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news & happenings
‘We are not afraid of the future’ -
a very special screening of Bata-ville for our first event of 2012!
The LRM and the Manchester Modernisty Society, in conjunction with Manchester Metropolitan University, will present a screening of the award-winning Bata-ville at 6pm on 26th January 2012.
Written & directed by Northern Art Prize Winners Karen Guthrie & Nina Pope, Bata-ville (90mins) is a bittersweet record of an English coach trip to the origins of the Bata shoe empire – the Moravian town of Zlin - a place described by Le Corbusier as a "shiny phenomenon". Against the backdrop of economic regeneration in their communities, former employees of two now closed UK Bata factories are led by artist / directors Pope & Guthrie on a unique journey through Bata’s legacy and across a changing Europe.
What begins as a free holiday soon becomes an opportunity for a collective imagining of what Tomas Bata’s inspirational maxim, “We are not afraid of the future” can mean in 21st century Britain.
As a special treat we will start proceedings with a showing of Hush (10mins) by Lynne Pettinger and Will Montgomery.
Please can you register in advance here to help us plan the event
The screening will be in the John Dalton Building on Oxford Road. Please use the main entrance on Oxford Road (virtually opposite the old BBC building) and follow the signs.
T his event is free although we would gladly accept any donations on the door to to help us cover the small costs of running of this event
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breaking news - listing success
Following a succesfull application by the Manchester Modernist Society to English Heritage - the uber lovely St.Raphael the Archangel (1961-3) in Stalybrige has now been listed Grade II. We visited the church in the Summer and were wowed by the overall design, the stained glass and the bespoke Stations of the Cross. We were saddened to hear just a couple of weeks after the visit that the Church was to be closed by the Diocese of Shrewsbury. St Raphaels is by Massey and Massey of Warrington. Dalle de verre stained glass by Pierre Fourmaintraux of Powells (Whitefriars Studios). Stations of the Cross and water stoops by Alan Boyson. Central pendant light fitting by McGloughlin of Dublin.
Our band of experts kicked into action and we immedieately submitted a listing application - outrageously, demolition was on the cards .. but this listing has come into force from December 13th and now we can breath easier. (for full reasons see here)
Sherries all 'round we think!
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the modernist pop-up shop
special preview event - Friday 2nd December 6pm-8pm
opens 3rd December 2011
prints, artworks, magazines, posters, designed objects, photographs, illustrations, books…
As part of the Sights From the Other City/Chapel Street Open Studios in November/December 2011. The manchester modernist society, publishers of the modernist magazine will launch a modernist ‘pop up’ shop at 142 Chapel Street, Salford, M3 6AF (close to Salford central Station and the Kings Arms)
The shop will feature artist/designer made products with a ‘modernist’ flavour and remember - its a fundraiser, so get your chequebooks ready! Here's just a selection of the goodies available...
142, Chapel Street, Salford, M3 6AF
for opening times click here
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introduction to contemporary art:modernism
We are delighted to be partnering with Cornerhouse this October to offer a new course - 'introduction to contemporary art:modernism' .
This course will take you on an unconventional journey through modernist design, art and architecture, from Lubetkin’s Penguin Pool and post-war reconstruction to Sheffield’s Park Hill, the Pompidou Centre and the pop aesthetic of Verner Panton.
for more information and bookings see cornerhouse
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Our second September gathering is an exciting event brought to you jointly by the msa and mms. It’s going to be brilliant!
Do join us for a very special screening of ‘Utopia London’, director Tom Cordell’s journey in film through the city he grew up in, meeting the architects who designed it, and reuniting them with the buildings they created. Premiering last winter, Utopia London has been screening around the world to much critical acclaim. We are thrilled to be bringing it to Manchester.
This is a free screening. All welcome!
We are particularly delighted to be welcoming director Tom Cordell to the screening, who will introduce his film and lead a post screening q&a session. Tom grew up in London in the 80’s & 90’s, and says,
‘I've always been drawn to the excitement of its post-war landscape; concrete and brick textures, unadorned clean lines, neon glow and dark shadows. And most Londoners my age that I know feel the same - the modernist city is our landscape.’
Utopia London takes place next Thursday 22 September,
at the University Place Theatre A, the University of Manchester, Oxford Road,(directly opposite Manchester Museum) from 18.00-20.00pm.
see more about the film here
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the modernist magazine
September extravaganza - Our issue2 launch
Please join us for our special launch event at
6.00pm - 8.00pm Thursday 15th Sept 2011.
ferrious
arch 61
Whitworth Street West
Copies will be available to purchase - hot off the press!
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alphabet city – a modernist gazetteer
preview night is wednesday 6 july, 6.30 – 8.00
Please join us for the launch of our beautiful limited edition booklet, designed by the Manchester Municipal Design Corporation, and accompanying exhibition of Dan Russell’s architectural drawings
at 142, chapel street, Salford, m3 6af
alphabet city is a project inspired by the bold lines and beautiful shapes of manchester as a modernist city, this pocket gazetteer with its painstakingly drawn architectural prints takes the reader on a whistle stop tour of 26 twentieth century treasures: - link up to our weekly ‘a-z’ updates from the manchester modernist society website
the publication will be given out free on the launch night and the exhibition continues from the 7-9 of July 10am – 5pm
on Sunday 10 of July join us at 1pm as we take a whistlestop tour of Modern Manchester where we attempt to tick off every letter of the alphabet. There will be anecdotes retold, myths busted and the odd fascinating fact as we try to cram in everything from the Arndale to Zion.
Meet at the Mark Addy (New Bailey Street) at 1pm.
The tour will take approximately 2 hours, ending at mms hq - this walk is not for the feint hearted but copies of our beautifully illustrated booklet will give more time for reflection and will be available for all those who survive.
Part of the Not Part Of festival and supported by Forever Manchester
MMS at RIBA Architecture Festival 2011…
Saturday 18 June –
Our very own Steve Millington will be speaking at the first 250 New Towns Club to be held in Manchester, RIBA Hub, at the CUBE Gallery, 113-115 Portland Street, Manchester, M1 6FB; for more details on the New Towns Club and today’s seminar themes visit here.
Saturday 25 June -
Sign up for the Manchester Modernist Heroines walk on Saturday 25 June starting at 2pm prompt at the Bridgewater Hall touchstone. The walk takes inspiration from ten remarkable women with connections to Manchester. Whilst celebrating their achievements, the walk also uncovers hidden histories and power relationships which have shaped the modern city. So please join us for tales of explorers, scientists, geographers, aviatrixes, architects, artists and more to reveal the valuable role of Mancunian and Lancastrian women in defining, and more often than not, resisting dominant perspectives of the city. The walk will followed by a discussion hosted at the Manchester Modernist Society. Both events are hosted by Manchester Metropolitan Universtity. Numbers as limited to 25 people, so please book to secure your FREE place here.
