20 THE ART OBSERVER July 2010 The Wendy Levy Gallery is situated in the oldest part of Didsbury, along an original cobbled street that is nearly three hundred years old. Warburton Street is in the heart of Didsbury’s shopping area, just nestling off the high street, along- side the Dog and Partridge pub. As well as regular exhibitions featuring some of the best of British art, including paintings, drawings and sculpture, this small but select gallery also offers an excellent framing service with friendly, experienced advice on choosing the most suitable frame for your needs. Bring this article with you to claim a special 10% discount on framing for readers of this issue of The Art Observer. By Claire Richards CELEBRATIONS  are underway to mark the tenth anniversary of the opening of the Wendy J Levy Contemporary Art Gallery in Didsbury. The gallery opened in the summer of 2000 and has grown from strength to strength. The gallery in Didsbury was not a new venture for Wendy Levy, she had run a gallery previously in Knutsford when she took over the established Pitcairn Galleries having worked there since its beginnings in 1974. In 1980, Peter Burdett, the founder and owner of the Pitcairn Galleries decided to give up the gallery in order to concentrate on his new packaging business and it was at that point that Wendy decided she wanted to take the gallery on as her own. She ran the gallery for a further four years before getting married and starting a family at which point she gave up the gallery in order to be at home with her children. She continued to hold exhibitions periodically in the family home and endeavoured to keep some contact with the art business whilst her children were growing up. In 2000, with the birth of a new millennium came the birth of a new gallery for Wendy. The family friend, bookseller and property owner, Eric Morten, had just erected a new building on Warburton Street in Didsbury and suggested to Wendy that it would make a nice little gallery. With the children in their teens, Wendy seized the opportunity to return to the gallery business and has not looked back. The gallery is regarded as one of the most successful galleries in the north west and has exhibi- tions planned for two years ahead with a different exhibition taking place every month. Wendy said, “We are inundated with requests to show artists work. Unfortunately, I have to turn down 99% of the applica- tions because we are already dealing with over fifty artists and it is not possible to show every- body’s work. The gallery is small so we have to be very selective.”   Wendy is still dealing with some of the artists whose work she was showing at Pitcairn Galleries thirty years ago. She said, “It is really great to have this long- term relationship with some of them and to have watched them develop and grow into well- established artists.” The Wendy J Levy gallery shows a different exhibition each month, usually solo shows, sometimes two or three person shows, and twice a year (summer and win- ter) the gallery mounts mixed exhibitions of paintings, draw- ings and sculpture in which all the gallery artists are invited to show their work. The gallery has built up a large mailing list over the last ten years and everyone is invited to each of the exhibitions. A list of the exhibitions planned for the rest of this year can be seen on page 9 of this newspaper and images from each exhibition can be seen on the gallery website: www.wendyjlevy-art.com Wendy J Levy Contemporary Art Ltd is at 17 Warburton Street, Didsbury, Manchester M20 6WA. Tel. 0161 446 4880. Gallery opening hours: Tuesday to Saturday, 10am to 5pm. Admission free. Gallery Celebrates Decade in Didsbury