On Saturday 18 June 2022, Art Fund with a collective of Manchester’s leading arts organisations presented a one-day festival, Art Assembly 2022 – City as Art School. The event celebrated the idea of the city as an art school and championing culture as part of educational experiences for all people.

The festival advocating art and creativity is organised by Art Fund with Manchester Art Gallery, Castlefield Gallery, HOME, the Whitworth and The Manchester College. It presented newly co-commissioned and co-created artworks and installations across the city, from established arts venues, busy squares and streets to billboards, pavements and more. Manchester College Visual Arts students collaborated with established artists to create work for the festival & also showcased student work from across all of Visual Arts at the Shena Simon Campus.

The Artists

PHOTOGRAPHY

Artist Robert Parkinson’s work revolves around people – where they live, how they respond to their surroundings, and what makes a community.

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4x4 XeroX

Photography students and Robert created a guerrilla photography exhibition around the city by printing work using a portable Xerox printer transported on an all-terrain cart and pasting on billboards finishing the event creating two impressive photo collages outside Manchester Art Gallery.

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ART & DESIGN

Painter, animator, curator and researcher Parham Ghalamdar is an oil painter and graffiti artist. His art explores themes such as perception and the unfolding chaos of modern life.

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Shifting Landscapes

Students produced drawings of urban landscapes and maps capturing various parts of Manchester. An A.I. engine was trained to study student's drawings alongside those held in the Manchester Art Gallery to find patterns and similarities in shapes and colours. 

FASHION

Anna FC Smith works in a range of mediums including performance and sculpture. 

Helen Mather works predominantly in textiles, exploring how materials can be used in story-telling.

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The Botanical Society: Look Between the Cracks in The Pavement

Students observed and documented urban nature, developing image making through workshops, the group created an identity for a 21st century Botanical Society, stenciling flora on the pavements outside Shena Simon Campus and Manchester Art Gallery.

Art Assembly 2022 - Gallery