Don’t forget … the modernist our very own new magazine...
we are launching our Multimedia interactive mapping channel, a collaborative project with the University of Salford, as well as the first Issue of our new quarterly magazine ‘the Modernist’, on Thursday 23 June from 6.30-8.30pm at Cube Gallery. All welcome, RSVP here.
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Alan Boyson Bus Tour
June 11th
In association with the 20thCentury Society NW Group and the Tiles & Ceramics Association, we shall be exploring and discovering the works of Alan Boyson, artist and designer of murals, windows and other architectural decoration, across the Greater Manchester area, by coach.
Alan Boyson’s ‘Tree of Life’ mural, installed for the opening of the Cromwell Secondary School for Girls, Salford, in 1962, depicts a stylised version of the mythical tree of life. The school later closed. The building was taken over by the University of Salford which soon closed it. Just before its demolition in 2009, TACS were successful in applying for the mural’s grade 2 listing.
We shall also visit Boyson murals in Stockport, Denton, Collyhurst, Salford University and his 1970 etched abstract glass window commemorating the musician Hilda Collens in St Anne’s church, Manchester. His window represents ‘frozen music’. In Stalybridge we plan to visit his work at St Raphael’s church, Millbrook (Massey & Massey, 1963), a modernist bobby dazzler in itself. This promises to be a classic C20 Society event, truffling for modernist ceramics, murals, glass and other artworks by an artist whose reputation is growing. The event is led by Christopher Marsden, Boyson expert and the author of a recent paper on Boyson in the 2010 TACS Journal.
Cost: £25 (£23 concessions).
Meet: at Fairfield Street entrance of Manchester Piccadilly rail station at 10.30am [London train dep. Euston at 8.00, arr Manchester 10.07]. We aim to return to Piccadilly by 5pm [London train dep 17.35, arr 19.42]. Lunch (not included) is DIY in Stalybridge.
click here to book
sights from the other city
2pm Renaissance Hotel Deansgate & BlackfriarsSt
It can’t have escaped your attention that there’s an extra Bank Holiday looming over the May Day Weekend.
If you don’t fancy watching the ibox or spending the weekend stuck in motorway mayhem then why not join us Salfordians for Sights from the Other City, a 2 day creative event running alongside the well established and fabulous Sounds from the Other City music festival.
The Chapel Street area of Salford is home to 100 creative businesses and more than 60 visual artists are based in the area. The Sights from the Other City weekend event shows some of these creatives opening their doors and offering you the chance to get involved through walks, 'zine fairs and art exhibitions alongside other events - click here
As part of Sights from the other City, we will be throwing the mms headquarters open on Saturday and Sunday for a short series of architectural walks of the Chapel Street area commencing at 2pm, as well as the chance to indulge in a day of Urban drawing with artist Becca Smith. Take your pick or join up for everything...!
m3’s modernist mile
Join us at 2pm outside the Renaissance Hotel on the corner of Deansgate/Blackfriars Street for a walking tour of 20th C architecture around Salford’s M3 from Victoria Bridge to the Islington Estate.
This walk will take place on Saturday 30 April and Sunday 1 May, so take your pick and come along for whichever suits - just remember to dress for a spring day! The walk should take about 1hr 30 mins. (this is a free event - all welcome)
the modernist magazine
The writing of our launch issue is well under way and will be hitting the news stands in June. Get your copy delivered straight onto your door mat by subscribing on-line. with free postage and a chance to win some lovely books, why wouldn't you? If you subscribe before the end of April, you have a chance of winning the fabulous Facismo Abbandonato or the gorgeous CCCP.
and keep your eyes peeled for our launch event at CUBE Gallery as part of Architecture Festival NW.
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In association with MERZMAN – Kurt Schwitters in the North West and the Littoral Trust, the manchester modernist society invite you to a very special event:
The Origins of Modern Movement
Rudolf Laban in Manchester
6.00 Monday 21st March
Laban in Manchester: the origins of Modern (Dance) Movement in Britain - a stroll with Professor Dunlop Preston(and Rudolf Laban) along Oxford Road.
Meet outside Cornerhouse for 6pm start. (free)
Followed by A Public Lecture by Professor Valerie Preston-Dunlop
Public Lecture by Professor Valerie Preston-Dunlop
7.30pm Monday 21st March
Lecture theatre: Royal Northern College of Music, Oxford Road, Manchester
Born in Austria, Rudolf Laban (1879-1958) was one of the founders of European Modern Dance. In 1938 he fled from the Nazis and later established himself in Manchester where at the age of sixty, supported by Lisa Ullmann, he started a new phase in his career. He worked in industry, introducing work study methods to increase production through humane means, and greatly influenced the movement education culture in Britain opening, through Lisa Ullmann, The Art of Movement Studio in Manchester in 1946. The Art of Movement Studio was renamed Laban Centre for Movement and Dance in 1975, which later became Trinity Laban in South London.
Schwitters and LABAN: Manchester as the avant-garde centre of Modern art and movement 1946/47.
Rudolf Laban and, fellow refugee from the Nazis - Kurt Schwitters, were also in contact during 1946/47, and were working together on plans for a pioneer MERZTANZ Modern Dance theatre project in Manchester. The talk will also discuss the possibility of a future commisson to reconstruct and stage the uncompleted Laban/Schwitters Dance theatre project, involving contemporary choreographers, artists, architects and dancers.
Valerie Preston-Dunlop is a consultant and researcher at Trinity Laban, a practical dance scholar and lecturer, and author of numerous books including the award winning Rudolf Laban: An Extraordinarty Life. She received her early training from Laban, Lisa Ullmann, Kurt Jooss and Albrecht Knust and after a short performing career went on to pioneered practice as part of her doctoral studies. Her current research interests are sacred geometry in human movement, re-finding and re-creating Laban!s dance works of the 1920s, and devising interactive mapping methods for documenting creative procedures. She also visited Kurt Schwitters! MERZ BARN in Cumbria in 1947, when Schwitters was still working on the project.
Admission free: But please book in advance with:
LITTORAL Arts Trust
42 Lodge Mill Lane
Turn Village
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do join us, women, men, children, flaneurs & loiterers all - for a very special collaboration -
The Modernist Heroines Project,
Sunday March 6 at Manchester Town Hall,
Women of Achievement Room, 1-4pm, LRM walk 3-5pm.
