into a space of sensory and tactile connections.

The exhibition presents the opportunity for audiences to act as a part of an open system, altering the traditional points of viewing through differing levels of exhibited artworks. Each piece captures observational moments of antiquity as well as providing intersectional conversations between the other artworks.

Alice Bowen, Campbell Dempster Forey, Theo Holden, Leah Kelly, Martha Mazur, Izabelle Murphy, Paris Taylor, Lettice Tweedie

All Free, No Booking Required

Access Information

Bankley Gallery is situated on the first floor of an old mill building, which unfortunately is currently only accessible by stairs.

The building is located just off the main road, with regular bus services from Manchester and Stockport, and is around 450m from Levenshulme train station. The station has no lift and both platforms are only accessible by stairs.

Bankley presents: THERE-THEN-HERE-NOW
Opening Thursday 24th November 6-9PM

We’re excited to welcome you to THERE-THEN-HERE-NOW, an exhibition that brings together 8 artists who disrupt the idea that a photograph is the result of a singular event. They use layering, collaging or rephotographing to create multiple realities: we perceive spaces within a space, gazes within a gaze and different moments in time unfolding at once.
While the artists explore many different themes in their work, together they invite us to interact with alternative space-time relationships. Our attention is drawn to the materiality of photography, and how photographs are objects which can be manipulated, distorted, cropped and reappropriated.

Exhibiting Artists Rebecca Howard, Tze Yan Lim, Papa Nii Akushey Quaye, Ellie Rankin, Sarah Blaszczok, James Dewhirst, Joshua Phillips & Ben McDonnell
Curated by Bella Probyn @bellaprobyn and Assistant Curator James Dewhirst
Opening Night 6-9pm Thursday 24th November 2022
Exhibition Continues 12-4pm Saturdays + Sundays until 11th December

Access Information
Bankley Gallery is situated on the first floor of an old mill building, which unfortunately is currently only accessible by stairs.
The building is located just off the main road, with regular bus services from Manchester and Stockport, and is around 450m from Levenshulme train station. The station has no lift and both platforms are only accessible by stairs.

(image: Joshua Phillips & Ben McDonnell)

Bankley Open 2022 + Open Studios

Friday 23rd + Saturday 24th September

As part of Bankley’s continued 30 year celebrations, we present an exhibition from 20 artists, selected through our annual open call. On the opening weekend, Friday + Saturday, all three floors of our artist’s studios will be open to the public

Friday 23rd September 6-9pm:
Opening Night + Award Ceremony + Bankley Open Studios

Bankley Open Studios:
6-9pm Friday 23rd September +
12-4pm Saturday 24th September

Exhibition Continues:
12-4pm Saturdays + Sundays until 9th October

David Cooper, Paul Vivian, Alice Macdonald, Peter Symonds, Jack Paffett, Narbi Price, Joseph Dilnot, Lotti V Closs, Fleur Yearsley, Laura Bygrave, Melanie Berman, Christopher Tansey, Beatrice Galletley, Gareth Kemp, Paul Dodgson, Tommy Harrison, John Cake, Luke Skiffington, Meriel Clarke, Yasmine Robinson
Image by Bankley Open Call Selected Artist Melanie Berman ‘Bylaw’


Free Entry for All - No Booking Required

Opening Night: Friday 29th July 2022, 7-9pm
Exhibition Continues: Saturdays + Sundays, 12-4pm, until 14th August 2022
Bankley Gallery is very excited to present an innovative new exhibition from the Winners of Bankley Open 2021, selected by judges Tamar Hemmes, Simon Buckley and Audrey Albert.
Davies, Monaghan and Klein’s solo exhibition will bring together a collection of their unique works, which are presented as small windows in the gallery walls, hiding incredible moving worlds within.
The Overlooked explores hidden narratives, looking at people and situations that are often absent or reduced to generalisations. Themes such as the loneliness and isolation that many people experience, the sense of being captive in a world which neither acknowledges nor addresses individual struggles, and the creaking of institutions such as the health and judicial system. These are contrasted with the occasional glimpse of joy, and a celebration of diversity and community. Although the subject matter is serious, the issues are dealt with in a tragi-comic way and the use of animation lends an air of absurdity to the characters.
“Our collaborative is interested in socio-political issues, and produces work that aims to engage the viewer while acting as an aid for provoking consideration of and dialogue about current concerns. The work produced comprises multimedia and multi-sensory installations. We are particularly interested in engaging the viewer in full sensory experiences, and the pieces have soundtracks and controlled viewpoints, creating an illusion of space and playing with scale.This can help evoke a sense of unease and momentary disorientation. The audience views each scene or story in isolation, enabling engagement with the work in an intimate way.”

