Mike Kelly
Mike Kelly (b. 1966) is based in Rossendale, on the edge of the Pennine moors. His work is grounded in a deep engagement with landscape and explores meaning, memory and the persistence of nature across different series.
Through printing and construction techniques that often disrupt perception, the work asks what can be seen and understood, both in the traces left by previous generations and in the environment itself.
Since beginning his artistic practice in 2024, Mike’s work has received growing recognition through exhibitions, commissions and awards. His work has been exhibited nationally and internationally, and Threshold V will enter the permanent collection of the Whitaker Museum following its selection for the main prize at the 2026 Whitaker Open.
He completed an MA in Photography at Manchester Metropolitan University in 2026.
You can hear Mike in conversation with Jo McLaughlin for Jo’s Art History podcast on Apple or Spotify
Image credit: Paul Rideout
Current & Upcoming Exhibitions
The Whitaker Open
Acquisition Prize Winner @ Whitaker Museum & Art Gallery
17th October - 13th December 2026
The Manchester Contemporary
Manchester Central
With Bury Art Museum
19th - 22nd November 2026
Wushanming Art Museum
Hangzhou, China
20th November 2026 - January 10th 2027
Threshold
Manchester School of Art Commission
Lowry Building
To June 2027
Awards & Commissions
The Whitaker Open - Acquisition Prize Winner (2026)
British Art Fair x Pension Bee - Selected Artist (2026)
Manchester School of Art Commission — Threshold (2026)
Cass Art Exhibition Award — Bury Art Museum OPEN (2025)
Bury Art Museum OPEN — 3 works selected (2025)
Collections
The Whitaker Museum & Art Gallery - Threshold V
Other works from the Threshold and Canopy series have recently been acquired by private collectors in the UK.
Selected Previous Exhibitions
Rise Up! Lock Down! - Lancaster Castle (2026)
Postgraduate Show - MMU (2026)
British Art Fair - Saatchi Gallery, London (2026)
(re)collection - SAAN1, Manchester (2026)
Threshold — Installation at Grane Mill, Rossendale (2026)
Threshold — Solo Exhibition, Cass Art Space, Manchester (2026)
Darkness Symposium, School of Digital Arts, Manchester (2026)
Swanfall: Fables — Mall Galleries, London (2025)
Unconformities — Viewpoints Festival, Manchester (2025)
Keep Pushing — Circle Square Installation, Manchester (2025)
Prosperity Through Endeavour, Rossendale (2025)
Remix // — Manchester Photographic Gallery (2012)
Projects & Collaborations
Gunpowder Tea (with Shadab Zeest Hashmi & MMU MA students). Screened at:
* IAAC Poetry Film Festival, New York (2025)
* South Asian Poetry Film Festival, Chicago (2025)
* Imperial War Museum North, Manchester (2024)
SODA x Montag Residency Showcase, Istanbul (2025)
Northern Grip, Rossendale (2016-2017)
Lagos Street Scene (Fela! Production) — Broadway & The National Theatre (2010)
Willie Nelson portrait (with painter Malcolm Bucknall) — W Hotel, Austin (2010)