Manchester Modernist Society, The LRM (Loiterers Resistance Movement) and The Shrieking Violet have teamed up for a collaborative project exploring the stories of ten fabulous North West women spanning the fields of invention, aviation, media, science, design and architecture throughout the twentieth century and into the twenty first.
Join us for an afternoon exploring 'Manchester's Modernist Heroines’,
launching a special edition of the Shrieking Violet fanzine, a collection of essays, interviews, artworks and links to events which aim to commemorate their achievements, uncover many more via your own favourites,
and who knows – inspire some Heroines of tomorrow –
from 1 – 4pm at the Town Hall,
We are also delighted to announce that at 3pm we will be joining the LRM first Sunday walk at 3pm for a Modernist Heroines inspired walk -
The LRM will be curating a walk inspired by the work of Doreen Massey we will focus on flow, energy, gender and why we love exploring space. Our wander will uncover some of the hidden histories and power relationships which have shaped the city; Manchester is made up of myriad stories and we will tell some about our marvellous modernist heroines that are absent from the official narrative.
Find out more – and download a copy of the zine – by visiting:
****This is the start of an ongoing project; please tell us about your heroines...
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Science and Modernism Walking Tour
Saturday 19th March 2011,
starting at 1pm – 3.30pm, John Dalton Building,
Opp the BBC
The Manchester Modernist Society and Manchester Metropolitan University are pleased to present a walking tour of Oxford Road - the city's own 'Knowledge Corridor'.
Over the course of the 20th century, Oxford Road has become the site of some of the world's greatest scientific discoveries - from splitting the atom to the recent discovery of graphene. The street is home to some of the city's most challenging and controversial Modern architecture. The tour will intertwine the history of Oxford Road's development over the last 100 years together with profiles of the some of the great, and not so great, scientists who once perambulated along this historic thoroughfare.
Venue: Science and Engineering Faculty (John Dalton Building), front entrance, Oxford Rd, M1 5GD
Please note - this event is free of charge but subject to booking –
please reserve your place by registering at eventbrite here, as places are limited to 25 people and we’d hate you to miss it!
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MMS FEBRUARY EVENT – A UMIST LOVE IN!
gather at the vimto monument, UMIST
sunday 20 february, 1pm.
its February, the month of love, when cards, flowers and tokens of affection are traditionally offered to those we cherish and hold in high esteem - the high street is stuffed with heart shaped balloons, plastic roses and sentimental ditties for the objects of our affections. love it seems is everywhere....
meanwhile recently denounced as shabby and surplus to requirements, our beloved UMIST is fast being broken up and offered cheap to developers for god knows what fate. as one of mms favourite landscapes, an oasis of calm, tranquillity and a rare green space in the city, our hearts are broken and we desperately need a cuddle or group hug....
so, what better time to show our heartfelt devotion to UMIST, so abruptly left at the altar by a brutish spouse for a younger, brasher model on oxford road, which is apparently ‘more vibrant’ than this unique modernist masterpiece?
do join us for a Valentine style Love in on Sunday 20 Feb - an afternoon perambulation of what the Manchester Architectural Guide has called ‘the most impressive of the post war buildings...a sense of purpose lacking in most of their contemporaries at the university.’
gather at 1pm by the Vimto monument opposite the fin de siecle confection that is the Main Sackville Building for a meander around the campus taking in its iconic architecture, artworks and sculptural experiments and reflecting on its social, cultural and scientific significance for the development of twentieth century Manchester – a narrative every bit as important to Manchester as that of the industrial revolution. UMIST was the vanguard of Britain’s post-war “white heat of technology” era: electronics, nuclear engineering, chemicals, artificial textiles, aeronautics and computing.
on hand for extra insight and expertise will be Richard Brook - senior lecturer at manchester school of architecture and a specialist in post war architecture in the region & Steve Millington & Eddy Rhead co-conspirators on our recent Science & the City - a Modernist tale Walking tour for november’s Science Festival.
Vimto & lovehearts will be distributed in accordance with the Valentine theme.
all welcome. see you there!! feel the love....
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Modernist heroines — a collaborative callout,
Women we need YOU!
The Manchester Modernist Society is delighted to be teaming up with The Shrieking Violet and the Loiterers Resistance Movement to invite you to join us in a collaborative project promoting a century of Modernist women to coincide with the hundredth birthday celebrations of International Women's Day on March 8.
We are currently looking for expressions of interest around the theme of ten fabulous females strongly associated with the North West spanning the fields of invention, aviation, media, science, design and architecture in the twentieth century.
We aim to produce a publication and range of activities centred around the lives and careers of our ten local heroines in early March, and are looking for your creative responses.
This can be (but is not limited to) an event, performance, piece of creative writing, interview or journalism. Our only stipulation is that the work be about one of our ten local heroines.
Deadline for expression of interest is Friday 28 January — simply indicate your chosen Heroine and an outline of the type of work likely to be submitted.
Deadline for final submission of work is Friday 18 February, to allow print and publicity in time for a March event on Sunday 6 March.
Please email info@manchestermodernistsociety.org in the first instance with your choice of Fabulous Female and a short summary of the idea you might wish to pursue.
Our ten modernist heroines are –
Mitzi Solomon Cunliffe (January 1, 1918 – December 30, 2006) was an American sculptor who was a long resident in Didsbury. She was most famous for designing the golden trophy in the shape of a theatrical mask that would go on to represent the British Academy of Film and Television Arts and be presented as the BAFTA award. She also designed the mural on the Heaton Park Pumping Station.
Winifred Brown - Salfordian aviatrix and the first woman to join the Lancashire Aero Club in 1926. As the first woman to win the King’s Cup in 1930, Winifred became an instant star across the world, especially in her home city of Salford. During the Second World War, Winifred worked as Chief Coxswain in the Marine Department of Saunders Roe, the flying boat constructors in Beaumaris. Winifred worked with a fleet of R.A.F. craft with all-male crews, met Catalinas from Bermuda, landed and embarked crews and towed aircraft.
Rachel Haugh co-established the architectural practice Ian Simpson Associates. She was born and brought up in Manchester and studied at Bath University School of Architecture. She is a founding partner and co-director of Ian Simpson Architects, a design-led architectural practice established in 1987 and employing around 50 people in offices in Manchester and London.
Susan Sutherland Isaacs (1885–1948) was a Bolton born educational psychologist and psychoanalyst. Educated at Manchester and Cambridge Universities, she published pioneer studies on the intellectual and social development of children and promoted the nursery school movement. For Isaacs developing a child’s independence, which is best achieved through play, was the best way for children to learn and the role of adults and early educators was to guide children's play. She was awarded a CBE in 1948.
