Manchester Art Crawl

While the Manchester International Festival brings famous names to the city's big venues, a group of artists will be reclaiming the city's forgotten spaces, turning the centre of town into a showcase for new artists.

Like the Venice Biennale, which returned to Venice this year, diverse venues city-wide will be crammed with art of every kind.

Manchester Art Crawl is part of the fringe festival Not Part Of, which runs alongside Manchester International Festival. It will turn unused shops units, deserted office blocks and a couple of bars and pubs into temporary gallery spaces for around 50 up and coming artists, mostly students.

So far, nine venues have been finalised, with more to be confirmed. Visitors will be given a map to find their way around all the venues, which stretch from Deansgate to the Northern Quarter.
The highlight of the crawl will be the opening night, on July 9, which will see artists collaborating with bands, and creative writing students from the University of Salford.

The Art Crawl is the brainchild of five art students at Manchester School of Art, who were inspired by the first Not Part of Festival two years ago and gave themselves just eight weeks to undertake the project.

Organiser Kelly Parish said: "We found that at the last Manchester International Festival there was no Manchester stuff. There was nothing for Manchester people to get involved with.

"We wanted to be part of the Not Part Of festival as you don't have to be particularly established or have a huge budget.

She explained the idea behind the art crawl: "We were bored of the traditional exhibition format and wanted to put on a more interactive event. Everyone and anyone is welcome to come and take part and show what ever they do. There's no selection process or interviews.

"We will be taking over the city centre for one night, turning it into a giant gallery."

Interest quickly spread through word of mouth, and the group have been fundraising with a two week long clothes sale in the Manchester Metropolitan University students' union and a clubnight at Trof.

As second year students, the organisers don't get an end of year show. Kelly said: "It's a shame everything stops at the end of term. There isn't enough excitement about the work we're producing at university. It's often left in someone's loft over the summer or stuck in a skip.

"It's not that easy for people like us to get a show or any exposure, especially not in the centre of town. It takes a long time before people will take you seriously."

Fellow organiser Sophie Coombs added: "It's a chance to make more of a name for yourself."

Kelly explained: "Although we're curating the show, we are on the same level as all the artists. We know most of the people we are working with."

Kelly and fellow organiser Sarah Gaffney have previously had a show at Islington Mill, and Sophie has exhibited her work in the Triangle shopping centre.

Sophie, who says she is especially interested in curating, explained: "We are making our own galleries. It's the perfect time with the recession - we get to use empty units in the Triangle shopping centre.

"When we used the Triangle before it attracted different people, like people who were shopping. There was less of a hierarchy."

"We're getting outside the idea of art galleries as always having white walls and being pristine places where you have to be quiet - those rules don't apply now. Some of the buildings have unusual fittings which we can use to our advantage."

She continued: "We're making art galleries more carefree and fun. We are following our own rules and don't have to answer to anyone. We can be as playful as we want."

Kelly agreed: "You don't have to wait for someone to invite you to hold a show. You find your own show."

One of Sophie's jobs was to phone around estate agents finding spaces for the crawl, many of which were offered for free. Sophie said: "Lots of the estate agents were bored - they don't have much to do at the moment!"

The group were also inspired by a school trip to New York, where they visited the Armory Art Fair and hundreds of fringe events in places like Soho and Williamsburg, where all the private views were on one night and the galleries were open late. Kelly said: "All the galleries were collaborating."

Manchester differs as there are less galleries clustered in one place - but it has abandoned buildings with unlocked potential.

Kelly said: "So many of the venues were bolted, gated and not used. I'm interested in pyschogeography too - the idea of exploring the city and reinventing it, changing the way you use your city and seeing it as a fun space.

"We found one venue and we couldn't believe it wasn't already a gallery!"

Kelly said: "We ask that people try and find their own venue. People can take the initiative - it's like staging your own show within the show, although we are always open to people who need advice or help."

The majority of venues will host group shows. Kelly said: "The different spaces reflect the different artists in different ways. We match artists up with those with similar interests"

Sophie elaborated: "It was a natural thing - introducing people to each other and bringing out the similarities in their work. It's a chance to swap ideas and get involved in each other's shows."

Kelly said: "It's surprisingly easy. You would be surprised by what you can do."

"We were intimidated about approaching people and we kept thinking 'is anyone going to come?' but it's evolved into an enormous thing that's like a festival within the festival.".

They concluded: "You have to be brave and get your foot in the door. We haven't got a reputation so we haven't got anything to lose!"

The Manchester Art Crawl is free and runs from July 9 - July 16. Opening times dependent on venues (check the facebook group for more information).

The preview takes place at the Triangle Shopping Centre, Exchange Square on Thursday July 9 from 5.30-8.30pm

Artists exhibiting include:

Sarah Gaffney
Sophie Coombs
Jo Ormiston
Sophie Titherington
Kelly Parish
Jamie Clough
Steve Beadle
Rachel Ashcroft
Harry Shotton
Gavin Sodo
Rachel Carroll
Elle brotherhood
Helen Collett
Lois Macdonald
Sarah Francis
Maria Kelly
Aneta Jarzebska
Andrew Brown
Daniel Pickles
Helena Barrett
Elinor Taylor
Adam Gimour
Kirsty Durbin
Stacey Groome
David Bray
Fiona Southwellt
Jo Lane
Aziza Mills
Rosanne Robertson
Sophie Lee
Caitlin Howard
Holyanda Phillips
Aimee Allen
Amy Poole
Daniel Taylor
Hannah Dargavel-leafe
Louie Lister
David Gaffney
Sophie Faulkner, Timothy Hughes, Joe Wheatley, Celila McGoldrick (Mizuki's Ashes)

Not Part Of runs from July 2 - 18

www.notpartof.org

One Man’s Junk Is Another Man’s Treasure - SUST clothes Swap Shop, Old Trafford

One of the casualties of the credit crunch has been charity shops, which have reported a fall in donations as we choose instead to get by with what we’ve already got, to ‘make do and mend’.

