CONTEXT PRACTICAL: BENCH SELF MADE GALLERY

Through my research I cam across the Northern Quarter's Bench Self Made Gallery. Launched in September 2012 it is fast making its creative mark on the city, hosting a series of events, gigs, exhibitions and workshops in collaboration with some of Manchester's finest makers and creators. 

The gallery has been home to a series of exhibitions ranging from All in the Wrist, curated by graphic artist Moot using just the medium of cardboard; The World According to MAS, a view of the world by Manchester School of Art MA photographic students and Daniel Cheetham's first solo photography exhibition, Overspill - which documents the spill over of Manchester estates. SS13 exhibitions will include Sketch City - a collaborative and interactive street art workshop and exhibition with activity tying in with Record Store Day and the 30th anniversaries of the genre defining films Wild Style and Style Wars.

The Bench Self Made Gallery also presents Lunch Time Live, a series of midweek and Saturday afternoon gigs, which creates a platform for up and coming musicians in Manchester and beyond to reach new audiences. As well as performing in the gallery the gigs can be viewed and enjoyed across Bench's social media networks. To date soul funk songstress JJ Rosa (formerly Jessie Rose), Frazer King, the infamous Dirty North, The Naughtys and 60's influenced The Quangos have all performed. And world touring noise duo Brown Brogues are one of many talents lined-up for the new season. Catch up with Lunch Time Live on the Bench You Tube Channel.

Bench's multi-purpose gallery space also acts a collaborative meeting space and is fast building a community of local creatives, hosting networking events and workshops. BLAB Mini 5, was a sell-out social event which saw five high profile local creators talking to their peers on the subject of 'Things I've Seen'. This gave an intriguing insight into their inspirations. Meanwhile graphic design school Shillington College chose the venue for their end of year show to invite local design studios to meet and seek out Manchester's next generation of designers.

The Gallery is available to book for FREE. It can be used to exhibit art, host music gigs, meetings or anything else you can think of (within reason...). Please get in touch if you would like to know more.

After finding out the gallery was free to hire and was in the prefect location, I contacted the gallery via email. 

Unfortunately the gallery had shut down in september and was no longer taking bookings or being re-opened.

Overview

From my research and visits so far I felt that the Bench self made gallery would have been the perfect space for my exhibition. Not only due to price and location but also the previous exhibitions that have been displayed there before looked amazing and had a similar aesthetic in which I wanted to create. The gallery also had a wealth of creative artists and events through it's door! Despite this I will continue to research and visit more spaces in hope that I find somewhere as good as this.