Welcome to UTOPIA

Trackie McLeod

UTOPIA

Playfully exploring nostalgia, class, identity, gentrification and the changing landscapes of Glasgow and Manchester, this installation raises a glass to the places that shaped us.

Created by artist Trackie McLeod with Factory International’s Young Curators, UTOPIA revives the warmth of the working men’s clubs McLeod grew up in in Glasgow – by building a working pub inside Factory International’s Warehouse space.

"The Young Curators are a collective of six Greater Manchester-based creatives. Our curatorial investigation explores Nightlife, the loss of Third Spaces, Youth Culture and Nostalgia.

Enter Trackie Mcleod. An emerging Glaswegian artist whose prior work has explored similar themes of Nostalgia, Youth Culture and a reverence for the working class experience. We were inspired by his bold installations and the rebellious spirit that runs throughout his work. His unapologetic takeover of traditional exhibition spaces invites the people into spaces that have previously felt inaccessible."

"In collaboration with Manchester’s Derby Brewery Arms and other local artists and DJs, Trackie has tapped into his own experiences of Glasgow’s working men’s pubs and opened a dialogue that is cross-cultural, multi-generational and ongoing. With UTOPIA, the curatorial question 'What Is the future of nightlife?' is not answered with a final statement. Rather, it is expanded into a conversation that invites everybody to the table."

Young Curators

Trackie McLeod

  • Trackie McLeod wearing all black and smiling

    Trackie McLeod is a Scottish artist based in Glasgow. Trackie uses sculpture, textiles, video and print to explore his lived experience.

    He is interested in ideas of masculinity and queerness and their intersection with class, politics and popular culture.

    His visual language is innately Scottish, describing it as “one part tongue-in-cheek, an ounce of sarcasm and a pint of Tennent’s lager”.

ARTWORKS

  • "A Full English" artwork by Trackie McLeod, showing a hi-vis decorated with Louis Vuitton print

    "A FULL ENGLISH"

    Trackie McLeod

    LOUIS VUITTON HI VIS

    2017

  • "ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL" artwork by Trackie McLeod, showing a gold plinth with the words "Out of respect for our neighbours please go feral. we have none"

    "ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL"

    Trackie McLeod

    Brass Plaque

    2026

  • “BURNING RING OF FIRE” by Trackie McLeod, showing a dart board with politicians' faces on

    "BURNING RING OF FIRE"

    Trackie McLeod

    DART BOARD

    2026

  • “EVERYONES A WINNER BABY” by Trackie McLeod, showing a fruity machine

    “EVERYONES A WINNER BABY” (2026)

    Trackie McLeod

    FRUIT MACHINE

    2026

  • “FAIRYTALE OF NEW YORK” by Trackie McLeod, showing a blue karaoke screen that says "You scumbag you maggot you cheap lousy (...)"

    “FAIRYTALE OF NEW YORK”

    Trackie McLeod

    TV

    (PREVIOUSLY KIRSTY)

    2025

  • “HONESTLY MATE YOU LOOK STERLING” by Trackie McLeod, showing a framed black sign with gold lettering that reads: “NEVER IN A MILLION QUEERS will there be ANOTHER YOU.”

    “HONESTLY MATE YOU LOOK STERLING”

    Trackie McLeod

    MIRRORS, VINYL X5

    2026

  • “JEANS AND A NICE TOP” (2024) by Trackie McLeod, showing a black print which reads "No football colours. No tracksuits. No wee fannys"

    “JEANS AND A NICE TOP”

    Trackie McLeod

    EMBOSSED PRINT

    2024

  • “KISS FROM A ROSE” by Trackie McLeod, showing a photograph of people outside Club Campus

    “KISS FROM A ROSE”

    Trackie McLeod

    PRINTED TILE

    2020

  • “LIVE FOREVER” by Trackie McLeod, showing a payphone

    “LIVE FOREVER”

    Trackie McLeod

    PAY PHONE, AUDIO

    2026

  • “MR BRIGHTSIDE” by Trackie McLeod, showing a pile of clothes and shoes and a beer bottle

    “MR BRIGHTSIDE”

    Trackie McLeod

    FRAMED EPHEMERA

    2026

  • "SHARING IS CARING" by Trackie McLeod, showing a gold plinth that says "all drugs will be seized and split evenly"

    "SHARING IS CARING"

    Trackie McLeod

    Brass Plaque

    2026

  • "THE BOX" by Trackie McLeod, showing a Sky TV menu

    "THE BOX"

    Trackie McLeod

    Lenticular print

    2026

  • “TRACKIE TIMES” by Trackie McLeod, showing a framed mock silver newspaper front page reading, “Gay Ecstasy Confusion: Is Diana Ross coming out or coming up?”

