Grayson’s Art Club returns, inviting submissions on six new themes

“Art is good for you, whoever you are,” says Grayson Perry in the tagline for his popular TV series Grayson’s Art Club; and so it returns for a second dose. The artist and his co-star/wife, psychotherapist and author Philippa Perry, have announced that series two will air on Channel 4 in February, and that anyone can submit their artworks to be considered to feature in one of the six episodes based on different themes. These themes are family, nature, food, dreams, work and travel.

The first series brought together 10,000 applicants and millions of viewers (one million per episode), not to mention a star-studded line-up of artists and comedians, sharing in the catharsis of creativity during a very tough time. “The people who get the most out of the arts are the ones who make them,” Perry explains on the ethos behind the programme. Each episode centred on a theme such as portrait or animals, and saw Perry interview renowned artists such as Maggi Hambling and Chantal Joffe, comedians such as Joe Lycett and Harry Hill, and members of the public via video call about their lockdown experience and artwork on each subject. It also showed snippets of the Perrys working at home together in their studio.

The series aimed towards curating an IRL exhibition of the featured artworks, which was installed at Manchester Art Gallery in November 2020, but due to lockdown is currently closed to visitors. You can watch a curator’s tour of the show online; Channel 4 also screened a special episode showing the exhibition coming together.

To submit your artwork, go to the Grayson’s Art Club website; you can submit three images of one artwork per theme, and a video of yourself talking about the artwork. All types of art are welcome, from amateurs and professionals alike, but you must be a UK resident.