Two exhibitions to make art more accessible

AN arts collective determined to make art more accessible and inclusive have unveiled two new exhibitions as part of Warrington Contemporary Arts Festival.
Womanstanley was founded by Sophie New from Warrington and Roxy Ball from Wigan who met at Leeds College of Art, and is based on a shared passion for bringing pop-up style art collective exhibitions to the North West.
Sophie, 26, said: “As an artist myself, I had felt there wasn’t a creative platform in Warrington that included me; I had also witnessed the despair of artists residing in the town who felt excluded or felt the town was lacking in creative energy, with people often leaving in search of something and taking their talents elsewhere.
“It is important to move with the times, make something happen, get up and build something.”
Since then Womanstanley has flourished and there can now be up
to 40 artists taking part in exhibitions.
The name Womanstanley derives from a quote by Hilda Ogden in Coronation Street when she and her husband Stanley kiss. He asks “What’s that lipstick taste of?” and she says: “Woman Stanley, woman!”
Sophie and Roxy liked the way the words rolled off the tongue and the link to their North West roots, as well as the use of humour.
“I feel it’s important to be approachable and down to earth when forming a group that can only exist with the commitment of other artists,” Sophie said. “The fact that the word is half ‘woman’ and half a typically male name is also kind of cool. It illustrates nicely that everyone’s welcome.”
The Coronation Street theme continues with the names of Womanstanley’s two exhibitions, Betty’s Hot Pot and The Making of Muriel, which are available to visit now at Warrington Museum and Art Gallery and Pyramid respectively, until the close of the festival on Saturday October 29.