Deal with the Devil

Deal with the Devil was a West Art Collective X AMP art and music event, hosted at their new accessible venue Canvas, located in Manchester city center. The event provided an exhibition showcasing work by 40+ artists, a pop-up tattoo shop, merchandise stalls, two workshops, and various DJs.

The exhibition aspect of the event presented the works lined across a tall white wall, displaying paintings, illustrations, photography, and sculptures. Some of the works depicted occult imagery fitting for the events title, majority of the works however, focused on alternative themes such as sexuality as seen in Lucy Indelicate’s work, family, surrealism, and mental health to name a few. The curators appear to have sequenced the work according to theme and style, starting with the darker palettes and occult images, leading into more absurd abstract works that use bold colours before finishing with pink hyper-fem images.

The pieces showcased in the exhibition were all interesting works, I do however wish they were spread out onto different walls or into multiple rooms to give the pieces room to breathe and make the viewing more engaging. Overall, deal with the devil was a fun and engaging experience which combined multiple ways of interacting with art in a financially and physically accessible event.