Artist Profiles
Pif-Paf Theatre
Pif-Paf and Nexus Art Cafe are making a mysterious and beautiful night cafe. Just like the real Nexus it’ll be gorgeous and full of surprises, look out for the Owl in the Mug Tree, Pif-Paf’s parade trapeze act, and the bonkers tea time table!
Pif-Paf creates high quality innovative visual theatre for the outdoors and love getting people involved in each part of the fun. Give us a cheer!
Ben Cook
As a propmaker and set builder I have been working in theatre and television for 15 years with excursions into design and community arts. This is the second year I’ve worked on the Manchester Day Parade, building silver ladies, aliens, fire extinguishers, Pegasus and unicorns, galleons and a giant Gulliver.
Lydia Meiying
Lydia Meiying trained and currently works as a freelance Illustrator, Surface Pattern Designer and creative workshop artist and facilitator, delivering multi-discipline workshops to all ages and abilities. For this year’s Manchester Day Parade, Lydia designed and has been co-ordinating two very different projects with both the Chinese Arts Centre and Grumpy [Greater Manchester Play Resources Centre]. For both centres she is assisting various local community groups in creating their own vibrant, eye-catching designs to be worn, carried, pushed and pulled.
Nerissa Cargill Thompson
I am a Manchester based Designer/Maker & Community Artist. I am Head of Design for Street Theatre company, Aqueous Humour. For this year’s Manchester Day Parade, I am working with 3 groups from East Manchester: Eastlands Homes Youth Forum, Valuing Older People & an Intergenerational project. Our theme is music; how music can take you on a journey, help you discover yourself & Manchester’s great history of music. I am making a large jukebox & 3 giant puppets of Manchester music icons – can you guess who?
Jo Foley and Fiona Smith
Jo Foley and Fiona Smith have over 12 years experience of devising and delivering art based projects throughout the UK. Working with diverse client groups and age ranges, in both educational and community settings creating beautiful shows and parades, site specific art work and
installations.
Encouraging awareness and developing skills, their work is culturally diverse, eco aware, historical, flamboyant, scientific, decorative and imaginative.
This year Jo and Fiona will be working with St Anne’s RC Primary School in Ancoats and artists Debbie Cunliffe and Sharon Drysdale to make beautiful fish costumes!
www.jofoleyarts.com and www.fismitharts.com
Sarah Oxley
I’ve been working with the Chorlton Woodcraft Group, Chatterbox, The
Alzheimers Society and BikeRight!.
I’ve been an artist and designer of all manner of weird and wonderful
things for the past ten years.
My website is sarahoxley.com
Maggie McManus
I am a community artist working with all ages and abilities around the northwest, for the parade I worked with Grumpy and Aiming High to make a walking city out of scrap materials.
