Manifesto and

The Book of GOF

Early in 2018 (late 2017) ‘Gang of Five’ was established. Gang of Five / GOF are a group of dynamic individuals whose aim is to collaborate in ambitious, challenging and highly artistic projects. Made up of four established artists and a curator, GOF are brought together by their vision of a DIY aesthetic, illustration, satirical dark humour and social commentary. We have been artists, curators, educators and involved in the arts sector throughout our careers and believe that by coming together and working as a team we can support each other through group collaborations and individually with personal projects. Gang of Five are - Alison Erika Forde, Charmaine Turner, Gina Warburton, Lee Crocker & Stephen C. Nuttall.

Our manifesto is...

GANG OF FIVE...

1. DO NOT WORK FOR FREE.

2. ARE 100% COMMITTED AND SUPPORTIVE OF EACH OTHER ENSURING THAT NEGOTIATIONS OF WORK, CONTRACTS AND MONEY ARE TRANSPARENT, FAIR AND ON A PROJECT BY PROJECT BASIS.

3. ARE IN BUSINESS TO CREATE ARTWORK AND EVENTS IN THEIR OWN UNIQUE WAYS TO INSPIRE, CHALLENGE, SUBVERT AND PLEASE WHILST MANTAINING AN EXELLENT REPUTATION AS PROFESSIONAL ART PRACTITIONERS.

4. WILL COLLABORATE WITH OTHER ARTISTS AND ORGANISATIONS TO PURSUE AMIBTIOUS PROJECTS, COMMISSIONS AND EXTERNAL FUNDING.

5. BELIEVE IN THE DIY VALUE OF THE COUNTERCULTURE & SUBCULTURE AND SUPPORT THE UNDERDOG.

'We Are Gang Of Five' (The Culture of Subculture) for Manchester Histories Festival 2018

Gang of Five were part of the excellent line up for the Manchester Histories Festival 2018 from the 7th - 11th June. We put on an exhibition inspired by the culture of subculture in Greater Manchester. The exhibition ran from 7th June - 26th July at The Crooked Man in Prestwich (M25 1AS) and we also threw a little shin-dig launch party (standard) at The Crooked Man on the evening of Thursday 7th June (from 7pm) with some spoken word, music and some bang-tidy joy joy on the walls, PLUS some limited edition zines for folks to pick up at very reasonable prices.

DIY/GOF - New Zine and Exhibition

'DIY/GOF' is the new zine by Gang of Five and to celebrate this fact (to be honest we love a good party) we are having an exhibition at Plant NOMA (Manchester, UK) from the 2nd - 9th August 2018 with an artists event on 4th August (16:00-18:00 GMT). Come along and have a chat about all things subculture, punk, zines, pencils and see the new exhibition and zine.

Gang of Five

‘ART-tillery Tent’ at Head for the Hills Festival 2018

Gang of Five landed at the infamous Head for the Hills Festival 2018 (Ramsbottom, UK) in their 'ART-tillery Tent' with their magic pencils creating monster heads, zines and doing some alternative life drawing, over three days (14/15/16 September 2018).

Collaborating with artists Stealing Sheep, Travelling Light Circus and the Rajasthan Heritage Brass Band. The project was supported by Arts Council England, Bury Art Museum & Sculpture Centre and Head for the Hills Festival.

i SHOUT FOR THE FALL - Design Manchester 2018.

In conjunction with Design Manchester 18, a range of creative responses to words written by the eponymous Mark E Smith from the Fall were shown at Bury Art Museum. Designers and image makers invited to contribute include Build, Malcolm Garrett, Instruct, Lucy Holmes, Alan Kitching, Morag Myerscough, Spin, Swifty, Patrick Thomas, Tash Willcocks, have been invited to create original artwork for the show based on a single line from his lyrics.

My design was called ‘Mouth Full of Feathers’ which was also used as the beer pump design for the Silver Street Brewing Company for the launch night - beer was renamed ‘Ted Rogers’ Brain Ale’.

GOF Punk Raphaelite 3D Zine.

The GOF Punk Raphaelite 3D Zine is now available from all good retailers and the usual channels (see the contact page) - They are £4 each and come with 3D glasses (very limited run - so get them while they are still here).

GOF get Shouty! Exhibition and Launch Party.

Gang of Five headed the Crooked Man Bar in Prestwich (UK) to deliver a new exhibition and launch it all off in style on Thursday 18th October 2018 (19:00 GMT) with limited edition zines, GOF playlists and live music from Barbarella Hellacopter and The Tripod of Truth.

The exhibition included lots of things that we had to get off our chests including chatty vegans, dropping your ciggie in a puddle and the Hitler Youth.