Art Battle Manchester X Takes Over The Projekts Skateboarding Park

Debbie Manley | 5th April 2017

Art Battle – Manchester’s live art extravaganza – returns for a 10th session on Saturday 6 May.

This unique event has grown to become one of THE essential dates in the Manchester calendar.

Projekts MCR – the skateboarding park under the Mancunian Way – will be the latest venue for Art Battle Manchester, which is never held in the same venue twice. A 500-strong capacity audience will watch painters, illustrators, tattooists and street artists go head-to-head in battle!

Ten artists will compete in knock-out rounds, showing off their creative skills as the audience walk round, look on and vote . The fearless artists have only 30 minutes to create individual masterpieces as they battle it out to be the overall winner.

Hosted by DJ/broadcaster, Hattie Pearson, Art Battle Manchester X mixes it up with new artists, DJs, art exhibitions, street food, a licensed bar and some surprise new twists, including a separate battle of graffiti street artists, who’ll be spraying their creations on the skateboard concrete.

Art Battle Manchester founder, John Macaulay, with his background of putting on live music, wanted to create an art-focused event with a gig atmosphere, making it accessible to everyone:

“It’s Manchester’s most energetic art event. We help turn artists into ‘art stars’ and the huge crowd – many of whom have never set foot in an art gallery – really play their part too.”

Indeed, there is always a good mix of amateur and professional artists competing with one another at the Art Battles. Included in the line-up of this next one is Michael J Browne, who is probably best known for his controversial Cantona/Class of 92 paintings and – more recently – the large mural in Gusto, Manchester.

Tickets for Art Battle Manchester X sold out immediately. The next event in the autumn will be the Champion of Champions Art Battle Manchester, which will feature all 10 previous winners and will take place at a very special venue in Manchester.

More details: artbattle.co.uk

Bez gets stuck in at a previous Art Battle