Marie Stopes (15 October 1880 – 2 October 1958) was the first woman member of faculty at Manchester University. A noted palaeobotanist, campaigner for women's rights and pioneer in the field of family planning, her career was high profile and controversial. Heroine or villian, she cannot be ignored!
Professor Rosalie David is the world's leading expert on Egyptian mummies. She is Director of the Centre for Biomedical and Forensic Egyptology at the University of Manchester and has directed the Manchester Egyptian Mummy Research Project since 1973. This project has pioneered the 'Manchester Method' - the use of medical and scientific techniques to investigate ancient Egyptian mummies to detect evidence of disease and information about everyday life in ancient Egypt. She was the first woman professor in Egyptology in Britain, and the first to receive an OBE in recognition of her services in Egyptology.
Olive Shapley, British radio producer and broadcaster (10 April 1910– 13 March 1999) was a British radio producer and broadcaster. In 1934 she began her career with the BBC as Children's Hour organiser with the responsibility of producing five hour-long programmes every week. These included at least two full-length live plays a week. After the war she became the third presenter of ‘Woman's Hour’, a programme with which she was associated for over twenty years, producing the programme between 1949 and 1953. Meanwhile, she began to develop a career as a presenter in the new television medium. In the mid-1960s her Manchester home became a refuge (as a charitable trust) for single mothers and later, in the late 1970s, for Vietnamese boat people.
Professor Doreen Massey is a Manchester born contemporary British social scientist and geographer, devoting her life to the subject, speaking passionately about the significance of geography and the 'politics of place' in a globalised world. Her work has had a profound influence on theorising around space and place and has taken the study of geography into new inter-disciplinary directions.
Mary Stott (18 July 1907 – 16 September 2002) was a British feminist and journalist, the first - and longest-serving - editor of the Guardian women's page. One of the great campaigning journalists of the 20th century, in her 15-year tenure from 1957 to 1972 she invented a platform for women's voices and concerns and used it to further such causes.
Linder Sterling studied Art at the Manchester School of Art from 1974-77 and played a vital part in the 1970s punk scene in Manchester, designing graphics for the Buzzcocks, Magazine and Factory Records. She remains a pivotal visual artist, performance artist and musician, whose work has been selected for the Tate Triennial.
About us all -
The LRM (Loiterers Resistance Movement) is a Manchester based collective of artists and activists who loiter with intent on the first Sunday of every month to reclaim the city for play and revolutionary fun.
The Manchester Modernist Society exists to raise awareness and appreciation of Modern architecture & the urban environment and related modern art and design, in Manchester and the surrounding region, through walks, talks and creative collaborations.
The Shrieking Violet is a regular free fanzine about Manchester and is loosely based on the Manchester blog The Shrieking Violet. It is informed by the experience and love of being in the city.
ps - this project is not intended to be definitive or authoritative but merely a starting point...! obviously these are not the only fabulous females of the north west making great strides in the twentieth century but we hope that our Starter for Ten will initiate more discussion and commemoration of countless others.
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January MMS get together!
Preston Grand Day Out, Saturday 22 January 2011,
Do join us for our first outing of the New Year....
Starting 12 noon at Preston station ticket office underneath the black and gold ‘Welcome to Lancashire’ sign!
Shake off those New Year Doldrums with an afternoon of concrete, cosy caffs 60’s style & a spot of groovy interior design at the Harris before sloping homewards tired but happy...
Yes, it’s the first get together of 2011, a chance to pay homage to the magnificent bus station and catch up with the long and seemingly lost battle to save it from the bulldozers. Anyone with the slightest interest in twentieth century architecture will be only too familiar with the trials and tribulations surrounding this well known landmark. Catch up with some of the details here.
Of course Preston is much more than its bus station – it is an ancient market town with a mention in the Domesday Book, as well as England’s newest city, so there’s much to look forward to on our whistle stop tour! Thankfully our genial guide will be Aiden Turner-Bishop, proud Prestonian and chairman of the North West group of the Twentieth Century Society, who won’t be able to resist sharing his love of the city’s history along the way, whilst guiding us through the city’s brilliant brutalist legacy.
Expect to perambulate the iconic station and take in rooftop views, as well as its groovy café, which with its fixed, orange, moulded plastic seats hasn’t changed much since 1970. Large mugs of tea and coffee, pies & gravy, chips and toasted teacakes are, of course, to hand before advancing onwards through some of Aidan’s favourite ‘brutalist semi-derelict J G Ballard & Clockwork Orange-style tunnels’ to the Harris Art Gallery for the unmissable Shirley Craven and Hull Traders exhibition.
Modernist credentials - Shirley Craven’s furniture was used in George Best’s boutique in Manchester in the 60s. Designers included sculptor Eduardo Paolozzi and photographer Nigel Henderson, collaborating under the name Hammer Prints, along with textile designer John Drummond. Artist Ivon Hitchens was another notable early contributor. This was a seriously groovy company....!
whet your appetite on the hull traders site
Hope to see you there for what promises to be a most excellent day of modernist exploration. This event is, as usual, free of charge apart from travel & cafe costs along the way. All welcome - just remember to follow the mms day out code; sensible shoes, warm layers and rain protection advisable, plus some change for steaming mugs of tea and chip butties!
ps. practical details - We will meet 12 noon Preston station ticket office underneath the black and gold ‘Welcome to Lancashire’ sign!
Travel Suggestions - an off peak day return to Preston by rail is ten pounds. Trains leave Manchester Piccadilly very regularly with some journeys as short as 40 mins. The mms will be catching the 10.54 which arrives at 11.50 –missed it? theres also the 11.16am which arrives at Preston at 11.55.
Alternatively a day’s parking at the Virgin Trains multi-storey carpark next to the station costs £4 (or it did very recently)....
rsvp please so we can give our host an idea of how many to expect.....
Happy New Year!!!
