Manchester Craft and Design Centre: Michael Beard

About

This year marks the building’s 150th anniversary and in celebration, Venture Arts artist Michael Beard will be showing a series of new works inspired by Manchester architecture.

Beard is well known for his large-scale drawings (Thumbs Up at Castlefield Gallery, 2020), which he continues to develop and explore, as well as working on a new body of work in ceramics, inspired by the Manchester skyline. As part of this exhibition, he will also be collaborating with ceramicist Sue Cragg, a Manchester Craft and Design Centre resident maker, on a series of functional items, which she will throw and he will decorate.

MICHAEL BEARD
Michael Beard is a Venture Arts studio artist who works across various disciplines including painting, drawing and ceramics. Beard is well known for his large-scale drawings and has shown locally (Thumbs Up at Castlefield Gallery, 2020) and internationally (Para Art, Tokyo, Japan, 2018) which he continues to develop and explore in this show.

SUE CRAGG
Sue Cragg is a Manchester Craft and Design Centre resident maker who creates wheel-thrown tableware in porcelain and stoneware clays. The clay is sometimes coloured by hand and may be carved or finished with an accent of colour. Her designs are modern, simple, and pared back. The decoration is minimal, allowing the shapes to speak for themselves. Sue’s aim is to create functional ceramics with a simple balance of form, which gives pleasure in their daily use.

VENTURE ARTS
Based in Manchester, Venture Arts is an award-winning visual arts organisation working with learning-disabled artists. Through their studio programmes, exhibitions and collaborative projects, they remove barriers to the arts. They put artists in the lead, champion neurodiversity and provide pathways for every individual to develop their creative identity.