Photo by Michael Pollard
Machester Open 2026
Home Gallery
June - September 2026
The Manchester Open is the biggest celebration of Greater Manchester's artists and creative talent - and it returns this summer. Taking place every two years, The Manchester Open is an exhibition of artworks from people across Greater Manchester of all experience levels, including first-time artists and enthusiasts as well as emerging talent and established professionals. Selected by a panel consisting of art experts and community representatives, the artwork on display represents artists from across all of Greater Manchester's buroughs and includes works in the categories of ceramics; digital / moving image; drawing; print; painting; photography; sculpture / installation; and textiles.
Photos by Shona Mcguinness, Ella Budgen and Bella Cagnoli
Live for the Applause
Slide Gallery, Manchester School of Art
April 2026
Niamh Pounder and Bella Cagnoli
‘Live For The Applause’ seeks to explore humanity’s tendency to drive and thirst for validation whether it be sexual, career or in a social context. This exhibition acts as form of catharsis for artist Niamh Pounder and Bella Cagnoli, as they try and navigate the contemporary clash of validation versus self-assurance through sculpture. The push and pulls of humiliation versus empowerment, desperation versus acceptance. They don't like to admit it, but they would do anything for an applause. Or dare them say make it clap.
The importance of forming a space for viewpoint and conversation around the trans, queer lived experience is the forefront of Pounder’s practice, with sexual relationships and the self-destructive validation that accompanies these interactions being a recurring theme. Conflicting negotiations between her protection of the self, alongside a need to be seen in a feminine and desired manner (even when being the subject of fetishisation), are displayed in familiar domestic found objects. Distorted through entangled embodiment and fetish-based materiality. The domestic home alongside sexual motifs illuminates the early beginnings of many young trans individuals who strive for their gender validation, attempting to make their bodies worthy when cast out of social passages.
Cagnoli explores the themes of failure and self-deprecation through a comedic, playful and narrative based practice. She creates eccentric, weird, kinetic sculptures to address and counter the perma-crisis of contemporary life. Including the unrealistic capitalistic pressures of success and perfectionism. As a stand-up comedian Cagnoli is no stranger for craving the validation of strangers. She developed a methodology called ‘Material Joke Writing’, where she follows the rhythm of stand up in a sculptural context. Although humour and failure can seem contradictory, failure is a necessity when developing a joke, and here she has decided to lean into that.
Photo by Michael Pollard
Art School Commissions - Degree Show
Holden Gallery
Manchester School of Art
June 2026
Developed through a commissioning process that mirrors professional practice — open call, pitching, budgeting, and production — the works reflect conceptual ambition, and the ability to navigate the complexities of creating contemporary creative work. This real-world experience equips students with vital professional skills, enhances their employability, and prepares them for diverse careers in the creative industries.
From sculptural interventions and expanded print to immersive environments, painting and speculative design, the exhibition showcases how emerging artists and designers engage with some of the most pressing issues of our time, such as environmental sustainability, social justice, and the evolving role of artificial intelligence. These are explored with curiosity, critique, and care, with many works embracing play as a method of inquiry, inviting audiences to interact, reflect, and imagine alternative futures.
Art School Commissions is a rehearsal for futures in which artists and designers lead with vision, resilience, and responsibility — while gaining invaluable experience that supports their professional development and future employability.