Manchester Day 2019 Artists

Alexis K Johnson

Alexis is a creative producer and practicing artist working in combined arts, and an Associate Lecturer at Edge Hill University. She was Learning Director at Walk the Plank for 5 years until end 2018. Prior to this she was at the Institute of Contemporary Arts, London and was an associate at London South Bank University and Birkbeck University of London.

Alison Duddle

Alison is a puppet and mask maker and director based in West Yorkshire. She worked for many years with Horse + Bamboo theatre as joint artistic director, and now is making puppets for TV, creating little collage puppet shows for people’s living rooms and giant pigeons for parades.
https://www.abirdinthehandtheatre.co.uk/about

Amy Hegarty

Amy is an Irish artist based in Manchester. She has a degree in Costume Design, and extensive experience in working for film, theatre and parades. She was head of costume and soft construction in Lambert’s Puppet Theatre Dublin before moving to Manchester.
https://www.instagram.com/puppetfingers/

Andy Benfield

Andy Benfield is an outdoor artist, maker and producer who creates work that make people smile, wonder and marvel. His wide variety of previous experience includes the design of light sculptures and interactive artwork, producing community festivals, documentary making and stilt walking.
www.travellinglightcircus.com

Austin Hewitt

Details to follow

Becky Bryson

Becky Bryson has enjoyed working as a community artist for the last 15 years. She works with several different companies across the UK, mostly concerned with outdoor parades and spectacle. She has worked on Manchester day parade since it began working with different community groups and schools.
www.beckybryson.com

Brian D Hanlon

Brian has worked in a range of settings, from local community arts to international theatre festivals. His work includes design and production for processions, performance, parades, and site-specific sculpture. He has participated in the Manchester Day from the start and has worked with over 50 different community groups.

Bryan Tweddle

Bryan Tweddle is a Sculptor designing and making for Theatre, Opera, Ballet, Street Performance, Film, Animation, Educational Projects, Exhibitions and Carnival Parades. Bryan has also worked as an Artistic Director for several events inter/nationally in Germany, Luxembourg, Holland and Yorkshire.

Catherine Buckle

Catherine Buckle is a textiles graduate who has been working in outdoor arts for the past 6 years. Over this time she has gained a wealth of varied experience across parade makes, costume, puppets and props, alongside her work as a pyrotechnician and event crew.”

Cherry Chung

Cherry is a basket maker and willow sculptor. Based in Manchester, over the past 20 years she has undertaken weaving projects across the Northwest and worked with a range of groups and organisations, delivering commissions into schools and for local authority, working with community groups and teaching in different settings.
www.cherrychung.com

Chris Anderson

Chris Anderson is a digital media, theatrical and carnival artist who creates large scale puppets, costumes, props and sets through his company No Eyed Theatre. Chris has taken part in many high-profile and community events which have enabled him to develop techniques for street theatre, carnival and outdoor performance.

Claire Stringer

Claire is a freelance artist who studied painting at Glasgow School of Art which cultivated a continued passion for colour, feeding into all her work. Manchester Day has been a journey of learning, developing, being influenced by the culture & ideas of different community groups she has been paired with.
www.clairestringer.com

David Mason

David Mason is an artist and theatre professional. Trained and experienced in both visual and performing arts. David’s main art forms are puppetry, mask making and processional images also costume, prop and set design. He has worked on all Manchester Days representing Manchester School of Samba.
www.sambaman.org.uk

Emily Lansley

Emily Lansley is a Liverpool based artist. One third of art pop group Stealing Sheep, a multi-faceted creative specialising in illustration & 3D construction leading to commissions in painting murals, designing posters/flyers & online content; creating logo & brand designs, designing & making costumes, sets, props & characters.
https://instagram.com/glomoth?igshid=oyean2hup9wq

Emily Wood

Emily Wood is Artistic Director and CEO of Manchester based Carnival arts organisation Cabasa Carnival Arts CIC which she set up in 2009. Her large, spectacular outdoor work, which has always been informed, inspired, and deeply rooted in traditional and folkloric styles of Carnival, has been showcased across the UK and internationally.

Enya Kosta

A North West based artist working with different mediums to create alternate reality Puppet Theatre and working with community to give a platform for people to explore their creativity. I have cultivated my skills in large sculpture and puppet making throughout the last 5 years with Manchester Day.

