Current Show: SPECTACLE | The Whitaker, Rossendale | 16th April – 27th September 2026

Jude Wainwright MAFA is a figurative and surrealist painter based in Manchester. Her work explores identity, emotion and storytelling through staged, symbolic self-portraits that blur the line between the real and the imagined. Drawing on theatrical gesture, costume and surreal settings, she examines how we construct and conceal the self, reflecting on the boundaries between authenticity, performance and control.

Alongside her practice, Jude is the Studio Manager at AWOL Studios in Ancoats, where she supports a large community of artists and creatives. In 2022, she reached the semi-finals of Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year, and in 2025 returned to Sky Arts as a guest presenter, leading two Portrait Artist Masterclass episodes on narrative portraiture.

Jude is a Member of the Manchester Academy of Fine Artists, and her work has been exhibited widely across the UK and internationally.

Instagram: @judewainwright_

Website: www.judewainwright.com

Commissions and connections welcome! Email: judepwainwright@gmail.com