New Century to host ‘Champion of Champions’ Art Battle this February showcasing brilliant artists from North West

The event, sponsored by NOMA, will see ten previous winners compete to be crowned the ‘Champion of Champions’.

As usual, the battle will be hosted by DJ Hattie Pearson and there will be a host of DJs, street food, a licensed bar, and a few special surprises.

Promoters have promised the ‘best yet’,  as the ten fearless artists participating will create their masterpieces on the very same stage as legends such as Jimi Hendrix, The Rolling Stones, and Tina Turner performed on back in the day.

New Century’s crowd will watch, and vote for, a carefully selected collection of the North West’s most talented painters, illustrators, tattooists, and street artists, as they go head-to-head in this art extravaganza.

There’s 30 minutes on the clock for each round taking place –  the audience will decide the winner until there’s only one artist remaining – the ultimate Champion of Champions.

John Macaulay who co-founder of Art Battle with his wife Sophie, spoke to I Love Manchester about the event.

“We’ve run several events now across Manchester, most recent being in the old Debenham’s in Stockport.  1000 people rocked up and had a great time, and even the Blossoms showed up so everyone was buzzing.

“The grand finals come around every five years, so this one is going to be a big one.

“Basically, it’s a painting competition where ten artists go head to head, with 30 minutes to paint a masterpiece from scratch.

“The audience vote for which one they think is the best, which sums up our ethos around art. That it is for everyone.

“We want to take the pretentiousness out of art, and democratise it. We’re not the judges of what’s best, the people in the crowd are.”

“It’s a bit like X factor , or the FA cup for artists, but the artists paint in rounds of 5 in the middle of the room so the audience get to circulate and watch the art evolve.

“The two with the most votes go through to the final, then the crowd pick their favourite out of the last four.

You can watch the story of Art Battle Manchester below:

As well as events and activities, the New Century kitchens and bar will be open on the ground floor for the best independent street food, craft beers, wines and cocktails around for plenty of pre and post-show refreshments.

The host of incredible independent street food brands who call New Century kitchens their home include bao bun specialists BaoBros23, Vietnamese and Thai inspired Banh Vi, pizza pioneers Ply, and luxury steak and burger shop Tallow.

New Century is located between Victoria Station and Shudehill, right at the heart of one of central Manchester’s best connected areas, the 20 acre NOMA neighbourhood.

John continued: “We’ve currently got an 18 month waiting list from artists who want to be involved.

“I think the most exciting part is, you never know who is going to produce what. The calibre of artists as always is really high too. We know these ten artists, so we know how high the standard will be.

“Everyone included in this one is someone who has won a previous event – so you know it’s going to be class.”

Tickets for “Battle Royale II” at New Century are £17.50 and can be purchased via Skiddle here.

Promoters have warned to grab your tickets ASAP, as the event nearly always sells out.

Here’s the full list of this year’s finalists:

ABM #11 winner  Charlotte Smailes   @charly.___________

Charlotte won the hearts of the crowd at Talbot Mill with a striking painting of a human eye.

ABM United We Stream winner @Cameron Brown
As lockdown struck, Warrington artist Cameron won our first ever online battle, watched by 60,000+ across the world on the United We Stream platform

ABM #13 winner  Andrea Hobson  @andreahobsonart
Hebden Bridge artist Andrea won the battle at Crusader Mill, which was a live building site at the time of the event.

ABM #14 winner Yuliya Lapshyna @lapshyna.art
Ukrainian Yuliya painted a stunning self-portrait in front of the BBC One Show cameras in our event at Victoria Baths

ABM #15 winner Nigel Turner  @nigelturnersart
Painter Nigel claimed his champions crown at Manchester Art Gallery on the 200 anniversary of the Peterloo Massacre

ABM #16 winner Kathy Bowers
Kathy painted two ballerinas as she won the hearts of the crowd at Hallé St Peters in our last event before lockdown

ABM #17 winner  Rob Wilson  @artrobwilson
Whalley Bridge based mixed media artist Rob won our underground battle at Hidden MCR in Cheetham Hill.

ABM #18 winner  Daniel Mitchell  @danielrmitchell.artist
Fine Artist Dan travelled from Hull to win the hearts of the crowd at a packed Freight Island with a stunning cityscape of Manchester city centre

ABM #19 winner  Sarah Harris @sonnieharrisart
Warrington based Sarah won the battle at Victoria Warehouse with a dramatic oil painting of a human face.

ABM #20 winner  Jenny Leonard @jennyleonardart
Bright abstract artist Jenny won the crown in front of 1,000 packed crowd at the old Debenhams Building in Stockport.