art

Bike Art – 30 Days of Biking: Day 15

/ Josh R / Leave a comment

Riding a bike is a simple, fun thing to do. It’s not surprising that those feelings inspire some beautiful art:

If you want to see the staircase of hanging bikes for yourself, get on down to Ridelow on Church Street in the Northern Quarter. Definitely some of the coolest bikes around, if you’re into low-riders.

This second-hand cycle place in Hebden Bridge uses a bike as part of its signage. Cycle:Recycle is more than just second-hand bike bits though: it’s a volunteer-run, not for profit, sustainable project that aims to get more people out of their cars and onto the saddle. By providing second hand bikes, they reduce the number of old bikes going to landfill and share skills with other cyclists.

This beautiful bike was spotted outside the Bay Horse in the Northern Quarter. I snapped it just when I started using Instagram.

Bikes can be used to create art. The Artcrank exhibition took place last year in Manchester’s 2022NQ, featuring bike-made and bike-inspired art. It’s moved around several cities since then, working with local artists to produce a unique show each time. Check them out on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. You can also check out various artists’ blogs about the Manchester event.

Finally, I’ve actually been used as a subject in a photo project featuring people in Manchester and their bikes. The Northern Comfort Visual project titled “I cycle Mcr 2012” invited anyone to go down with their bike and get snapped. I love this collection of images for the diversity of people and bikes shown, but also the sheer joy that’s evident on everyone’s face. They also did a follow-up exploring the relationship between bikes and fashion.

Do you have any great examples of bike-inspired art? Drop me a line in the comments below.