I stayed on the Met to Media City last Friday and strolled over to the The Lowry. The weather – as we all know this January – was dull and dismal. I therefore needed an injection of colour and vibrancy which I knew that I would find at Venture Arts’ latest exhibition. As always with Venture Arts I smiled as I walked into the gallery. Colour and vibrancy in abundance. 

 

Conversations Series III: Narratives, is the result of a six month residency during 2022 -  Venture Arts in collaboration with The Lowry and Castlefield Gallery. Venture Arts supports people with learning difficulties to help them reach their full potential through visual arts and culture. I have called into their Hulme studios on several occasions and the energy within those walls is evident. I have also visited their previous exhibitions at The Castlefield Gallery, The Whitworth, Manchester Central Library and other venues. Venture Arts always manage to export that energy around Manchester and the rest of the country. 

 

This exhibition is the result of a collaboration based at St Margaret’s Social Club in Whalley Range. The whole environment of the Club – both inside and out – influenced the group of twelve artists formed from The Venture Arts studios and an open call to non-learning disabled artists, sharing new ideas and creating drawings, film, performance, sound and installation. All aimed at opening up conversations about the role of artists in society. 

 

Of course the inbuilt beauty of works on show is the complete lack of self-consciousness and exuberance of outsider art. There are no rules, no protocols to follow. Subject matter, colour, materials, medium are all ‘on the table’ for contributors. And personal experiences are the vital factor, where each of the twelve contributors find common ground between themselves. Connections. More artists became involved as the project evolved.  

 

The exhibition employs effective free standing as well as wall displays and video screens. Of course it is maybe wrong to pick out an individual’s work, but I am always drawn to Leslie Thompson’s drawings – ‘The Great Artist Superstar’ – because no matter how long a work is examined there is always a new discovery to be found woven into the intricacies. Leslie is, of course, genuinely a Superstar, with works exhibited across the UK and sales – including commissions – to, amongst many others, The Government Art Collection.

 

The Venture Arts show forms a gateway to The Lowry’s LS Lowry permanent collection. The contrast in colour, hue and tone could not be greater of course. LS sought naivety throughout his working life, which I guess means that he was seeking to be an outsider artist. He would have loved the work of The Venture Artists in this show, which runs until February 26th 2023.