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december 2010 festive message!
the final monthly-ish update of 2010 sees us in festive mood!
here we are sitting huddled up to our meagre radiator in mms hq, enjoying a last mince pie and sherry before retiring to our tower blocks for the festive season.
so, there’s just enough time to offer a heartfelt merry tidings and good cheer to one and all and alert you to a few modernist news items to keep you amused until we meet again for our first get together of the brand new year – keep a date in your diaries for saturday 29 january and a Grand Day Out to Preston to pay homage to the brutalist beauty of the Bus Station, guided by our 20th century society chums up there!
stuck for some interesting reading over the coming week?
well don’t forget to take a look at our recent features of the month which have tackled such zeitgisty hot topics as brutalist social housing, the rise and fall of local legends such as granada television & kendal milne, plus a forthcoming treat from our own mr. eddy rhead on the various fates of public post war abstract sculpture.....
also look out for our brand new weekly feature – an a-z of modernism updated every Friday! just what will make it on to our list – ‘A’ has already seen aldine house fit the bill, ‘B’ has celebrated the dear departed Bernard house, whilst ‘C’ is for crematorium. how jolly...!
thank you for collaborating, joining in and supporting us over the past twelve months and hope to see you at many of our future events and activities; we have plenty up our sleeves for 2011!
festive greetings, good cheer and happy new year.....
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Modernists, Urbanists, Friends & Flaneurs,
Join us for
Newspapers on film -
a festive celebration
on
Saturday 11th December, 3.30pm-6.30pm
Manchester Modernist Society HQ,
142 Chapel Street, Salford
Free - all welcome
The Shrieking Violet fanzine and Manchester Modernist Society invite you to a seasonal gathering celebrating Manchester's media heritage through documentaries from the North West Film Archive.
There will also be some baked goods from recipes which have appeared in issues of the Shrieking Violet fanzine — expect shortbread, sloe gin and an edible Daily Express building.
Greater Manchester is in the news at the moment because of the MediacityUK development in Salford, but Manchester was once a centre of newspaper production that was known as the 'Other Fleet Street'.
The event accompanies a media themed special of Manchester-based fanzine The Shrieking Violet which looks at various aspects of Manchester and the media — including Jack Hale of Manchester Modernist Society writing in praise of the innovative Daily Express building on Great Ancoats Street. The films in the North West film archive help give a sense not just of the labour and space intensive process that traditionally went into making newspapers, pre-digitisation, and the buildings in which they were made, but also illustrate the importance of newspapers in the city. The films provide fascinating insights into the time in which they were made: Here is the News is an optimistic look at the modernist city in the swinging sixties, whereas People and Places in Ordsall depicts the other side of life in the region, and the great changes Salford was undergoing at the time as part of slum clearance programmes.
Showing:
People and Places Around Ordsall
Salford newsagent, amateur filmmaker and onetime newspaper delivery boy Ralph Brookes documented the changing face of the inner city area Ordsall in the 1960s and ‘70s, making over ninety home movies about the community around him, from his home, family, birthdays and Christmas to mingling with the stars for an episode of Coronation Street which was filmed in the local park.
Read more about the remarkable Mr Brookes on the Shrieking Violet blogspot.
Here is the News
Colourful, jaunty, jazz-soundtracked film about how the Evening News is produced. Made in 1968 to celebrate the newspaper's centenary, the film shows the 'daily miracle' that is producing a newspaper every day, from newspaper offices and linotype and hot lead to distributing copies around the city to be read in suburban family homes.
News Story
A day in the life of the famous Guardian newspaper in 1960 (four years before it moved to London), from meeting the journalists in the various departments which put it together to its distribution around the country.
Hope you can drop in!
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NovemberEvent & Update
After all that hardy outdoors walking and talking in the wind and rain last month for Manchester Science Festival, we reckon its high time for a cosy meander of the mind at mms headquarters....so
please join us for the launch of LATITUDE
our gorgeous Artist Mapping Exhibition, which is part of Salford's Chapel Street Open!
Preview night is Friday 19th November 2010, 6.00pm
Inspired by the organisation’s own collection of 20th Century maps, the exhibition is part of the Chapel Street Open Studios series of events which showcases the creative output of the Chapel Street area of Salford.
The exhibition includes a variety of work including a map of Manchester in the form of an angiogram (an x-ray of blood vessels); a map tracking every aeroplane to take off from Heathrow airport in 24hours; a map designed to promote Salford’s ‘Unconvention’ music festival and an intriguing take on motorway signage.
Artwork is available for sale and all proceeds will suppport the continued aims of the modernist society, a not for profit organisation.
Latitude continues from 20 – 28 November
11.00am – 5.30pm daily
All welcome - drop in for a chat, a browse & that perfect christmas gift!
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October events
Science & the City - a Modernist tale
a Manchester Science Festival Event
Saturdays 23 & 31 October
1-4pm meet up at John Dalton Building, Oxford Rd
Manchester Metropolitan University and the Manchester Modernist Society are pleased to present a walking tour of Oxford Road - the city's own 'Knowledge Corridor'. Over the course of the 20th century, Oxford Road became the site of some of the world's greatest scientific discoveries, and home to some of the city's most challenging and controversial Modern architecture.
The tour will intertwine the history of Oxford Road's development over the last 100 years together with profiles of the some of great, and not so, great scientists who once perambulated along this great thoroughfare. We will also examine how research and education in Manchester have become entangled in the planning and regeneration of the city - from the post-war re-imagining of Oxford Road as an educational and cultural precinct to its modern position as a driver of a global knowledge economy.
So please join Dr Steve Millington (Manchester Metropolitan University), Maureen Ward (the Manchester Modernist Society) and Eddy Rhead (formerly of the 20th Century Society) in October.
Meet in the foyer of the John Dalton Building (Oxford Road), Manchester Metropolitan University at 1pm on either the 23rd or 30th October. The tour is free, but places are limited to 25 per tour.
The tour will last around 2 hours. Please dress sensibly for the prevailing weather conditions.
Click here to Book
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September outing
Park Hill - Streets in the sky
The Manchester Modernist Society invite a select band of fellow travellers to join us for a rare opportunity to see the progress so far at Urban Splash’s redevelopment of Sheffield’s most famous modernist castle..
15th September, 2010 at 10.00 am.
Places are strictly limited on this guided tour, with only 12 available.
SOLD OUT - sorry
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DIY July & an August Invitation!
'At Home' with the Modernists,
Chez Nous, Sat 28 August, 11am til 3pm.....
dear oh dear, july has flown by and we haven’t met up yet for our monthly sojourn! sarah’s marvellous Irwell wildscape walk last month must have really tired us out....
as there's not enough time to gather together for july here are a few DIY suggestions to see out the last weekend in modernist style until our august meeting -
- take the gatley pilgrim train & enjoy modernist bliss in gatley’s grill & griddle....highly recommended. possibly the only intact classic 60’s caff in the environs. find it at 45 Gatley Green, Gatley, Cheadle, a stones throw away from the station. you wont regret it...here’s what luv the city said a while back.
