Stanley Chow curates a city-wide celebration of North West creativity

When I first moved to Manchester, I found myself in an old mill warehouse tucked behind Oxford Road. It was called M One – a shared space over several floors, offering affordable desks and offices. Winters were freezing. The roof often leaked. But the community inside was warm and welcoming.

Graphic designer Laura Boast was on the third floor with paper artist Laura Tallon, sharing a studio and creating beautiful work. Danielle Molyneux was further along the corridor, crafting clever, considered typography. Further down the way were equally talented people such as Victoria Simpson, Nick Chaffe, Micha Purnell, David Sedgwick of Studio DBD, Andy Mallalieu and Mark Bebbington from Nine Sixty. And, of course, there was illustrator Stanley Chow.

Stan had a generous space packed with posters, artworks and an ever-growing inspiration archive. I first met him nearly a decade ago, interviewing him for Creative Boom back when the platform was still a side project for me.

I was upstairs on the fourth floor and curious to meet the man whose career had taken off after Meg and Jack White of The White Stripes spotted his work and commissioned him to create artwork for Icky Thump. The rest, as they say, is history.

Since then, Stan and I have crossed paths many times. We are doing a talk together at Motion North later this month, which I am really looking forward to. And we still bump into each other at creative meet-ups across the city I called home for 11 years.

But in those early days in Manchester, when M One felt like home, it seemed like everyone was building something. Not just careers, but culture. A sense that you were part of something bigger. And that you were not alone.

That spirit is exactly what a new city-wide art trail in Manchester captures. Curated by Stan and produced alongside Wild in Art, the exhibition runs across the Northern Quarter and Ancoats until mid-March. It brings together 21 North West artists, transforming walls, windows and billboards into an open-air gallery.

From large-scale murals to immersive installations, the parts of Manchester we know and love have been reimagined as bold, public celebrations of creativity. It's a reminder that this northern city has always thrived on collaboration, graft and community. The warehouses may have changed, but the spirit remains the same.

The full line-up includes Stanley Chow himself, plus Kim Thompson, The Hammo, Jay Sharples, Oskar with a K, Clare Birtwistle, Caroline Dowsett, Pete Obsolete, Qubek, Jonathan Edwards, Rick Hyde, Florence Burns, David Bailey, Daren Newman, himHallows, Jessica Lee, Luke Insect, Charlie Cross, Barney Ibbotson, Dotto, and Bed Studio.

Its official purpose is to celebrate The BRIT Awards 2026 coming to Manchester at the end of February. But it feels bigger than that.

With a dedicated map, and a poster designed by Stan himself, the trail invites visitors to explore the city differently. To look up, slow down and take notice.

For those of us who remember cold studios and leaky roofs, it feels like a full-circle moment. Many of the people who once gathered quietly in old mill warehouses are now out in the open, on walls, in windows and across the streets.

Of course, this creative community means more to me than I can properly put into words. It shaped my career as well as Creative Boom. It reminded me, at a time when I needed it most, that you do not build anything worthwhile alone.

They have been through a lot in recent years. Funding cuts. Studio closures. Rising rents. A heavy, uncertain world. And yet they keep going, making, and showing up for each other.

Manchester may have built its reputation on industry... it continues to build it on creativity. And I feel incredibly proud to have been part of that story – even if it was for a short while.

The Brits '26 Art Trail runs until 16 March across the Northern Quarter and Ancoats and is free to explore.