Jude Wainwright - AMAFA
Jude Wainwright AMAFA 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 an Associate Member of the Manchester Academy of Fine Artists, and her work has been exhibited widely across the UK and internationally.
Selected solo exhibitions
'Face-Off' - Saan1, Manchester - 2024
'Reflections' - Cass Art, Bristol - May 2023
'The Great Hall' - Cass Art, Manchester - March 2023
'Come Sit With Me A While' - 53Two theatre, Manchester - March 2019
'Portraits' - New Adelphi Building, Salford - May 2018
Selected Exhibitions
‘A Small Space’ - The Silk Museum, Macclesfield - 2025
'Medusa' - (Curated by Mike Chavez Dawson) Union Gallery, London - 2025
'AWOL Collective' - The Manchester Contemporary, Manchester - 2024
'Manchester Open Exhibition' - HOME, Manchester - 2024
'Connections' (MAFA) - Stockport War Memorial and Art Gallery - Stockport - 2024
'A Small Space' - The Square Feet Space, London - 2023
Bury Art Museum Open Exhibition - Bury Museum & Gallery - 2023
'TEES' - Rogue Artist Studios - 2023
‘Sight Ingested Part 1’ - (Curated by Mike Chavez Dawson) - Toyko & Osaka (with GEEK Pictures Inc, Quarter Room, Ono Point Art Space, Yachiyo City Public Gallery), Japan - 2023
'The Meditation Of Drawing' (MAFA) - Manchester Cathedral - 2023
'Live With It' - Murama, Marple - 2023
AIR Gallery Open Exhibition - AIR Gallery, Altrincham - 2023
'A Small Space' - Dev Rez Projects, Manchester - 2023
'A Generous Space 3' - Huddersfield Art Gallery - 2023
'A Small Space' - Old Town General Store, Stockport - 2023
'Manchester Academy Of Fine Artists Summer Exhibition' - Dean Clough, Halifax - 2023
'Manchester Open Exhibition' - HOME, Manchester - 2022
'New Icons' - AWOL Studios, Manchester - 2019
'Viewpoints', (10 Strong collective) - The Font, Manchester - 2019
'Elemental II' (10 Strong Collective) - Farfield Mill, Sedbergh - 2019
'4 Walls' - AWOL Studios, Manchester - 2018
'Family 2' (curated by DRME) - Centro, Manchester - 2012
'Mary Naylor & Jude Wainwright' - Soup Kitchen, Manchester - 2011
'Family' (curated by DRME) - Centro, Manchester - 2011
Curated
'AWOL Collective' - The Manchester Contemporary, Manchester - 2024
'200' - AWOL Studios, Manchester - 2024
'STAMINA' - AWOL Studios, Manchester - 2023
'New Icons' - The Gallery, AWOL Studios, Manchester - 2019
'4WALLS' - The Gallery, AWOL Studios, Manchester - 2018
Selected Commissions
'The Reckoning' - ITV The Reckoning - 2023
'Fool Me Once' - Quay Street Productions for Netflix - 2023
'Sexy Beast' - Sexy Beast Productions - 2022
'Nolly' - Quay Street Productions - 2022
'Traces 2' - Red Production Company - 2020
'Viewpoint' - Tiger Aspect - 2020
'The Witness For The Prosecution' - BBC - 2016
'In The Flesh Series 2' - BBC - 2014
'In The Flesh' - BBC - 2013
Publications & Special Mentions
'Jude Wainwright' - YAC (Young Artists In Conversation), James McColl - 2024
'Face-Off - The Jude' - Cosmic Joke - 2024
'Face-Off : Jude Wainwright' - Corridor8, Katy Morrison - 2024
'Artist Interview: Jude Wainwright' - Behind The Artist, Sophie Skelton - 2023
Cass Art 'Heat Winners Series 9' Interview - 2022
Sky Arts 'Portrait Artist Of The Year' - Semi Finalist - 2022
Cotton On MCR 'Manc Of The Month' Nov - 2022
'Jude Wainwright. Enigma.' - Manchester’s Finest , Richard Morris - 2019
'Art over Mind' - Penelope Brown Productions in Association with Salford University - 2018
For all enquiries please use my contact form or email judepwainwright@gmail.com