A special episode of Art Club will air on Channel 4 this winter following an inspiring exhibition opening at Manchester Art Gallery

In a six-episode run earlier this year, Grayson’s Art Club, presented by award-winning artist Grayson Perry, alongside his wife Philippa, brought the nation together.

Produced by Swan Films, a one-off celebratory episode will air on Channel 4 this winter, allowing viewers to take a sneak peek behind the scenes of the curation and development of the Art Club exhibition which will open in the heart of Manchester. It will also see Grayson meet in person (socially distanced, of course) with some of the public participants who had their entries selected for the exhibition, as well as some of the celebrity guests and well-known artists who joined Grayson for the series. Their art will feature in the exhibition, alongside the works Grayson and Phillipa produced during lockdown, including the nation’s guardian spirit, ‘Alan Measles’.

Opening at Manchester Art Gallery from 25 November 2020 – 18 April 2021, the exhibition will track the journey the series took as it unleashed the nation’s collective creativity under the constraints of lockdown. Every week, Grayson hosted the show from his own studio in London, taking the country with him as he created new art works in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Each week, a different theme – portraits, animals, fantasy, view from my window, home, national spirit - was explored by Grayson, and he tasked the public, celeb guests and artist friends to develop their own response. Across the run nearly 10,000 pieces of art – from painting to sculptures, photography to mixed media - were entered by the public.

A full list of works will be revealed ahead of the special episode airing on Channel 4, and the exhibition opening in November.

Grayson Perry said: “I could not be happier with Manchester Art Gallery, the venue for the Art Club exhibition; it will be in a people’s palace of culture. All the artists who appeared on our TV series put in a lot of skill, thought and feeling into their works and I am so proud that they will get the opportunity to see their art hanging in this grand, nearly 200-year-old institution.

From its inception Art Club was about the benefits of making art that is open to all. In the true spirit of the series we will be exhibiting the works grouped not by hierarchy of fame or value but grouped in themes. Each artwork will hang amongst others that talk of the shared experiences we have lived through during this extraordinary time of the COVID-19 crisis. This show is a crystallisation of the feelings and obsessions of artists from all over the country whether it is their first painting since primary school or they are world famous.

This will be a show about the joy and solace of making art. It will also be a still moment to reflect on a situation that has affected everyone on the planet.”

Shaminder Nahal, Commissioning Editor of Grayson’s Art Club said: “Grayson’s Art Club helped knit the country together at the height of lockdown. Now we will all be able to share in the excitement of seeing the artworks created during the show in a real life exhibition. I’m so thrilled that it is really happening and want to give huge thanks to all the wonderful artists, Grayson, Swan Films and the Manchester Art Gallery.

Notes to Editors:

Described as “one of the most joyous bits of lockdown TV” by The Daily Telegraph, Grayson’s Art Club has recently been commissioned for a second series, which will air in early 2021. This special episode of Grayson’s Art Club from Manchester will air this winter on Channel 4. The Art Club exhibition in Manchester will run 25 November 2020 – 18 April 2021.