- or you could take a short stroll along our very own South Bank, complete with magnificent museum on its left bank! no, we’re not talking about London & the Tate but the Irwell and the Peoples History Museum -
start your mini modernist trail on deansgate opposite the cathedral, turn down chapel street to take in the splendour of Highland House and the unexpected pleasure of the service aspects of the brooding hulk of the much maligned Fairburn House, currently the Ramada. seen from the riverside its intricate levels of stairwells, podiums and swirling car park ramps are crisp, intricate, positively delicate, if a little careworn. a short walk over blackfriars bridge rewards with a hidden descent to the river under east is east restaurant.
from there you can saunter towards the calatrava bridge accompanied only by the resident cormorant and a cheeky gaggle of marauding seagulls. contemplate the marvels of its elegant engineering in the amphitheatre seating before turning to take in the graceful sophistication of albert bridge house and its tripartite composition, a view only possible from this very spot. ahead lies perhaps Leach Rhodes Walkers finest hour, the irrepressible aldine house, now Riverside, with its trademark concrete ribbing and saucy porthole windows. a swift hanger right leaving the river allows you join the path round the side of the complex rounding back up on to bridge street and the newly revamped pump house with its lovely cafe and mighty selection of cakes. weather permitting take your afternoon tea on the terrace for a riverside seat and a peek at the swans and new cygnets that tend to hang out by the mark addy kitchens....Oh & dont forget to visit the museum!
- for armchair modernists, why not become an activist at the mere click of a button and sign up to save the Hoe Centre in Plymouth. whilst it’s scandalously too late for this partially demolished cultural treasure to survive, we Modernists should stick together, so sign up, voice your discontent at the sheer inadequacy of the legislation on 20th century edifices and keep up to date with what happens next via the Plymouth facebook group. it could be us next, so Modernists Everywhere Unite!!
still terminally bored without your mms playmates? still stuck for ideas? craving like minded misguided utopian strangers for no strings fun?
....fear not - did you know that we twitter now too? follow us @modernistsoc....
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july highlights and headlines:
suddenly it seems that the modernist period can’t stay out of the news and very little of it is cheering.
recently you can’t have missed this contrasting tales of 2 cities, with good news for Milton Keynes as its superb shopping centre gets listing and well deserved recognition, the triumph short lived with a bitter blow to brutalism as Gateshead demolishes its finest brooding beauty for yet another tesco.
back in our own fair city some choice titbits have been reported. the recession means a reprieve of sorts for lovers of the magnificent Manchester House. we’ve been keeping an eye out for this for a while as it was long earmarked for demolition as part of the spinningfield makeover. fingers crossed for a suitable revamp for this underappreciated landmark. inevitably another food giant is involved...
the long awaited fate of gateway house is finally revealed with Hodder & Partners chosen for the proposed revamp - their design was one of the few not to suggest demolition. the truly iconic lazy 's' of the ever controversial seifert remains an absolute jewel in the city, knocking socks off the paltry new builds opposite; so please hodder, don’t bugger it up....
blink and you missed it! st peters square revamp plans hit the old visitors centre last week, whilst over in Wythenshawe came this sorry tale concerning a modernist 75 year old church. we were soon alerted to a facebook group which sorely needs more members. join it here. last mass Sunday 12 sept before closure for good due to a leaky roof?!
finally, we are delighted to have been recently declared ‘just what every town ought to have’ by the good (and clearly very wise) people at dwell, so what better excuse to sit back on our laurels for a brief respite before our next round of autumn winter events and activities?
so, we hereby invite you to join us for an afternoon ‘At Home’ on Saturday 28 August from 11am til 3pm for a chance to lounge about and catch up on all things modern, plus some sneaky previews of upcoming projects and ideas bubbling away in our little heads....and news of a very limited september trip!
everyone welcome. rsvp or just pop your head round the door if youre passing....!
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Go Wild in the City - June Outings & Activities:
Sunday 27 June, 1pm, meet Manchester Cathedral
dear modernists, urbanists, ramblers, amblers and flaneurs,
after months of pounding the pavements & scouring the city compiling our Modernist Map and May's urban trails through the history of the public telephone box, a welcome glimmer of summer blinking through mms windows, says its high time we revelled in the delights of the urban wildscape.
so without further ado, we bring you
Tales of the Riverbank: In search of nature in the heart of the city?
Join us on an investigative journey to find out how life on the riverbank has evolved through changing times. How have architects and planners responded to the presence of elemental forces of nature in the city centre? Sarah’s walk will follow the River Irwell uncovering tales of ecological development in the urban environment...
Meet at 1pm outside Manchester Cathedral on Sunday 27th June.
Please consult the skies, or the weather forecast, and dress appropriately for riverside walking.
.....meanwhile for those of you in the mood for an instant dose of modernist public art, why not nip over to Hudderfield’s Civic Society Week, 16-22 June 2010, who are ‘treating the town as an outdoor art gallery’ with a series of free guided walks and an exhibition in the gorgeous Queensgate market. details here - www.huddersfieldcivicsociety.org.uk,
here’s hoping the weather holds for the 27th - see you there for a little walk on the wild side, free to book and all welcome as always....
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Modernist month of May – updates, events and invitations
Against the backdrop and the drama of a general election, we are presently squirreled away in mms headquarters preparing the finishing touches to a whole host of activities, gatherings and installations for your modernist delight and delectation.
It all kicks off Friday 7 May with the preview of our Manchester Modernist Map, in partnership with Taylor Young Architects, an interactive online map of 20th century Manchester’s architectural landmarks, presented as part of MADF2010.
Do join us at the Hub, Riverside/Aldine House, New Bailey St, over a glass of wine prior to its launch at the RIBA Architruck in Piccadilly Gardens from 10-14 May. You can also catch it from the 12 – 23 May at the FutureEverything Hive showcase.
MADF – Manchester Architecture & Design Festival
EVENT DETAIL
Hot on the heels of our map activities we are delighted to announce the launch of ‘Conversations We Wish We’d Had’, a new sound commission by Ailís Ní Ríain, at the K6 red telephone kiosk at MOSI (the Museum of Science and Industry), daily from 12 – 23 May, part of FutureEverything Showcase.
Intrigued? Why not book onto one of our daily walks starting 2pm at Central Library Steps, tracing the route between the city’s 4 remaining K6 iconic phone boxes ending at the MOSI kiosk and its temporary sound installation. These are free events but click here to book, as places are limited.
We will also be hosting an afternoon tea party at MOSI on Saturday 15 May, gathering at 3.30pm by the Kiosk at the Power Hall. All welcome, and free entry but please RSVP to ensure copious supplies of cake for us all!