This means a move away from our throwaway, disposable, consumerist culture, in which clothes are bought and rendered unfashionable again as quickly as turning the pages in a fashion magazine.

Most of us have unwanted clothes at the back of our wardrobes, which outgrew their purpose, or unworn items bought on an impulse or by mistake. It might seem like a shame to take these to a charity shop, the equivalent of money down the drain.

If this is the case, or you’re just a bit bored of the clothes you own and they’re still in a wearable state, a swap shop could be for you, allowing the chance to swap your clothes for someone else’s, and the opportunity to breathe new life into your wardrobe without spending a penny.

Inspired by a similar event at the 8th Day Café on Oxford Road, enthusiastic volunteers from the Manchester charity Action for Sustainable Living set up the SUST Swap shop at St Bride’s church in Old Trafford in November 2008. The swap on Monday 18 will be the third event.

Louise Allen, who helps organise the swaps, says: “It’s a great chance to have a clear out and get a new wardrobe for free, all in the name of sustainability - re-use, recycle and get involved with your local community.”

For those who enjoy a browse but feel priced out of charity shops, which have become increasingly expensive - it’s hard to find even a simple t-shirt for under £2 now (the price of a new t-shirt in Primark), with the going rate more like £4 - you can pay £1 without having to donate any items, and still take away as many garments as you want.

It’s also a great way to get cheap clothes without worrying about the ethical implications now that even charity shops are filling up with more and more discarded items from Primark, some of which are sold on for more than their original price. Louise says: “It’s a big problem that clothes aren’t made to last anymore.”

Call it vintage without the extortionate prices, shabby chic, or even just recycling, you never know what you’ll find - as the old saying goes, “One man’s junk is another man’s treasure".

Louise says: “If you get fed up of seeing the same clothes in the shops it’s a good chance to get something different. I took home about five or six really good items last time that I now wear all the time.”

Louise says the clothes tend to be donated by younger people than often give to charity shops, with a clientele based around students and people in their mid twenties.

The organisers invite donations of men’s, women’s and children’s clothes, shoes and accessories such as scarves and belts - although not underwear. If you donate three items or more, you can take as many items as you like in return.

Louise says: “Some people turn up with black sacks full, but people normally take home more than they donate.”

With prices like that - if you go home and realise the garment doesn’t fit, or you decide don’t like the item after all - you can’t go far wrong, and could even swap again at the next event.

Part car boot sale, part old fashioned church rummage sale, the swap shop will also be a chance to mingle and meet people living in the local area. Past events have attracted up to thirty people, including fashion students looking for material and clothes to alter. Some have become regulars.

Charity shops are also reportedly seeing a decline in donations because of the rise of eBay, and the expectation that you can make money from your old possessions.

Swap shops, in contrast, “offer an opportunity to share”, says Louise, explaining: "Swap shops take out the middle man and remove money from the equation as they’re a return to an exchange system”. Louise continues: “It’s nice to see people taking clothes away that they can get use out of, as you’re actually helping people by taking clothes to a swap shop.”

On top of that, there’s the excitement of making a ‘find’ in amongst the jumble of a tabletop sale.

The most unusual item donated last time was an old Stagecoach bus driver’s uniform, complete with shirt and fleece, although Louise says swap shops are also ideal for finding plain tshirts, dresses and jumpers. Louise warns that party dresses and summer dresses that still look new always go quickly, and finding bargains often depends on how long you stay, as more items are brought along throughout the night.

Buying secondhand clothes is often a far more personal way to shop - there’s something nice about giving a new life to an old dress, moulding a much worn jumper to your life, introducing a ‘new-to-me’ cardigan to your wardrobe and working it into existing outfits or wearing something that has already been ‘worn in’.

Louise agrees: “It’s nice to see people taking your stuff that you don’t have a use for anymore because you’ve outgrown it but you still really like.”

Louise’s favourite find was a “big, Fresh prince of Bel Air style jumper”, decorated with orange, yellow and black triangles and gold buttons. Its previous owner told Louise “my kids made me get rid of it - I’m glad it’s going to someone who likes it.”

Each event needs around seven volunteers, and Louise says the swap shop offers an ideal opportunity for anyone who wants to volunteer but who can’t commit much time, as it only involves helping out one evening every two months. An added bonus is that volunteers get first pick of the donations.

Louise hopes to organise similar swapshops based on other goods such as DVDs, games and books in the future.

SUST Swap Shop takes place at St Bride’s Church, Blair Street, Old Trafford on May 18 from 6:30-8pm

For more information, or if you would like to help set up, staff or distribute flyers for the event, contact Louise Allen at louise.allen@afsl.org.uk