Artist stages stunt at Manchester Art Gallery in face of venue shutdowns and 'civilisation falling apart'

An artist who staged a stunt at Manchester Art Gallery over the weekend to highlight how much people rely on the arts for freedom and humanity says we are 'running out of time'.

Belshah, who is based in Manchester, arrived at the Mosley Street gallery on Saturday morning (April 13) to leave three new paintings in the lobby before reading out a short statement on capitalism and walking out.

The artist said he wanted the move to raise awareness of the difficulty artists have when it comes to accessing institutions and how more people need to be aware that ‘our civilization is falling apart’ by capitalism.

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“There’s a level within institutions at the moment where it is very difficult to get into these spaces,” Belshah tells the M.E.N. “My concern is that we’re running out of time and the writing’s on the wall.”

Belshah cites the likes of Oldham Coliseum and Bury Art Museum as reasons why people need to take notice with both venues facing a lack of funds in the last few years. A low stream of funding led to the Coliseum eventually closing for good last month.

“Our civilisation is falling apart and people look to the arts for expressions of freedom and humanity,” he explains. “We’ve got to fight for these spaces. Bury Art Museum is having issues with their funding and it’s a really important piece of culture in that town. If it’s lost, there’s a real risk of losing social value in that area and the impact. It’s painful.”

Belshah says he hopes the stunt will make people see where things could be heading if change isn’t made soon. He has 'donated' the three paintings to the Gallery and said the stunt was well received on the day.

"I’m so glad they took it