The Bankley Open Call is back! As part of our continued 30 Year Celebrations, we invite submissions from artists working in any discipline. Approximately 15 artists will be chosen by a panel of judges to exhibit in the Bankley Open Exhibition opening September 2022.
The 1st prize winner will receive a solo show at Bankley Studios + Gallery alongside £500 prize money + £200 production fee.
There will also be a £200 prize for the runner-up.
Selection & Judging Panel:
Nikita Gill: Artist, Producer + Curator at Manchester Art Gallery @7sekonds
Matt Retallick: Curator, Writer + Art Historian @matt_retallick
Ruth Murray: Painter, Rogue Studios + former Bankley member @ruthmurrayartist
Read full details and apply via Curator Space
https://www.curatorspace.com/opportunities/detail/bankley-open-call/6490?fbclid=IwAR1b5mrn4_wTCZK0GpBPD8mSfARqcmphkJVUBuGIs-BlqoXsoD1jDnUii24

(Link also on our instagram and facebook)
Submission deadline: 31st July 2022 (midnight)
Exhibition Opening night and Awards Ceremony: Friday 23rd September 2022, 6-9pm
Exhibition Continues: 24th September - 9th October
Good luck!

Opening Night: Friday 24th June 2022, 7-9pm
Exhibition Continues: Saturdays + Sundays, 12-4pm, until 10th July 2022
Storytelling workshop: Saturday 25th June, 12-4pm
An exhibition of works that all begin to tell their own story. Each piece presents part of a narrative, a snapshot that invites you to create your own backstory, and write the next chapter.
Sophie McBriarty, Alexander Glass, Amy Gough, Maud Haya-Baviera, Richard Dean Hughes, Amrit Randhawa, Katie Tomlinson, Naomi Williams
Curated by Will Marshall
Storytelling workshop with Hannah Knowles: on Saturday 25th, join us for a free workshop in the gallery. A series of short exercises devised to explore the world of storytelling by responding to some of the intriguing artworks in the show. Open to all ages, no booking necessary
Access Information Bankley Gallery is situated on the first floor of an old mill building, which unfortunately is currently only accessible by stairs. The studios are located on the first, second and third floors and are also only accessible by stairs. The building is located just off the main road, with regular bus services from Manchester and Stockport, and is around 450m from Levenshulme train station. The station has no lift and both platforms are only accessible by stairs.
Access Information
Bankley Gallery is situated on the first floor of an old mill building, which unfortunately is currently only accessible by stairs. The studios are located on the first, second and third floors and are also only accessible by stairs.The building is located just off the main road, with regular bus services from Manchester and Stockport, and is around 450m from Levenshulme train station. The station has no lift and both platforms are only accessible by stairs.

Bankley: 30 Years of Artist Led
+ Open Studios

Opening Night + Bankley Open Studios
6-9pm Friday 20th May 2022

Exhibition Continues
12-4pm Saturdays + Sundays until 5th June

Bankley Open Studios: 6-9pm Friday 20th May
12-4pm Saturday 21st May

Bankley studios + Gallery turns 30 this year!
To celebrate this anniversary the studios present a headline exhibition, looking back at the history of Bankley, as well as acknowledging and highlighting the importance that artist-led activity, studios and galleries continue to have for our artists and communities. The exhibition will feature artists past and present, archival material and a new film exploring the legacy of Bankley.
This moment of celebration will elevate the profile of artists, studio holders and Gallery at Bankley.
On the opening night, the Gallery will be inviting many people who have been involved with Bankley Studios + Gallery over the years; creating a space of reflection: reigniting old ideas, new ideas, reconnecting and connecting creatives whose lives have moved into different directions.

Access Information

Bankley Gallery is situated on the first floor of an old mill building, which unfortunately is currently only accessible by stairs.

The building is located just off the main road, with regular bus services from Manchester and Stockport, and is around 450m from Levenshulme train station. The station has no lift and both platforms are only accessible by stairs.

Free Entry for All - No Booking Required

‘Half Awake’
Opening Night: Friday 15th April 6-9pm

Join us after at The Talleyrand for a performance by The Accident Group from 10pm

Exhibition Continues: 12-4pm Saturdays + Sundays until 1st May

Bankley Studios + Gallery invites you to ‘Half Awake’, an exhibition of paintings by Joe O’Rourke and Parham Ghalamdar, from guest curator Matt Retallick.
‘On first glance, you may think that Joe O’Rourke and Parham Ghalamdar are very different painters. However, this exhibition, the first time their work is presented together, demonstrates the strong parallels between them. After all, both artists offer portals into artificial worlds, present alternate realities, and paint as a societal critique. Their paintings are proxy stage sets, uncanny representations rooted in the complexities of life (...) Themes include a questioning of humankind, the role of the body, a sense of individuality verses collective, an ever-present vein of dark humour, mismatched imagery, and absurdity, but I notice one of the overarching focusses of their work is surveillance’. 

 - excerpt from ‘There Are No Choices Without Chances’, an exhibition text written by Matt Retallick on the occasion of Half Awake.


Access Information

Bankley Gallery is situated on the first floor of an old mill building, which unfortunately is currently only accessible by stairs.

The building is located just off the main road, with regular bus services from Manchester and Stockport, and is around 450m from Levenshulme train station. The station has no lift and both platforms are only accessible by stairs.

Free Entry for All - No Booking Required