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Editing: Today was spent inspecting all the ready elements for the publication. Editing, adjusting and testing the information on the proposed layouts that reflect the stylistic features found around the city.

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Soapbox Collaboration: We have produced a poster fuelled by our research on Detroit. This is a sneak peek as to what it will look like within the structure assembled by Soapbox Team.

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Friday: Today consists of testing the collages as well as clarifying the texts that students have produced as a response to their research topic. Each student has written no less than 500 words reflecting on their findings.

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Compiling: Today, we are reflecting on everything that we have done this week. From the tour in the Norther Quarter, to the guided tour around the city centre, every aspect of learning this week is being mirrored in the publication.

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Experimenting: As the editing of the publication finally begins, all students are working on personal reflections inspired by their chosen research topic. From abandoned buildings to music, there is an array of topics that the students have covered, which would be a valuable aspect of our publication.

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Getting It Together: On Day Seven, we are finally compiling the information together. Diagrams, photographs and text are being carefully edited. The information gathered during the 3 Tours are fuelling our reflections and research, making our response not only verbal but visual too.

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Schedule: We have finalised our plans for the Events weeks! The schedule of key activities divides our team into two groups: Team A and Team B. Team A will be primarily focusing on the development of the magazine and Team B will be working on creating the short film.

Check your university emails and the Facebook group for further information on how the groups will be allocated.

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Risk Assessment: We have just completed our risk assessment after having a very informative discussion with the technical staff at MSA. We want everyone to stay safe during the Events especially when we visit various sites in the city centre of Manchester.

Please check your emails for the Risk Assessment!

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Through our own photographic analysis we will capture how modern art movement in Manchester hopes to continue to drive creativity within this very unique neighbourhood. We will also cross the invisible wall to Ancoats known as Great Ancoats Street and investigate how art and architects worked together to create a cohesive space for living in.

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Excursion III: On this tour, we will learn about the creation of the Norther Quarter as we know it today. We will find inspiration in the lesser known heritage sites, public art and sculptures which are threatened by new developments.

“The best way to get to know a place is through its art and its artists.” - East Street Arts.

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Excursion II: We will undertake a walking tour through the streets of Manchester and reveal how the power of the world has shaped the city. You are welcome to use photography, sketching and painting to capture the vibrant city. The outputs of the tour will be included in the final publication.

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Excursion I: In order to obtain the necessary content for the publication, as a group we will be visiting archival collections at MOSI, People’s History Museum and the Central Library. The exciting tours will require you to collect archival footage, maps, statistics, historic photographs and written content in regards to the topics that we are exploring.
Keep an eye out for the upcoming detailed schedule that will have a clear introduction to the first days of the Events.

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Motor City: Detroit’s automotive history starts in the 1890’s. Henry Ford, the founder of the Ford Motor Company, has helped Detroit obtain the nickname ‘Motor City’ due to the company’s vast success. Even today you can find Detroit’s historic automotive manufacturing facility amongst many of Manchester’s industrial buildings.
Prior to the Events Weeks, we will provide you with the exciting information to get started. Check your emails and the Facebook Group regularly for updates and the content that we would like to share with you.

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King Cotton: Manchester’s cotton history starts in the 1830’s. In 1835, the French historian and social observer, Alexis de Tocqueville, visited the growing Industrial City – Manchester and recorded in his diary these words: “From this foul drain, the greatest stream of human industry flows out to fertilise the world. From this filthy sewer pure gold flows”.
We would like you to immerse yourself in the history of the Industrial Revolution and how in particular it has shaped Manchester to be the Industrial City it was considered to be.

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Looking for inspiration? Start by exploring iconic photographers such as Corinne Day, Nick Knight, Mark Leckey and a legendary graphic designer Peter Saville. All artists carefully examine the contemporary artistic and stylistic representations of the north of England and the effect of geographical space on creative output and the importance of place.

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The interior design of the Hacienda can be translated into the stylistic patterns that were used across posters, album design and advertising of the music that was played inside. “People’s Palace”- the space within the club was painted in cool blue, with brightly clad balcony supports and diagonal stripes painted on columns. The urban theme continued with bold directional markings, neon bar signs and cat-eyes that mapped the floor.

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Factory Records: For those of you who are curious, the man in our Events poster is Tony Wilson. In 1978, alongside Alan Erasmus (right on the photo above), he started a Manchester-based British independent record label. The bands with the most numerous releases on Factory Records include Joy Division, Happy Mondays and New Order. The Hacienda (Mexican for ‘big beautiful house’) opened on May 21st 1982. This impressive new space acted as a music venue to record’s own musicians. The Architectural Review declared the club, “a pioneering interior”. On your first time Hacienda was an immersive experience in aesthetics of design which simply took your breath away. Ben Kelly, an interior designer of Hacienda realised a unique vision of how things should be – changing the expectations of UK club-goers.

Film Recommendation// “Control” (2007), shot entirely in black and white, it tells the story of Ian Curtis, the lead singer of Joy Division.
“24 Hour Party People” (2002) , the story of the emergence of Manchester as a major musical centre in the late- 1970’s and 80’s. The story is told through the eyes of Tony Wilson.

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Northern Soul: The scene emerged in Britain during the late 60’s. The work of leading African-American recording stars on the Motown label was sought after by collectors in Britain. From the late 1960’s this was known as the ‘rare soul’ scene, and it grew substantially in the north of England.
Five principal venues were key to this growth: the Twisted Wheel club in Manchester; Blackpool Mecca (referred to as the ‘Mecca’); the Golden Torch in Stoke-on-Trent and most famously the Wigan Casino Club. It has been estimated that in the 1975 Northern Soul was attracting up to 100000 followers per week at it’s various venues. (Hewitt, 2000, p. 141)

Film Recommendation// “Northern Soul” (2014), an insight into 1970’s working class northern England. The film is a fictional story that authentically reflects the youth culture, as it depicts a story of two young boys whose horizons are opened up by the discovery of African-American soul music.

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Greystone Ballroom: Around ten years ago, there was a global outrage when it was revealed that the then-abandoned old Motown ballroom was being demolished in order to be replaced by a parking lot. During the demolition of the infamous venue, the air was filled with invaluable old papers, some were invoices signed by various Motown stars. Within the Events week, we are going to be exploring how the extraordinary music history of Detroit has been allowed to crumble and be discarded as a result of political corruption.

Film Recommendation// “Detroit: Ruin of a City” (2005), an intriguing documentary about making a documentary about Detroit. The film looks back over the history of the city in the twentieth century: over the rise and fall of the social system identified by social theorists as ‘Fordism’.

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Motown: A portmanteau of ‘motor’ and ‘town’, is a record company that was founded in Detroit in 1959 by a former boxer and an automobile worker, Berry Gordy. It played an important role in the racial integration of popular music as an African-American- owned record label and quickly became another Detroit factory. Berry Gordy claimed to have learned from working with Ford “how production can be efficiently organised and automated for the highest quality” and for a “highly consistent product”. Musicians and singers were configured as production workers, as opposed to songwriters and producers who designed the final product. During Events, we are going to be capturing the link between musical and motor industrial role in the city – the link that is present in the history of Manchester.