Images: Cara Macwilliam (left) and Barbara Hulme (right)
Join us for this exhibition celebrating five artists based in Greater Manchester who have been involved with our Support Hub programme over the last six months.
Artists Ushiku Crisafulli, Kate Hughes and Cara Macwilliam were involved in our professional development sessions in-person at 53two, Barbara Hulme participated through our online programme, and Andrew Kuwornu was part of our mentoring programme.. These sessions were led by Manchester producer for the Support Hub, Jennifer Gilbert, aimed at supporting the artists to push their creative practice forward.
Each artist’s practice differs - from painting, drawing, mixed media, works that draw on emotional states and performance. Participating in these sessions has enabled the artists to come together to experience peer to peer learning, the sharing of ideas, professional growth, and most importantly for reciprocal support.
Exhibition Details
Location.
53two Manchester
Arch 19 Watson St
Manchester
M3 4LP
The exhibition is just inside the entrance of the venue on the walls either side.
Exhibition Launch.
Saturday 24th May, 2–4pm. Anybody is welcome to attend. Artist Ushiku will be doing a 10 minute performance at 2:45pm.
Opening Times.
You can visit the exhibition from 10am - 7pm. The exhibition is open until 22 June.
About the Artists
Ushiku Crisafulli is a chef, published writer, multi-disciplinary artist and founder of the OpenMiind Collective. Ushiku’s creative practice involves comedy, hip hop, musicianship, filmmaking, theatre making, acting, directing, facilitating, project management, and consultancy. He’s a proud ambassador of Disabled Artists Networking Community. The socially conscious strand of Ushiku’s work has been seen in the Unseen Voices exhibition (July 2023) in partnership with GMCA at HOME Mcr, which documented people with lived experience of multiple disadvantages through film, live performance, and panel discussions. Ushiku’s most ambitious project so far, Unmasked utilises a multidisciplinary approach to memoir to challenge the language around autistic authenticity and autistic enjoyment whilst championing accessible practice.
Kate Hughes’ creative practice is often experimental, prioritising the importance of finding ‘flow’ and immersing herself in the pleasure of the process of creating, without judgement or concern for the outcome. The intrigue for texture, pattern and colour was nurtured whilst studying textile design at The University of Central England (2001) and furthered through a Masters (2011). Following her studies, Kate had a 15-year career as a secondary school and A-Level Art teacher. Kate is now the co-founder of Outside The Lines Community CIC, facilitating art workshops, with the purpose of supporting adults with positivity, mindfulness and mental wellbeing through the power of art. She promotes the belief that engaging in art, and being creative, is a superpower and can benefit everyone, regardless of ability.
Barbara Hulme is a disabled artist who empowers disabled people by painting portraits of them, accompanied by their own words. Barbara has been making art for the past 40 years. Her work is in watercolour, with the occasional splash of gold ink. She has been exhibited at: Outside In’s exhibitions at Sotheby’s, London and Hove Museum; at The Level, Derbyshire; and at Chorlton Arts Festival for several years.
Originally from Ghana, Andrew Kuwornu specialises in acrylic and watercolour portraits and landscapes. Self-taught, he began painting in 2022, firstly using it as a therapy, and now honing his skills more. His work has evolved over time to include mixed media such as collage and textiles, which is important to him as he wants people to engage with the tactile surfaces of his art, especially given his own experience with glaucoma. His work aims to raise awareness of often-overlooked socio-economic issues, such as men’s mental health, and women and their place in society, which draws on his Ghanaian upbringing. He had his first solo exhibition at 42nd Street, Manchester in 2024.
Cara Macwilliam is a multi-disciplinary self-taught artist who uses her practice to explore her fascination with energy; from the physical and emotional, to the metaphysical*. This interest comes from her stance as disabled person living with an energy limiting illness. There is power, play, flow and movement in her art – everything she says her illness has taken away. Using automatism, Macwilliam’s work spans various media including drawing, painting, sculpture and digital. She has had her work exhibited at: Cavin Morris Gallery, New York; Halle Saint Pierre, Paris; and at Mura Ma, Marple.
*Metaphysical means relating to the study of reality and existence, or to ideas that are outside of human sense perception.
About Support Hub
The Support Hub is a three-year funded project of a range of support programmes for artists exploring health and wellbeing in their practice. The programmes include Peer to Peer Professional Development groups, Artists’ Peer to Peer Mental Health groups, Reflective Supervision support, and one-to-one Mentoring for early career artists. These sessions take place in-person in London and Manchester, as well as online for national participants. The Support Hub is funded by Arts Council England, the Baring Foundation and the GLA (Greater London Authority). We would like to thank 53two for their support hosting the Manchester based sessions.
A callout for the third and final round of the Support Hub programmes will be launching on 2 June 2025 – check our website opportunities from then, or sign up to our mailing list and keep an eye on our Instagram.