Finally a big thank you to everyone who turned up in such large numbers to the Lets Meet at the Odeon event at the beginning of the week for projections, popcorn and gentle protest outside the former Odeon on Oxford St. Nearly 100 signatures were gathered objecting to the proposed demolition, which have now been lodged with the Planning Department.
Watch out for updates on our website but in the meantime check out the media coverage in the Manchester Muleand Inside the M60.
So do make a note in your diaries for all these upcoming events!
Hope to see you thids Friday for a glass of wine and some cartographical imaginings, or out and about at the Architruck, as well as at the MOSI kiosk installation to experience Ailis Ni Riain’s Conversations we wished we’d Had...
mms modernist month of may
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peepholes and portholes - vistas into tomorrow’s world...
this month we have mostly been eyeing up some of the weird and wonderful futuristic architectural whimsies gracing our city. futuristic that is in that distinctly thunderbirds, pans people, commodore-pet word processor kind of way.
in the grip of wilson’s white heat of technology, visions of the future became a la mode, reflected in literature, the arts, graphic design and music. and throughout the sixties & seventies it seemed the future (our present day) was literally being invented, peered at and tested before our eager but incredulous eyes.....and the public couldn’t get enough of these glimpses, these vistas into the 21st century. as the television set dominated more and more ordinary living rooms, we could watch men land on the moon whilst star trek brought the final frontier directly into our living rooms. as the song said, it felt as though everyone had gone to the moon!
nearer to home tomorrow’s world put the glamour of the space age rigorously to the test, auntie beeb style - what could be more reassuring than having the first mobile phone or ATM machine explained and demonstrated by an immaculately besuited boffin who just happened to be a former spitfire pilot?! chaperoned by the debonair mr baxter we bagged a front row seat aboard the very first hovercraft and joined in the very first flight of Concorde!
locally even the Manchester Evening News joined in with a weeklong special report called Life in The Year 2000. mms friend costel harnasz sent us a fascinating extract from it entitled ‘Manchester – city of open air’, which envisaged what the city centre might be like come the millennium. it’s a fascinating read - it foretold the transforming of gaunt old warehouses into lofts with thousands of urbanistas enjoying a city free of traffic, central and Liverpool rd stations reinvented as conference centre and science museum, reclaimed waterways and marinas stuffed full of pleasure craft and narrow boat dwellers, and a spring cleaned river Irwell an anglers’ heaven. on land, plans for a light railway linking the north west to the capital get a mention, with a city tube system a key ambition.
little wonder that so much architecture of the period seems obsessed with ocularity, literally framing our city views with squared, funnel, fishbowl or porthole windows. not for them the sheer transparency of the late nineties but instead, perhaps influenced by the introduction of polaroids, portable televisions and home computers with their personalised access to high tech, intriguing peepholes into a distant horizon we were collectively beginning to comprehend....
so for our current features of the month we bring you just three of the many buildings scattered across the city whose windows visually echo the recurring motif of this future obsessed interlude. once you’ve focused in you’ll be spotting them everywhere: get acquainted with your very own modernist microscope into an imagined 21st century....
mms features april 2010
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April Outing!
Saturday 10 April, tour of Huddersfield Marketplace, 12noon.
this month’s get together is an invitation to a 40th birthday party!
the marvellous Huddersfield Gem, a community group formed to study and promote interest in the Queensgate market hall and to safeguard its future,are offering free tours in celebration of its 40th birthday this coming Saturday, 10 April, to which the mms have been cordially invited! this includes access to parts not normally open to the public, so why not join us and make an afternoon of it together.....
Queensgate market is a unique structure, roofed with 21 freestanding asymmetric hyperbolic paraboloid shells sheltering a modern shopping centre and the world’s largest ceramic sculpture, now rightly recognised as an architectural wonder.
the future of market was, from 2003 -2008 threatened by redevelopment plans that could have demolished the building.
the building was listed grade II in 2005 and in 2007 was awarded the highest honour of the Concrete Society, the society’s prestigious Certificate of Excellence for a mature structure.
all this couldn’t have been achieved without the tireless dedication and hard work of the Huddersfield Gem group, and we can’t think of a better April mms outing than this chance to help celebrate their success in saving what the 20th century society recently called “one of the most delightful and inspiring public buildings of its date and a fantastic example of how art and architecture can work in unison.”
so this Saturday we will be gathering at Piccadilly Station at 10.30am (under the destination board) to take the 10.57 to Huddersfield leaving from platform 3, arriving in time to join the noon tour of the market.
Return tickets are about £10.30. Alternatively you can make your own way to Huddersfield and meet us at the bottom of the Library and Art Gallery steps on Princess Alexandra Walk at 11.50am.
please let us know if you would like to join us at either end so that we can send approximate numbers to the organisers.
for more information on the market place or the Gems activities do visit their website - http://www.monoculartimes.co.uk/huddersfieldgem/pressreleases/290310.shtml
hope to see you on Saturday. and don’t forget - dress for outdoors!
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Now is a good time to Save the Odeon!
The planning permission for the demolition of the Odeon, Oxford Street, Manchester is about to run out.
The developer needs to reapply. We can all put pressure on the planners to reject this. We now have a second chance to stop the demolition.
You still have time to comment on the application. We all need to comment on the application - online or in writing.
Click here to go to the application:
If you click on Submit Comments and tick the 'I live outside the area' button you can leave comments. (You don’t have to live outside the area to use this box, but it’s a simpler way to the comments form.)
We need to make comments that are relevant to the planning process and the main arguments should be along the lines of: (put them into your own words!)
a)The original application was fundamentally flawed:
It was too big. It overwhelms all the buildings around it. The mass and elevations create a large white box - totally at odds with the materials and form of its neighbours.
The original application was made when the Manchester property market was over heated. There was little evidence of the demand for this large amount of office space at the time and, as the economy is hardly out of recession, the argument for increased office space is questionable. There is an over supply of office space in Manchester.
b) The original building makes a positive contribution to the Conservation Area.
The new office development and the demolition of the Odeon does nothing to contribute to the Conservation Area in which it sits, new developments should preserveor enhance the historic character of the area, this proposal does neither. This proposal should therefore not receive Conservation Area consent.
Little or no attempt was made to find an alternative use for the building. In the mean time the Royal Opera have sought a home in Manchester and the Library Theatre is temporarily homeless, both these could have been ‘potential’ new occupants.
c) The building should not be left to decay into an eyesore – if planning permission is granted, the council should enforce the developer to act on it - and not merely allow the developer to use planning permission as a temporary holding position, in order for them to wait until they chose to maximize their own profitability from their asset.