Fi Smith

Details to follow

Hannah Bold

Creating work with people is what I’m passionate about. From carnival costumes and parade objects to large scale painting, pavement chalking and more. Engaging people in participation and creativity through arts workshop sessions and projects. Stimulating thinking, learning and sharing of skills and experiences to bring out our inner creativity.

Hannelora Johansson

Hannelora is a sculptor, blacksmith and outdoor events artist working in metal. Her inspirations come primarily from nature, organic forms, and the beauty and character of the materials often illustrated through fire.

Helen Davies

Details to follow

Jeanefer Jean-Charles

Harnessing over 20 years’ experience, Jeanefer Jean-Charles is a globally respected Creative Artist and Public Engagement Expert, who has worked in over 21 countries, and whose accomplishments appear in the Guinness Book of World Records.
http://www.jeanefer.com/

Ian Broscombe

Details to follow

Jessica El-Mal

Jessica works as a producer, a curator, facilitator, writer, and artist in her quest to discover answers, a quest which has lead to roles at organisations such as Manchester Jazz Festival, Journey’s Festival International, MIF, Signal Film and Media and now Manchester Day, alongside running her own projects independently.

Jonny Quick

Jonny trained in Theatre Design and works as an artist, maker, performer and puppeteer. He enjoys taking on diverse and varied projects in street, theatre and community arts. He’s very excited to collaborate with the Malayalee community this year to bring their vision and energy to the streets of Manchester.

Julian Taylor

Julian Taylor has been an artist, sculptor and designer for over 30 years, working mainly in Liverpool and the North West, using a variety of sustainably sourced materials. His work is expressive and visually appealing, covering all sizes of commissions, including the manufacture of the internationally renowned Superlambanana installations across Liverpool.
http://www.artistjuliantaylor.com https://snakewallahs.com

Junior Perim Circo Crescer

Details to follow

Kerith Ogden

Kerith is an all-round maker, illustrator and project manager, with 25 years’ experience working on parades, large-scale, outdoor community theatre, and as a participatory artist. She specialises in making lightweight and interactive giant puppets, lanterns and structures and makes a conscious effort to work with accessible, affordable, low-impact materials.
https://kerithogden.com/

Lauren Moore

Lauren makes costumes and puppets with a focus on community engagement. She grew up attending festivals such as Streets Ahead and started her carnival career making costumes for Manchester School of Samba and jumped headfirst into the world of large-scale illuminated puppetry after she became a lead artist for Global Grooves.
www.laurenmoorearts.com

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Melanie Roberts

Mel is maker with a sculptural ceramics background and a degree in three-dimensional design. She became an artist, maker and performer in the carnival arts sector about 6 years ago, specialising in headdresses. An associate artist at Global Grooves, more recent work has included large-scale illuminated puppets first seen at Blue Dot Festival.

Naomi Parker

Leeds-based Naomi Parker is a costume designer and maker who has been involved in every Manchester Day parade so far. She specialises in creating costumes and lightweight images that are fun to perform in and for this year’s parade she’ll be be working with Jelly Dance for the fourth time on costumes for the front section of the parade.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/39417128@N04/albums

Rhi Mathews

Details to follow

Rory Lynch

I have worked in education and community arts and this has included working with young people’s projects, schools, colleges, museum groups, art groups and community led organisations. Alongside my own practice, I have taught and delivered workshops within many other community groups and inner city schools, supporting different ages and young people with learning and behavioural needs.

Rose Miller

Rose Miller is a visual artist. Working predominantly in the medium of free hand machine embroidery, her work draws from the natural world from inspiration.Originally from Brighton, she now lives in Manchester and is currently working freelance in prop making, puppetry, carnival and community arts.
http://rosemillermakes.com

Ruta Staseviciute

Ruta graduated from the Theatre and Performance Design (BA) course at LIPA in 2011 with an award for Creative and Technical Excellence. During her studies she fell in love with puppetry as well as stage design. Since graduating she has worked on numerous projects with Lantern Company and as an artist/ maker on Manchester Day.

Ruth Jones

Ruth Jones is first and foremost a contemporary dance artist, having trained at Laban/Trinity, Temple University MA Dance Dept, Philadelphia and The Cunningham Dance Studios, New York. She specialises in Outdoor, Sited and Site-Specific dance, Parade, Mass Movement and community dance. She has choreographed for every Manchester Day, since inception.
https://twitter.com/choreoruth

Sandra McCracken

Sandra McCracken is a freelance artist based in West Yorkshire, and has been working with the public in galleries, schools and communities for 20 years, including as a teacher of Art and Design/Head of Department. More recently she has been working with Handmade Parade and Plunge Boom on outdoor arts projects.

