THIS YEAR marks 175 years of the Manchester School of Art, with events taking place worldwide, as well as at Manchester Metropolitan University. The celebration will feature a combination of exhibitions, lectures, and performances totalling 175 events.
The school, founded in 1838, was originally opened in the basement of Manchester Royal institution before combining with Manchester Metropolitan University. Notable graduates include L S Lowry, Steve Coogan, Martin Parr, Brian Cosgrove and a number of others.
In Manchester there are already a number of events taking place between now and the beginning of June. Included is a new exhibition at the Holden Gallery, 'Creation/Destruction' on 12 April and an exploration of make do and mend initiatives in an exhibition by Special Collections on 15 April . Alice Kettle is also curating the exhibition 'Pairings – Conversations & Collaborations' with Helen Felcey at London’s Contemporary Applied Arts.
Garden Of England London
Another aspect of the festival is performance, with a programme of acoustic sessions in the Holden Gallery café taking place every Wednesday from 17 April, including performances from Nat Scott, Taylor & the Mason, Alex Hulme, Matthew Whitaker, Chris Eatough and Kim Jennett.
April 24 marks Capitol Theatre’s summer season kicks off, with performances of Timberlake Wertenbaker’s 'Our Country’s Good', directed by Chris Honer, followed by Polly Teale’s Bronte on May 15 and Tony Kushner’s 'A Bright Room Called Day' on June 5.
There will also be a number of photography and book launches, the fourth annual MA Architecture and Urbanism symposium and an exhibition from Project X students.
Fashion students will showcase their talents at Manchester Fashion Week and at the School of Art fashion show, ahead of their Graduate Fashion Week this summer.
International events currently listed in the 175 programme include senior lecturer Alice Kettle’s textile art exhibition 'The Garden of England' in Greenwich, an exhibition of work by postgraduate Fine Art students at HFBK Dresden in Germany. Other events include Professor Stephen Dixon’s exhibition SS Argentina, at the American Museum of Ceramic Art in Pomona.
The Guangdong Museum of Art’s Issues of Urbanisation exhibition is also included in the programme and will showcase artists from MIRIAD, which contains work from Christina Rodrigues, David Haley, Nick Dunn and Jane Brake.
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