Click here to go to the application:
News & updates for March
spring is finally showing its face with daffs and tulips suddenly peaking up from the soil, so its fitting that our next get together is al fresco...
the second mancunian way walking tour is another chance to join us as we navigate the paths and underpasses around the flyover and amazingly it is already fully booked. but don’t despair, do continue to register your interest as we are already planning a future walk with a twist! soregister here and we will keep you informed of future special flyover activities!
thanks to all of the marvelous modernistas who popped in to hq last month to welcome us into our new home. our little office was stuffed to capacity and we hope you enjoyed yourselves as much as we did (special thanks to dale for looking after the bar so splendidly!)
our vox pop and mini surveys revealed tantalizing glimpses of you and we will be taking them into account as we plan our forthcoming events and adventures….it should come as no surprise that you relish liaisonsdangereuses, tall buildings and the unexpected; a surprising number of you describe yourselves as brutalists; and piccadilly plaza and the mancunian way figured high in your list of favourite buildings. we’re still trying to work out how to arrange that trip to the moon that one of you wanted though....!
april sees the mms taking part in themanchester architecture and design festivalwith an exciting collaboration, so until then wipe those tears of disappointment from your eyes with this mini guide to other modernist adventures to keep you occupied:
- don’t miss a gorgeous photographic exhibition now showing at the national conservation centre, on the legendary 5th floor of liverpool’s lewis’s department store, orlook out for the large scale photographs in the windows on ranelagh street, opposite the adelphi hotel. take a peek at these images inthe guardian to whet your appetite. there’s also a talkwith photographer Stephen King about the project on wednesday 10 march at 12 noon, if you’re in the vicinity – details here.
- over in huddersfield this thursday 11 march the renowned Alan Powers (professor in architecture and cultural history at the University of Greenwich, chairman of The twentieth century society and expert on 20th century architecture and design) will be discussing ‘Views of British modern architecture’at the University of Huddersfield in the canalside west lecture theatre, firth street.the event is at 5.30pm (refreshments served from 5.00pm), is free of charge and open to all. contact dr Jodie Matthews to reserve a place and for more information.
- nearer to home, new manchester walks have a concrete theme for those of you with a fiver to spare on friday 19 Mar, 2.30pm, from Malmaison.
alternatively you might wish to spend a moment or two writing to express your dismay at margaret hodges determination to obliterate the nation’s entire post war landscape!
whatever you do, enjoy the rest of march and watch out for lots of exciting activity in april and may for madf and futureEverything, details to follow,
your mad march hares xx
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Come to our Housewarming!
Manchester Modernist Society HQ,
142 Chapel Street,
Thurs 18th February from 6.30pm
No more sneaking wifi in corners of cafes, no more updating our website with our laptop on our knee, because at long last the mms have their very own headquarters!
It’s always been our dream to have a little place in the heart of the city for like minded friends, urbanists and passersby to gather for cosy indoor meetings and get togethers, or to just drop in for a cuppa. And finally after months of searching we have found the perfect base straddling Manchester and Salford, overlooking some of the most evocative parts of both cities! Welcome to Chapel Street….
We have decorated (white and ‘sidewalk’ or hues of pigeon grey), put up some of our favourite posters and vintage maps of the city, scoured the best skips for suitable desks and chairs, and started to settle in. All it needs now is for you to come visit us!
So why not join us for a very special housewarming from 6.30pm on Thursday 18 February for drinks, a short film or two and a nosy through our bookcase, then on to the Kings Arms about 8.30, our new local!
All welcome, hope to see you here…
The Manchester (and Salford!) Modernists.
**** Directions: 142 Chapel St can be found just round the corner from Salford Central Station and the Kings Arms, next door to the Chapel. Our entrance is right on the street on the ground floor…
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New for January 2010!!!
MODERNIST MURALS & POPULIST PANELS....
Hey Modernistas!
Got a touch of the post festive doldrums?
Tired of sitting around gnawing on cold leftover turkey?
Dismayed at the prospect of a drab January after the excitement of recent festivities?
Or simply desperate to get out of the house & do something different instead?
Well, fear no more, help is at hand - join us for our exhilarating
January Modernist Art Expedition!!!!
Sunday 24th January - 1pm to approx 3pm
Meet at the Victoria Statue Piccadilly Gardens
opp Nobles Amusements:
An exploration of public art, murals, architectural art, sculptural concrete and surface textures
A walk through the south of the city centre and the education precincts finishing at the Contact Theatre
Not only will we look at pieces of commissioned public art but we will also see how architects have incorporated the work of sculptors and artists into their buildings and how they themselves have used materials to sculptural effect.
We shall see work by people such as Tadao Ando, William Mitchell, Victor Pasmore, Antony Holloway, William Brumby and more.
Last but not least, do follow the usual winter code - this walk takes place in Manchester during January so please dress accordingly!
See you there...!! As usual all welcome & thoroughly free of charge....
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Seasons Greetings!!!
Dear Friends & Modernistas,
as we write this, things have got decidedly christmassy in the city, with a flurry of snowfall adding a touch of romance and glamour to all that rushing round town trying to get that prefect secret santa pressie...! even the view out of our window by the mancunian way is beautified by a shimmering of snow lingering along the paths and hard shoulder...
so it seemed the perfect opportunity to send a last minute seasonal missive and draw your attention to our newly updated December features of the month which also have a festive flavour with three of Mr Eddy Rhead's favourite modernist churches, and as a special treat no RIP's or At Risk's to bring down the party mood!
we have also just been flying the flag for modernism in Creative Tourist this month - check out the December Three for Me section here - http://www.creativetourist.com/word-of-mouth/three-for-me-top-modern-landmarks
lots of things being planned for 2010 kicking off with a fabulous walking tour of the city's public art in january! watch this space!!
but until then we wish you peace, jollity and goodwill over the coming weeks....xxxx
December Event
All in all December flies by in a round of endless festive commitments, so this month our get together aims to soothe your weary limbs between all the other distractions and duties.
Join us for a lazy afternoon of festive refreshment, a natter & catch up at the North Pole bar next Sunday, 13 December from 2pm onwards.......situated conveniently in Spinningfields next to the ice skating rink, just behind the Law courts. who knows if there's frost or snow we might even brave the rink and go for a spin!
location details here - http://www.northpolebar.com/location.html
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past events
November 09 - Granadaland
October 09 - Postcard Launch
September 09 - Urbanism 09
August 09 - Mancunian Way
July 09 - Tea Party
June - Henry Moore Institute
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