The HappeningInMCR team have returned with a new exhibition in their Community Micro-Gallery, featuring 20 talented local artists, the highest number of artists they have had in the space at once. What a way to conclude 2025!

The team were blown away by the quality of submissions to their 8th open call. After reviewing 72 submissions, they are excited to present 21 selected artworks.

The exhibition showcases a wide range of mediums including etching on aluminium, painting, 3D collage, digital art, photography and drawing.

Head to the Community Micro-Gallery on the ground floor via the Tib Street entrance.

Below, you can read the featured artists’ information and statements.

If you are interested in purchasing any works which are for sale, please contact the artist directly or email happeninginmcr@gmail.com. HappeningInMCR and Afflecks take no commission, so all proceeds go directly to the artist and their practice.

Exhibiting Artist Statements

Adrienne (she/her)
Instagram: @adrienneeasey.art
Solus Ursi, 2025
Photography printed on A4 satin paper, 23 × 31 cm
Not for sale

Solus Ursi is not intended to be an obvious read. During its creation, the piece went through extensive trial and error to ensure it felt universal while remaining deeply personal. The work aims to create a sense of intimacy between the viewer and the bear, aligning closely with the exhibition’s theme.

Alexandra Ensor (she/her)
Instagram: @byalexandraensor

Witches’ Familiars, 2024
Ink and Procreate, 14.85 × 21 cm (framed), £20

Bitter Ends, 2025
Graphite pencils, oil pastel, ink and Procreate, 14.85 × 21 cm (framed), £20

Alexandra Ensor is a multidisciplinary illustrator, animator and visual artist, and a recent graduate of Manchester School of Art. Her work explores themes of the occult, macabre, folklore, history and mental health. Predominantly working in ink, Ensor specialises in visceral image-making that emphasises texture and sensory qualities, informed by her neurodivergence and imagination. Combining traditional and digital methods, her practice is driven by storytelling, automatic drawing and personal interpretation.

Amy Guest
Instagram: @byguesthaus

WillowStone, 2025
Digital photograph, 21 × 27.9 cm
Not for sale

Amy Guest is a queer photographer working across still and moving image, direction and graphic design. Their practice challenges societal norms through a distinctly queer gaze, exploring sex, gender and sexuality from within the community. Rooted in connection, Amy’s work celebrates queer life through emotionally grounded storytelling that honours lived experience and expands representation.

Andrew J. Boyer (they/them)

Din Din Time, 2025
Acrylic on canvas sheet, 20 × 25 cm
£200 (framed)

Andrew J. Boyer is an American anarchist writer, jazz pianist and painter now living in the UK. Their work draws heavily on cubism and neo-expressionism, often depicting fragmented domestic settings. Din Din Time portrays their cat’s split attention between the viewer and her food bowl. The snag tooth and tear are literal details from real life rather than symbolic gestures.

Bluemalloo (she/they)

Dynamics, 2025
Charcoal and acrylic on cartridge paper, 23.5 × 18.5 cm
£40

Maria is an artist and illustrator rooted in imaginative drawing. They explore printmaking, painting, collage and 3D model-making. Their work is whimsical and fantastical with an undercurrent of emotion and unease. Dynamics reflects the strangeness of social and interpersonal relationships, viewed through a surreal lens shaped by life in Manchester.

Ellis (they/he)
Instagram: @redszelle

Broccoli, 2025
Etching on aluminium, 23 × 18 cm
£15 (framed)

Ellis is a multidisciplinary artist inspired by historical eras, horror and fantasy. For Ellis, creation is a vital emotional outlet. Broccoli was made by etching into thick foil, producing medieval-inspired textures that echo Afflecks’ alternative spirit and values.

Emma Cusworth (she/her)
Instagram: @celestials.phase

Align, 2025
Ink and pencil on recycled paper with bottle plastic over sublimation print, 26 × 20 × 4 cm
£125

Emma is a trans mixed-media artist whose work explores the relationship between mind, body and environment. Her use of recycled materials speaks to reclamation, drawing parallels between environmental transformation and the trans experience.

Filipa “Pypah” Santos (she/her)
Instagram: @pypahs_art

Chorlton Water Park, 2025
Gouache on paper, painted plein air, 21 × 27.9 cm
£200

Filipa Santos is a Portuguese illustrator based in Manchester. Working both traditionally and digitally, she captures serene, magical moments inspired by nature and her surroundings. Manchester’s creative energy continues to shape her evolving practice.

