The Gallery

Face the Strange

Face The Strange is a ten day contemporary art exhibition celebrating the extraordinary creative legacy of David Bowie through portraiture, photography, fashion and immersive digital art.

Presented at Factory International from 1 to 10 January, the exhibition will begin with an international open call inviting Bowie fans and artists worldwide to submit an original portrait of David Bowie. The open call will be capped at 500 entries, creating an accessible global opportunity for established artists, emerging talent and fans alike to become part of the exhibition. From those submissions, a judging panel will select 100 original portraits: 50 for Fame and 50 for Changes

The exhibition explores Bowie’s influence across generations while giving emerging creative talent from Manchester and around the world a platform. It is divided into four unique gallery spaces.

Fame

An exploration of portraiture, image and iconography in all their forms. Artists will be invited to consider how Bowie was seen, photographed, painted, performed and remembered, and to create their own visual interpretation of the artist, the icon and the public persona.50 works will be selected from the international open call for exhibition in Fame.

Changes

A gallery exploring identity, transformation, gender and fluidity. Bowie became one of the great architects of reinvention, repeatedly challenging convention and opening new visual and cultural possibilities around self expression. Artists will be encouraged to respond to these ideas through work that explores identity, freedom, transformation and the right to become. 50 works will be selected from the international open call for exhibition in Changes.

Together, Fame and Changes will present 100 original works selected from a maximum of 500 submissions, creating a gallery that moves beyond tribute and becomes an evolving portrait of Bowie’s continuing influence on art, identity and contemporary culture.

Where Are We Now?

An immersive digital gallery created by SODA, the School of Digital Arts, exploring how today’s digital creators might interpret Bowie’s artistic vision. Combining animation, immersive projection, filmmaking, interactive media and digital fashion, the gallery asks one simple question: Who would Bowie be now?

The School of Rock

A celebration of Manchester’s next generation of artists. Primary schools, secondary schools, and Post 16 Further Education will be invited to submit Bowie inspired work in any medium. Selected works will be exhibited alongside professional artists, creating a unique gallery that showcases creativity from the classroom through to higher education and gives young artists the opportunity to see their work presented as part of a major cultural celebration.

All selected works will be professionally collected, exhibited and returned by the organisers. This is a non commercial exhibition, created purely as a tribute to David Bowie’s artistic legacy and the countless lives he inspired. Any funds raised through the construction and presentation of the gallery will support Nordoff and Robbins, the music therapy charity with which Bowie had a long-standing association and for which he was honoured with the Silver Clef Award.

All artists selected for submission across the four galleries will be offered a complimentary pair of tickets to see their work alongside their peers, contemporaries, fellow students, and Bowie fans alike.

A pop art gallery celebrating 80 years of Bowie in portraiture, fame, gender, alternative worlds, character, identity, and future self

Fame

School of Rock

SODA Room

Changes

Music Fashion & Art

Manchester becomes the stage

Experience the electric convergence of sound, art, fashion and technology. One Art Entertainments brings together two major live music concerts, A contemporary pop art gallery, a large-scale photography exhibition, a Bowie- and Yamamoto-inspired fashion show, and a bold live reimagining of Blackstar.

All of these events will take place under one roof at Factory International, alongside David Bowie: You’re Not Alone, the immersive Bowie experience, creating an extraordinary cultural destination at the heart of Manchester.

Together, the programme will bring the city together for a ten day celebration of David Bowie, exploring his extraordinary legacy through the intersection of music, art, fashion, photography, technology and identity, while providing a major platform for Manchester’s emerging artists, musicians, fashion designers, students and digital creators.

Alongside the pop art galleries, Time Won't Change Me presents a major photographic exhibition featuring the work of the photographers who helped define Bowie's visual identity, including Tony McGee, Kevin Cummins, Michel Haddi, and other renowned image-makers.

As part of the wider Bowie celebration taking place across Aviva Studios, visitors can also experience Turn To The Left, a spectacular fashion show inspired by the groundbreaking collaborations between David Bowie and Yohji Yamamoto, reimagined by the fashion students of Manchester. Throughout the week there will also be artist talks, curated Bowie film screenings, candlelight concerts, special live performances, and Blackstar, Whitestar an intimate closing concert celebrating the music and legacy of Bowie's final masterpiece.

Together, these events create a unique cultural celebration that honours David Bowie's extraordinary influence on art, fashion, music, photography and creative education, while inspiring the next generation of artists to imagine the future.