Manchester Art Fair is back with its biggest edition yet

Since the conception of Manchester Art Fair back in 2008, the annual event has welcomed over 85,000 art lovers who’ve spent over £5 million on everything from original paintings to sculptures and photographic prints. It’s massive. 

Mancs Stanley Chow and Ghislaine Howard are set to chat about how they became artists in the first place

Prepping for 2022 with “its biggest, most ambitious edition” yet, the Art Fair is back with over 120 exhibiting artists and galleries on the agenda and an exclusive range of limited-edition prints from Manchester’s most famous artists (whose identities are yet to be revealed). 

Ever the eclectic, esteemed addition to the city’s arts and culture calendar, this year there’s a curated mix of acclaimed, big-name galleries and independent artists, covering everything from traditional to contemporary art in a “friendly, unpretentious and uniquely Northern art-buying experience”. 

Read on for everything you need to know about Manchester Art Fair 2022.

Happy 15th b-day

The fifteenth edition of Manchester Art Fair is set to take place on Saturday 5 November and Sunday 6 November, and they’re anticipating that over 8,000 people will make their way through the doors of Manchester Central across the two days. 

Director of the whole shebang, Sophie Helm, also highlights that this year there’s an “expanded visitor programme of free workshops and intimate artist talks as well as exclusive limited edition print releases from world-renowned artists”. We’re crossing our fingers and toes for some David Shrigley. 

Big dogs and iron drawings

As promised, there will be talks with big-name artists at this year’s fair as Mancs Stanley Chow and Ghislaine Howard are set to chat about how they became artists in the first place. The pair will also talk about how they mastered their own unique style and practice, and how they’ve gone on to become internationally successful in the industry. We’ve all seen Stan’s pics on the wall in the Great Northern by now, surely. 

Appearing for the first time this year, artists Lexi Laine and Ben Baker are also booked in for the first weekend in November. Lexi’s “ethereal underwater artworks” are a result of her freediving photography expeditions, and Ben uses iron wire to transform his 2D line drawings into real-life 3D sculptures. Like we said, it's eclectic AF. 

Galleries and great sponsors

This year’s Manchester Art Fair is sponsored by a load of cracking organisations including CASS Art, EASEL, Manchester City Council and urbanbubble. The main focus of the event is to “make viewing and buying quality art accessible and enjoyable” and we’re here for it, with bells on. 

Also returning for this year’s fair, The Manchester Contemporary will feature at the forefront of the event whilst championing young galleries, artist-led spaces and charitable organisations. Other featured galleries include Castlefield’s Saul Hay Gallery, Bury-based MASA-UK Art Gallery and AIR, a contemporary gallery that showcases emerging and early career artists. 

Final info

You can book tickets for this year’s Manchester Art Fair online now, and the event runs from Saturday 5 November - Sunday 6 November at the Manchester Central Convention Centre on Windmill Street. A VIP Preview event will also take place on Friday 4 November. You can access the Art Fair from 10am - 6pm on both days. 

For a glance at this year’s sponsors and exhibitors you can also check online for stand numbers and key information, and if you just can’t wait another four weeks, have a sneak peek at some of the art for sale before you head on over. 

Manchester Central Convention Complex, Windmill St, Manchester M2 3GX

Read next: Top things to do in and around Manchester: October 2022

Read again: Danny Boyle and Yayoi Kusama announced for Factory International’s opening programme

Get the latest news to your inbox

Get the latest food & drink news and exclusive offers by email by signing up to our mailing list. This is one of the ways that Confidentials remains free to our readers and by signing up you help support our high quality, impartial and knowledgable writers. Thank you!