Iggie (she/her)
Instagram: @iggieillustrate

This Is Us, 2024
Watercolour and ink on paper, 24 × 40.5 cm
£40 (set)

Ivana Lam is a mixed-media fashion illustrator leading community illustration workshops across the UK. Drawing inspiration from her childhood, Lam creates vulnerable, personal work that reflects identity, belief and artistic versatility.

Iqra Tariq (she/her)
Instagram: @iqra.tariq89

Connection, 2025
Gouache and coloured pencils on paper, 29.7 × 21 cm
£250

Iqra Tariq explores the emotional lives of multicultural individuals through portrait painting, reflecting her own connection to these shared experiences.

Jessica Nicole Smith (she/her)
Instagram: @jessica_nicole_smith

The Love Boutique, 2025
Cross-stitch embroidery on Aida cotton, 25 × 19 cm
£250

Jessica is a Manchester-based fibre artist using traditionally “feminine” crafts to create witty, provocative, retro-inspired work. Her practice explores femininity, sensuality and media representation, infused with pop-culture references.

Katie Butler (she/her)
Instagram: @katiesscreationsss

See You Very Soon, 2025
Print of acrylic on paper, 21 × 29.7 cm
£25

Katie Butler is a Manchester-based Fine Art student at Salford University. Her practice places childhood characters into familiar local environments, reconnecting memory, identity and place.

Kristina Karpanuka
Instagram: @karpanuka.art

LIGHT OF LIFE, 2025
Print, 21 × 29.7 cm
£50

Kristina Karpanuka is a Russian-Latvian artist who has lived in Manchester for over 20 years. A self-taught painter, her surreal portraits blend human emotion and nature, reflecting Afflecks’ spirit of individuality and imagination.

Lauren Elise (she/her)
Instagram: @bylaurenelise

Frog Drops, 2025
Graphite on paper, black ink riso print, 14.8 × 21 cm
£20

Lauren Elise is a multimedia artist based in Stockport, creating illustrated short stories rooted in woodland fantasy, anthropomorphism, gothic imagery and queer feminist themes.

Levi Betts (he/him)
Instagram: @l3vis.art

Cyber-Pulse, 2025
Screen print on wooden panel, 22 × 22 cm
Not for sale

Levi Betts is a Salford-based multimedia artist exploring the digital sublime and its impact on human life. His work blurs digital and physical processes to reflect the overwhelming presence of cyberspace.

Lilibones (she/her)
Instagram: @lilibones

The Worm, 2024
Biro pen on paper, 21 × 27.9 cm
£70

Lilibelle Anthony is a Manchester-based artist working primarily in biro and fineliner. Her detailed, surreal work blends dark humour with horror aesthetics, embracing unpredictability and imagination.

Martha Duncan-Zaleski (she/her)
Instagram: @marthazaleski_artwork

Papistry, 2025
Watercolour, pastels and pen on paper, 30 × 40 cm
£20

Martha is a portrait artist and Master’s student branching into digital art and animation. Her work draws on pop culture, games and film, using light and value to create striking dystopian scenes.

Niamh Greene (she/her)
Instagram: @niamh_greeeney

Arcade Fire, 2025
Digital print, 42 × 29 cm
£50

Niamh is an interdisciplinary artist influenced by her Irish heritage, nostalgia and whimsy. Her work explores personal themes often absent from her commercial practice.

Tom Faraci (he/him)
Instagram: @tomfaraciart

Mr. Blonde, 2025
Digital illustration print on paper, 34.3 × 25.4 cm
£35 (framed, prints available on enquiry)

Tom Faraci is a caricaturist from Cleveland, Ohio. His work celebrates exaggeration and character, often depicting musicians and film figures that have shaped his creative journey.

we_are_farmed (he/him)
Instagram: @we_are_farmed

Grin, 2025
Acrylic on canvas board, 23 × 18 cm
£45

Small works documenting and celebrating the ever-changing urban landscape and its resistance to decay.

Follow @happeninginmcr on Instagram for updates on art events across Greater Manchester.
The next open call launches mid-February 2026.

Thank you to all artists who exhibited with us in 2025.

The HappeningInMCR Team
Jasmine, Co-Director, Admin & Coordinator – @sminspiring_art
Nahsa, Co-Director & Co-Curator – @nashacashart
Tom, Co-Curator & Gallery Technician – @tomkinlochart
Beeve, Social Media Assistant – @beeve
Pita, Graphic Designer – @pitahpat
Jade, Marketing Assistant – @jadeartchive