    “TRACKIE TIMES”

    Trackie McLeod

    SCREENPRINT ON METAL X10

    2026

Young Curators

Headshot of MADISON MARCANTONATOS

MADISON MARCANTONATOS

Madison specialises in illustration, fashion design, airbrushing, tattooing and creative writing/art theory. Unapologetically herself, she is particularly interested in counter and subcultures, identity, anthropology, alongside local and ancient history relating to her ancestors. She runs workshops encouraging young people from similar backgrounds to have a go at creating themselves no matter the odds. She has worked with the likes of the Tate and has been featured in British Vogue, The Face magazine, Dazed and Confused and Bricks Magazine.

Instagram

Headshot of RACHEL MORGAN

RACHEL MORGAN

Rachel is a passionate and detail-oriented arts and culture professional with extensive experience in curating and project management. She specialises in organising exhibitions, managing complex initiatives, and delivering strategic projects. Her expertise includes designing and installing art displays, implementing decolonial practices in museum representation, and understanding public perceptions of art. Committed to innovation and excellence, she aims to contribute to the success of arts institutions through thoughtful and impactful project management.

Instagram / LinkedIn

Headshot of OTEGA AJUCHI

OTEGA AJUCHI

Otega Ajuchi is a designer, curator, and cultural organiser based in Manchester. His ambition: to bridge Africa and the wider world, building connection across difference and revealing how much more unites us than divides us. Born in Nigeria and raised across cultures, Otega's practice is rooted in what he calls 'Finding Harmony' – holding tension, bridging divides, and making room for the full spectrum of human experience. Drawing on his experience as an artist, educator and technologist, his work spans photography exhibitions (Nostalgia, Rooted in Beauty), curation and an Arts Council-funded digital archive platform. Shaped by migration and neurodivergence, Otega refuses shallow inclusion. He's after structural change: culture as infrastructure that holds people, not decoration that performs care. His work asks who gets to belong, who holds the memory, and what it takes to build spaces that actually last.

Linkedin / YouTube / Instagram

Headshot of FAUZIYA JOHNSON

FAUZIYA JOHNSON

Fauziya Johnson is a curator, artist and producer based in Manchester. Fauziya creates with a focus on current social and political issues through community-centred art projects and exhibitions. Her work creates thought-provoking, engaging and trusted spaces for communities to engage in, making collective care, deconstructing harmful systems, and activism the core of the work for marginalised groups, in particular Queer, Black and disabled communities. Fauziya's vision for her work is to create vibrant thought and engagement with audiences. She extends her practice by doing workshops to develop community collaboration and expand on collective care. 

Instagram / Website

Headshot of JACK CLARKE

JACK CLARKE

Jack is a Salford-born producer, artist, and curator whose working-class roots fuel his mission to reshape cultural narratives. Hailing from Kersal, Jack works to bridge communities and the arts, exemplified by his work on short film For God’s Sake with the HOME Young Film Collective and the award-winning indie featureNobody Loves You and You Don’t Deserve to Exist. A champion of Greater Manchester’s boroughs, his storytelling pulses with the spirit of underrepresented voices, pushing back against cultural gatekeeping. Jack’s work is a spark, igniting a wider movement to reclaim creative spaces and illuminate the stories often left in the shadows.

Instagram

Square headshot of Anita Ezeh wearing a purple top and glittery eyeshadow

ANITA EZEH

Anita is a multidisciplinary artist whose practice revolves around visual storytelling through graphic design, digital media, poetry, prose and film. Her work investigates human experiences, inter and intrapersonal relationships and the relationship between people and the world around them. She explores themes of neurodiversity, social connection and isolation, mental health and environmental factors that affect our mental wellbeing such as climate anxiety, and various forms of injustice – sometimes drawing inspiration from her lived experiences as well as listening to the lived experiences of others.

Instagram / New Writers

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Credits

Trackie McLeod - Artist

Otega Ajuchi - Young Curator

Jack Clarke - Young Curator

Anita Ezeh - Young Curator

Madison Marcantonatos - Young Curator

Rachel Morgan - Young Curator

Fauziya Johnson - Young Curator

Kate Bradnam - Consultant Facilitator & Programme Design

Sameed Rezayan - Head of Creative Learning & Programme Design

Amber Calland - Creative Learning Manager & Programme Facilitator

Ric Watts - Executive Producer

Catt Lyons - UTOPIA Producer

Simaran Patel - UTOPIA Production Assistant

Phoebe Greenwood - Curatorial Associate

Adam Gent – Production Manager

Rebecca Pickles – Event Manager

Alannagh Cooke – Production Manager (Events)

Emilia Stoddart – Props Supervisor

Hattie Lewington - Scenic Artist

Vian Curtis, Paul Cassidy - Production Carpenters

David Wimpenny - Lighting Lead

Sorcha Steele - Sound Lead

Jason Crouch - Video Lead

Matt Williams - Rigging Lead

Dean Fenton - Stage Lead

With thanks to…

All of the incredible artists, panelists and bar support across the events during UTOPIA and our wonderful friends at The Derby Brewery Arms (DBA).