Instigate Arts

The five artists creating work for this project, celebrating the centenary of the city of Salford via the collecting of stories from five Salford pubs, are in alphabetical order below.

Visit this page for more information about the project.

Anne Louise Kershaw
Founder of Instigate Arts, Anne Louise is a practicing artist and industry recognised powerhouse with over twenty year’s experience working within the arts sector. She has extensive experience in arts organising, instigating, management and production, working closely with arts organisations like HOME and Manchester Art Gallery  to maximise their art spaces, challenge representation, and work to ensure they provide a sustainable platform and career pathway for local and specifically marginalised artists. Anne Louise has worked closely with The People’s History Museum, instigating projects such as Wollstencraftivism, The Queers are Revolting and Sound from The Stores – All projects intended to reimagine and highlight the archives from feminist, queer and class perspectives. She was part of team working on the heritage project for Islington Mill and worked with them and Salford Council in an advisory role to sup[port the development of green spaces within Salford. Most recently she was commisioned by Walk the Plank as part of their Hidden Canals project, digitising voices of canal workers, and creating two original compositions in collaboration with Leeurwarden artist Selma Ebbens, to highlight the importance of canal heritage and encourage the redevelopment of our industrial green spaces. Specialising in sound and field recordings, Anne Louise has released work as Lynda save and regularly performs as both Lynda above and sister monica, and back of the brain, a fully improvisational female sound collective.   with Anne Louise was also a member of the pioneering ‘Culture Stockport – Cultural Strategy’ group instrumental in establishing the now flourishing arts scene within the borough. You can find out more about her art practice here.

Dean Brocklehurst is a filmmaker who has spent his life working within the arts and culture sector. As a creative he has worked extensively with organisations like HOME, from leading on their BFI young creatives programme to creating the trailers to some of their theatre shows. As a teacher he has delivered filmmaking initiatives for disadvantaged young people for organisations like the Salford Youth Service, Into Film and Tandem Theatre. He has founded and established two cultural venues, The Nico Ditch in Ashton-Under-Lyne and The Talleyrand in Levenshulme. Both organisations are still instrumental in providing grass roots opportunities and contemporary art within the communities they are based. Prior to that he founded and directed internationally renowned charity The Homeless Film Festival, which worked throughout Europe to highlight and confront homeless issues through creative workshops and an annual touring film festival. 

Greg Thorpe was born on the Isle of Man to an Irish Mum, and grew up in Blackpool before moving to Manchester. For seven years he was part of the team at Islington Mill in Salford, working on fundraising, commissioning and supporting artists, and exploring the heritage of Salford’s most unique standing Georgian mill. He has also undertaken heritage research on Madam’s Wood in Little Hulton, on many aspects of LGBTQ history, and on his own family roots in working-class Dublin. Greg’s fiction has been nominated for several literary prizes, and he works as a writer, curator, mentor, and creative producer.

Harri Shanahan is a Manchester-based artist working mostly in film, sound and animation. Her work focuses on storytelling, especially real-life stories of everyday people and the bonds of friendship and community.

For this project Harri will use audio recording, drawing, animation and your insights to create short animations and visual artwork to be displayed at The Wandering Palate from August.

 @shanahanimation.harri

Träe England Shortt
I am an artist. I have always been an artist. Over the years, my practice has evolved into performance art and community-based workshops.

At the heart of my work is inclusivity, interaction and connectivity, the belief that art is for everyone. It brings us together, acts as a catalyst for conversation, and has a unique power to heal because it gives us permission to feel and to express what words alone cannot.

Previously, I have lied, in a performance, about stones taken from people’s heads as a way of engaging audiences with their own mental health experiences. I have made a large moon and asked people to write their own mental health stories (their own lunatic stories) on it. I dragged it around, taking their lunacy with me, carrying it for a moment for them. I have dressed as a hotdog to put people at ease at a private view, becoming their own personal art guide so they didn’t feel embarrassed or unsure about understanding the work.

I enjoy people. I enjoy helping them discover their own talents, find confidence in their own styles, and feel seen. My practice is about sharing and engaging, using art not just as an end in itself, but as a bridge between people and their own stories.