A passionate artist has took his Macclesfield art exhibition online, despite the cancellation of many in-person Art Exhibitions due to COVID, for the second year running.

The Macclesfield Open was a popular art exhibition, organised by local artists Geoff Archer and Pat Havis and held each year at the town's Silk Museum.

Following the reorganisation of Macclesfield Museums in 2018, the exhibition lost the only venue in Macclesfield capable of holding the show and when the show closed that year it seemed like the end of the Open. But last year it was revived, as a virtual, online show.

The aim was not only to put on an art show at a time when 'real' exhibitions were no longer possible, but also to raise money for East Cheshire Hospice.

Exhibiting artists, who would normally pay an entry fee, were asked instead to make a donation to the hospice if at all possible. Thousands of pounds were consequently raised for the hospice.

This was intended to be a one-off. It was assumed that in 2021 there would no longer be a need.

But as the painter and former head of art at Henbury High School explained, "exhibitions continue to be cancelled or postponed and fund raising activities are still being curtailed."

"It was the postponement of the Art Fair Cheshire, due to be held at Macclesfield Town Hall [on Market Place] in late September, which led to a change of heart.

"Their Art Fair raises thousands of pounds for East Cheshire Hospice, money they will not now receive. So I decided to hold another online Open to try, in part, to compensate for their loss of funds.

"The response has been extremely heartening, and the total of 420 works submitted far exceeded my expectations.

"All of the work submitted has been included. It is unusual for exhibitions such as this, whether in galleries or online, to include everything submitted. When the Open was held at the Silk Museum roughly half of the works submitted had to be rejected because of insufficient space, which meant that some very good work remained unseen.

"But with online there is no limitation on how many works can be included so I decided to include everything".

Paintings, drawings, prints, photographs, sculpture and ceramics are all included in the show.

You can view the full exhibition here, and make any purchasing enquiries via [email protected].

Geoff added: "We have work by amateurs who wouldn't normally have the opportunity to show what they do, but also work of the very highest standard by award-winning professionals. The overall standard of the work is exceptional, revealing a tremendous wealth of talent in the area.

"Most of the artists are from Macclesfield and the surrounding towns and villages, though some pieces do come from rather further afield. In fact we even had entries from Italy and the United States, though both were ex-Maxonians now living abroad."

Much of the work is for sale and most artists have indicated that if the work is sold they will make a further donation to the hospice in lieu of the usual commission.

So the more work sold, the more money will be raised. And with prices ranging from as little as £15 to over £4000 there is something for everyone.

The exhibition can be viewed on the Macc Open website until the end of October.

Visitors to the exhibition are also encouraged to make donations to the hospice, with a link provided for this purpose.

East Cheshire Hospice Macclesfield is located on Millbank Drive. It is the second lowest funded hospice in the country, receiving 17 per cent of the income it needs to keep going from government.

It costs £7,500 a day to provide palliative care for patients, their family and carers, so Geoff's help with the 2021 Macc Open will be a huge help.

The virtual celebration of art runs until October 31, for which you can view here.

You can donate to East Cheshire Hospice here.

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