A series of giant inflatable portraits of Manchester icons will take over the Arndale this summer, featuring famous faces including the Gallagher brothers and suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst.
Acclaimed artist Stanley Chow, who recently unveiled a portrait of Andy Burnham to mark his first day as Prime Minister, is creating 13 giant inflatables which will be suspended across the centre from the start of August until the end of October.
MCR Made Exhibition Details
The artworks, which will form part of a special MCR Made exhibition, will include designs depicting Marcus Rashford, Aitch, Lemn Sissay, Caroline Aherne, and L.S. Lowry. Each of the portraits will range between three to six metres in length and there will be a free trail across the shopping centre for families to follow in order to try and see them all. Other designs will include Liam and Noel Gallagher, Alan Turing and a new portrait of Ellen Wilkinson. The name of the Manchester-born suffragette, who was the first female Education Secretary, inspired Manchester Arndale's ongoing 'Ask for Ellen' initiative, which provides free sanitary products to those in need.
Throughout the duration of the free exhibition, which will run from August 3 to October 24, there will also be a number of photo opportunities, as well as a social media competition where 26 signed Stanley Chow prints will be up for grabs.
Artist and Centre Director Comments
"The Arndale Centre for me is my Mecca, and I’m sure it is for so many people from Manchester," Stanley Chow said. "I’m old enough to remember when it first opened as a shopping centre nearly 50 years ago, and I haven’t stopped coming here since. I’m a proud Mancunian, so I was very flattered and touched to be asked to do this. Art needs to be seen everywhere, and not always necessarily in a gallery. I can’t think of a better place for as many people as possible from all walks of life to be able to see my work presented this way."
David Allinson, Centre Director at Manchester Arndale, added: "Manchester has always been a city that outperforms and exceeds expectations. Through music, sport, science, politics, creativity and innovation, Manchester’s influence is recognised around the world, and MCR Made celebrates the icons whose talent, ambition and determination helped build that reputation. The exhibition feels particularly at home inside Manchester Arndale, itself a Manchester institution that has been woven into the city’s fabric for almost five decades. The shopping centre provides the perfect backdrop for celebrating Manchester, its creativity and the iconic figures behind its global reputation."
The MCR Made exhibition will run at the Arndale from August 3 to October 24.
