legacy
JOAN CHARNLEY and THE WEAVERS FACTORY

The Weavers Factory gallery is the legacy of mid-century designer Joan Charnley. Joan left her entire life’s work and her home to her close friends and neighbours Julian Bovis and Nigel Durkan (above), with the wish they convert her house into an art gallery. The gallery launched in 2019 and showcases young upcoming artists and older artists who have been overlooked.

Julian Bovis: “We are now in our fourth year (despite a short break for COVID in 2021) and it feels like we’re only just getting into our stride. When Joan left her house to Nigel and I we had difficult choices to make. Should we create a gallery that Joan would have liked? Or should we trust our own instincts and do our own thing?

In the end we chose the latter, but every decision we make we ask ourselves one important question - ‘What would Joan do?’ Joan always told us how important quality and integrity was, so that’s exactly where we started. Since opening in April 2019 we have exhibited over 50 artists, ranging from 16-year-old students at Oldham College, to a 90-year old artist whose work, like Joan’s, had been overlooked for years.

The Weavers Factory has become synonymous with innovation and opportunity; as an independent art gallery we are completely self-funding with the rare luxury of choosing our own artists without exterior influence - this makes us flexible, exciting and agile. 

At the beginning of every year we open our annual season with a Joan Charnley exhibition. In 2019 “Cut Grass, Lavender and Chanel No.5” explored her favourite places to visit in the form of her unique illustrated travel journals. In 2020 her “Sunflowers” exhibition celebrated her botanical artwork, and her 2022 exhibition “Horizontality and Verticality”  chronicled her 1949 thesis on textile design.

Each summer we use visitor donations to fund our annual ‘Joan Charnley Bursary’, which provides students from Manchester School of Art (Joan’s alma mater), the opportunity to create brand new work and exhibit it at the Weavers Factory.

The remainder of our exhibition seasons feature artists from a wide-range of disciplines including graphics, sculpture, painting, photography, abstraction, installation and ceramics - each of which Joan had a keen eye for. But the Weavers Factory isn’t just about art it’s about community too. 

The gallery has become a popular destination gallery in Greater Manchester; a place to meet friends, catch up with local gossip and be inspired.  Whether you’re having a cup of tea in Joan’s garden, chatting to myself, Nigel or Hayley, or just spending some quiet alone time in our galleries, the building has embodied Joan’s unique spirit; a cheerful, friendly and relaxed place where you feel at home the moment you walk through the door.