Sarah Dicks

Sarah Dicks is a versatile set and costume designer for theatre and also likes to dabble in puppetry, education and visiting all the piers the UK coastline has to offer. With an MA (Distinction) in Costume, she designed award-winning costumes for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Sailing Events in Weymouth.
www.sarahdicks.co.uk

Sarah Oxley

Now working on her fifth Manchester Day, Sarah has been a designer, scenic artist and prop maker for 15 years, creating sets, costumes and all manner of weird and wonderful things for theatre, television and film, including youth and community productions that have taken her all over the country.
www.sarahoxley.com

Steve Gumbely

Freelance artist Steve Gumbley was a member of Welfare State, and co- founder of IOU Theatre. He designs and makes theatre sets, kinetic sculptures, artworks and exhibitions. Steve likes to collaborate with other artists and specialist makers, as well as producing his own work. Recent works include a set for Proper Job Theatre Company’s Dorian Gray.

Tsubi Du

Details to follow

Vicky Richards

Since graduating in 2013 Vicky has built up a freelance career as a costume maker and embroiderer within many different art forms including theatre, dance and TV, working for companies including The Royal Exchange, Leeds Playhouse and Northern Ballet. She now works closely with Cabasa Carnival Arts as one of their lead costume artists.
https://www.instagram.com/victoriarichardscouture/

Vick Podemska

Vick is a performer and artist based in Manchester with a degree in Performance Art and a keen interest in puppets and outdoor arts. Vick has worked on Manchester Day for the past two years and this year will collaborate with Johnny Quick and the Malayalee community to make their experience a 10/10!

Elevate Creative Placements

Alison Allum

Alison Allum teaches Art &Design in primary and secondary schools in the UK, and also teaches English abroad using puppetry to encourage students to write narratives and interact in a playful way. Inspired by storytelling, festival arts and performance, she enjoys creating art that offers a spark of wonderment and surprise.

Abbie Boughton

Details to follow

Ben Ark

Ben Ark is a mixed media artist and maker based in Salford who specialises in documenting architectural and urban landscapes around Greater Manchester, with the aim of enhancing people’s lives. This is his first year working on Manchester Day as an emerging artist on the ELEVATE scheme and he is extremely excited to get learn and share skills.
www.benarkart.co.uk @BenArkArt on social

Claudia Jevons

Claudia is a prop, costume, puppet and scenic artist based in Liverpool with a degree in Production Art and Design from The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and is experienced working in theatre, film, and festivals. She has been involved in a wide range of community projects and enjoys making large props, puppets and whacky costumes.
https://www.instagram.com/claudiajevonsprops/

Danielle Sutcliffe

Details to follow

Isla Parry

As a freelance designer Isla Parry has a broad, cross-disciplinary and collaborative approach, which she has applied in both commercial and community contexts. She has accumulated media recognition and awards for her work as a product designer. She has a wealth of experience in both design and education.
www.ilsaparry.com

Janine Walker

Janine Walker is an artist/maker based in the North West with a background in 3D design crafts. She became involved in parade art through the Spareparts festival. Through the Elevate Creative placement she is hoping to develop her making skills and learn more about large scale outdoor art and structure..
https://www.instagram.com/janinevwalkerart/

Jeanefer Jean Charles

Jen Kilgour

Born and raised in Scotland, Jen Kilgour has always had a passion for making things and drawing. During the mid 1990s, she went to Edinburgh Art College to study Stop-Motion Animation followed by Photography, a Post Grad in Fine Art Painting and most recently an HND in Model Making, where she finally found her true vocation.

Loren Hardy

Details to follow

Manuela Flemming

Manuela Fleming is a Costume Design student, soon starting her third year of study at Wimbledon college of Arts in London. Her design practice focuses around her interests in conceptual costume and movement-based design for live performance, often exploring the boundaries of conventional costume through innovative materials and design.
https://www.instagram.com/mannifleming/

Norma Foulds

Norma is a North West based artist and maker. She has worked with a range of organisations including Ludus Dance, The Grand Theatre, Blackpool, Fable Arts and Leftcoast/ SpareParts. She has also been part of the making team for the Blackburn Festival of Light for the last two years.