Mentoring:
As part of this development period, I will build mentorships with key Northern art figures. Confirmed mentors include Matt Antoniak Director, Slugtown Gallery and Clare Gomez Director, Workplace Gallery, both based in Newcastle and influential in shaping the region’s contemporary art scene. Their experience in positioning artists nationally and internationally will help me develop my practice within a wider professional framework.
Upskilling & Creative Risk-Taking:
I will use my DYCP to explore new artistic mediums I haven’t worked with previously. I will undertake a 1:1 session at Slow Lane Studio, Manchester, with Jacqui Symons, focusing on natural dyeing and plant-based pigments to develop the ecological aspect of my practice. I will also attend a metal casting workshop with David Wilson at Ore and Ingot, Bristol, exploring botanical forms. These skills will have long-term impact, enabling me to produce cast elements independently. I’ll also collaborate with blacksmith Graham Davison from Hillbilly Forge to create bespoke wall mounts for my tapestry-style painting, enhancing both their display and preservation.
Documentation & International Networking:
I will travel to Florence to document my new series of work with photographer Paolo Abate, building a professional portfolio that will enable me to make further connections. I’ll also attend Roma Gallery Weekend 2026 to connect with European artists, curators, and galleries, expanding my network and exhibition opportunities.
Based in North Manchester, my project aims to build meaningful connections with artists and curators across the North East, with a particular focus on Newcastle and Darlington. I believe the Dover Prize Fund presents a valuable opportunity to strengthen these regional ties and foster collaboration across creative communities.
Through a combination of research, networking, and participatory events, I hope to bridge geographic and cultural distances, encouraging dialogue and exchange between artists in Manchester and Darlington. My practice often centres around collaborative processes, and I plan to use this approach to create new work that reflects the shared experiences and distinct identities of the North.
I am a Manchester-based painter whose work explores layered cultural identity through a visual language that merges British, Hungarian, and Pakistani influences. My practice uses symbolic motifs such as poppies, significant in Pakistani culture, and grapevines, associated with my Hungarian heritage as recurring aesthetic and narrative tools. These elements allow me to construct abstract forms that reflect personal histories, memory, and dialogue between cultures. Materiality and structure are central to my approach, informed by a background in fashion design. My paintings are constructed like tapestries, with sewn compartments designed to hold real flowers. These floral components can be replaced, rearranged, or removed, inviting ongoing transformation. This modular, sculptural aspect challenges traditional painting formats and allows the work to evolve over time, reflecting shifting identities and environments. Since establishing my studio at AWOL Studios in Manchester, I’ve shown work in several group exhibitions, including Manchester Contemporary 2024 with the AWOL Collective and the Comme Ca Art Open Call 2023. These platforms have helped me reach broader audiences and expanded the scope of my practice. In 2025, I was selected for a fully funded Associate Artist position at Castlefield Gallery, Manchester. This opportunity provides access to mentoring, professional development workshops, and potential exhibition opportunities, supporting the next stage of my career. Earlier, in 2020, I completed a residency at Stone Oven House in Italy, where I developed lasting relationships with a network of international artists. Revisiting these connections through current projects offers a chance to further evolve my collaborative and material-led practice. Through this ongoing body of work, I aim to push the boundaries of painting by integrating tactile processes, lived experience, and intercultural narratives. My practice remains grounded in craft, transformation, and storytelling foregrounding identity not as fixed, but as fluid and continually constructed.
I hold an undergraduate degree in a visual/applied arts discipline. From 2016 to 2020, I studied BA (Hons) Menswear at London College of Fashion, University of the Arts London. This programme combined technical garment construction, textile development, and design innovation with a strong emphasis on conceptual research and critical thinking.
My artwork was featured in the Summer 2016 issue of State Magazine in the “Visible – Four Artists to Watch” segment, highlighting emerging artists. This exposure introduced my work on identity and culture to an international audience. Additionally, Plumes & Feathers, a newsletter and online community by editor Deborah Eydmann. That explores art, nature, and culture. Through this platform, shares insights and support a creative community.
2020 I was selected for an artist residency at the Stone Oven House in Turin, Italy. This independent and internationally recognised programme offered a unique opportunity to immerse myself in a focused creative environment surrounded by other practitioners from across disciplines.
Email: info@tarikhanif.com
Address: 19, Lostock road, Manchester, m410su, GB
Local Authority: Trafford, Manchester
