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Arty time with Grayson Perry!

Arty time with Grayson Perry!

During the spring, more than a million people tuned in for every episode of Grayson Perry’s Art Club. Now the artwork is going on display!

By Laura Rutkowski, Staff Writer

Artist Grayson Perry and his wife, psychotherapist and author Philippa, proved there was an art to lockdown, which involved… making art! They hosted the six-part series in Grayson’s North London studio, where they created pieces themselves and encouraged the public to get involved and submit their work. Each week had a different theme, including: portraits, animals, fantasy, view from my window, home and Britain.

 

In the one-off special Grayson’s Art Club: The Exhibition, Grayson and Philippa will take viewers behind the scenes at the Manchester Art Gallery. An exhibition of the work produced during the series was meant to go on display from 25 November, but with lockdown in effect, the art created in lockdown has to stay locked down for a little bit longer.


However, you’ll still be able to enjoy having a nose around as Grayson chats with some of the people, including celebrities, artists and members of the public, who had their entries selected for the exhibition. “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,” Grayson said.


Stars Jenny Eclair, Noel Fielding, Harry Hill, Jessica Hynes, Joe Lycett, Kevin McLeod, Jim Moir (aka Vic Reeves), Liza Tarbuck, as well as artists Jeremy Deller, Antony Gormley, Maggi Hambling, Chantal Joffe, Martin Parr, Raqib Shaw, David Shrigley and the Singh Twins all have work featured.


Grayson and Philippa were our true lockdown heroes as they made work for our idle hands and truly got the arty party started! Have a look back at some of the other people who helped us make the most of the extra time at home. 

 


If ever there was a beacon of light in 2020, it was Captain Tom Moore, who was promoted to honorary colonel by the Queen on his 100th birthday. We cheered him on as he set himself the goal of walking 100 laps of his garden, with the help of his walking frame, to raise money for the NHS before his centenary.

 

On his JustGiving page, the target amount was set to £1,000, which was raised within 24 hours. To date, he has raised nearly £33 million for NHS Charities Together! He also decided to extend his 100 laps to 200 laps after completing the 100 laps two weeks ahead of time. The Second World War veteran’s mottos, “Tomorrow will be a good day” and “Together we will beat this enemy,” have seen us through some tough times.
 


The singer curated One World: Together At Home, an eight-hour live streamed event to support frontline healthcare workers, which raised more than £28 million for the World Health Organisation. Sir Elton John, Lizzo, Stevie Wonder, Billie Eilish and more performed from the comfort of their own homes (which brought the added joy of seeing inside stars’ houses). These were then released as a 79-song album, with proceeds from streaming going to the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund. 
 


Lady Gaga also released her album Chromatica in May, giving our ears a much-needed break from listening to all the sad news in the world. “Rain On Me” with Ariana Grande? An absolute anthem.
 


PE With Joe was a life-saver, especially when we were only allowed to leave the house once a day for exercise. These 30-minute at-home workouts from the fitness guru were streamed on YouTube every weekday at 9am. They went down a treat with adults, children and the Queen! She awarded Wicks an MBE for his efforts during the pandemic, an honour Wicks described as a “dream come true”. Wicks, who’s also known as The Body Coach, raised £580,000 for NHS Charities Together with his online workouts, which millions of people tuned in for.
 


When he broke his hand in a bicycle crash in March, he still continued his classes (and even dressed as Spider-Man), with the occasional help of his wife Rosie Jones. He has loads of great content on his YouTube channel, including 5 Minute Move – Short Energising Workouts For Kids, Home Workouts For Seniors and Wake Up With Joe.
 


The return of Strictly Come Dancing in October has given us something to look forward to every week, but back during lockdown 1.0, Oti Mabuse got us moving. The professional Strictly dancer partnered up with her dancer husband Marius lepure for daily dance tutorials, teaching us how to do the samba, the Charleston, the quickstep, plus many more!
 


For the kids, there were even routines featuring music from Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande and the film Frozen! We’re just glad the judges weren’t on hand to score us. The cute couple also didn’t look they wanted to kill each other and that was encouragement enough that we could get through lockdown with our partners too!
 


From telling us we can claim tax relief for working from home, to addressing our money woes, savings expert Martin Lewis is DA MAN. During a very difficult time, especially financially, he has been our rock, and working 14-hour days apparently! The founder of MoneySavingExpert.com has helped make sure people are aware of and receive the government financial support packages that they’re entitled to and has made sense of a very nonsensical time.

“In some ways I feel like I’ve been preparing for this moment my whole life,” Lewis said. He has more than risen to the challenge! Who ever thought we’d be binge-watching The Martin Lewis Money Show, eh?

 

When is Channel 4’s Grayson’s Art Club: The Exhibition on TV?

Grayson’s Art Club: The Exhibition airs on Channel 4 HD (CH 104) on Friday 4 December at 8pm. It is also available in Apps & Games > All 4.

When lockdown is lifted, Manchester Art Gallery will reopen the Grayson’s Art Club exhibition, which will run until 18 April 2021. Free entry will be by advance booking only.

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