This weekend, Cotton On Manchester is showcasing the artwork of 35 women-identifying artists in a pop-up International Women’s Day Exhibition.
Step into the bustling and brightly-lit interior of The Village Hall in Deansgate Mews this weekend and you’ll find more than a welcome escape from the freak Winter weather.
Across the venue’s two rooms, a huge range of artistic styles and mediums – from sculptures made of ‘flotsam and jetsam’ to watercolour, print and digital art – have been brought together to celebrate the talent of Manchester’s woman-identifying creatives.
The exhibition came from an open call by Cotton On Manchester, an art event organisation which spotlights the diversity of Manchester’s culture scene.
Founder and organiser Domino Panton-Oakley said: “I was thinking about International Woman’s Day and wanted to do something for it.
“I’ve previously written an article about how women are underrepresented in the art world. Female artists aren’t being shown as much as male artists, not selling their work as much as male artists.
“So I thought: let’s do it! Let’s celebrate international women’s day with an exhibition where we can help tip that balance.”
The opening night yesterday was well-visited, with many artists present to speak about their work.
The artworks in the exhibition touch upon as many different themes as they do mediums, with artist Kate Max thematizing endangered animals and environmental destruction or Chloe Harris and Sue Scott exploring architecture and urbanity.
But for many artists, gender identity and different aspects of womanhood figure heavily in their work.
Artist TRIP takes the idea of stretchmarks and the scrutinized bodily ‘imperfections’ of women and merges them into kaleidoscope-inspired paintings.
Red Betty plays with nature, patterns and growth in her intricate illustrations, inspired by her grandmother’s garden and in part by becoming a mother herself.
Meanwhile, Jasmin Issaka represents the power of femininity and celebrates West-African heritage through her psychedelically-rendered figure of Nana Bukuulu, a deity from Dahomey religion who is revered as the creator of the universe.
Issaka explained: “She’s a strong woman who gave birth to gods, and is all about embracing family and nurturing your power as a woman to create something good in the world.
“And I’m trying to create a story [about identity] that I feel and see and believe in.”
The artist noted that while her artwork celebrates womanliness, there’s still a way to go until femininity is seen as equal – especially in the art world.
“There are something like five times more female figures in the national galleries than there are female artists,” she said.
“How are we allowing people to drink in the in the inspiration of women but not allowing women to create in participate in the story of that inspiration? It’s not fair.”
This sentiment was echoed by abstract artist Mercedes Dawson.
She said: “There’s massive elitism in the art world and it’s always going to be harder for me to break in as the artist rather than the muse.”
She noted that, though Manchester has a strong feminist legacy, that elitism persists here too – only around 11% of Manchester Art Gallery’s collection is by female artists.
“So I really liked the idea of a female-led, female-curated exhibition, especially in Manchester.”
Her work is all about the female form, often inspired by poetry she writes, which can be read by scanning the QR code under her painting at the exhibition.
“I’m bisexual and I find women incredibly attractive,” She said “And the very visceral poetry I write is all about my connection to women.”
She started painting after her mother passed away from cancer and she was recovering from a double mastectomy and reconstruction.
“The whole idea of the female form is intrinsic to everything I do because it’s my history – I can’t escape it if I’d wanted to,” she said.
Cotton On Manchester’s exhibition explores, celebrates, and problematizes the experiences of women-identifying artists.
It is well worth a visit – and soon, as the exhibition ends at 4PM tomorrow.
There will be an event with artist’s talks at The Village Hall this evening at 6.30PM.
Cover Photo: Artist Red Betty at the International Women’s Day Exhibition with one of her prints, taken by Charlotte Hall
