Nathan’s art chosen for Manchester Exhibition

Nathan Clapham, a person we support at our Springwood service in Warrington, has been chosen to feature in one of the country’s most successful and prominent arts centres – having the opportunity to reach thousands of people.

Incredibly, Nathan had pursued his artistic talent in private until he recently attended a community group and blew people away with his creations.

With encouragement from the team supporting him, he has now been selected by experts from thousands of artists to have his work showcased in arts-hub HOME’s Manchester Open exhibition.

Nathan, who has a physical disability, has been supported by Community Integrated Care since 2017 and has always been keen to make new friends and explore new hobbies. His talent was discovered after his Support Worker encouraged him to attend Wigan-based community group My Life, who work to connect people of all ages and abilities in the local area.

His artwork ‘City Railway Bridge’ depicts a well-known scene on Manchester’s Deansgate, looking through a traditional railway bridge to the city’s modern towering skyscrapers. It will be one of 400 pieces on display at the event, selected from over 2000 submissions – an incredible achievement.

Manchester Open is one of its most successful exhibitions to date, showcasing 400 works of the very best creative talents of Greater Manchester. It received over 33,000 visitors in its inaugural year in 2020.

The exhibition will be open to the public from Monday 24th January to Sunday 27th March 2022, with a special, exclusive opening weekend taking place on Friday 21st to Sunday 23rd January dedicated to celebrating the artists.

Nathan said: “When I found out that my artwork had been chosen for the exhibition out of thousands of entries, I was speechless and had butterflies in my stomach – I had never experienced anything like it before! I didn’t even know that I was good at painting or drawing until one of my Support Workers at Springwood helped me find My Life and I joined in some of the art classes. I found that I was really interested in different structures and buildings and decided that I would have a go at painting them!

Everyone has been really supportive and encouraged me to keep practising and to be proud of my achievements! Now, I really enjoy art and I try to be confident about my work. Although I’m nervous about the event, I am really looking forward to seeing my painting at the gallery next to all of the other amazing pieces of art!”

Jordan Swift, Service Leader at Springwood, said: “Nathan’s painting talents were only recently discovered when he began attending art sessions at a local social group. We were blown away by his creations and knew that he had a special talent.

“Being shortlisted for the Manchester Open is a fantastic achievement and we are so proud of Nathan for pursuing his passions. The whole team at Springwood is so excited for him and we can’t wait to go and see his artwork on display!”