8 things you can’t miss at Design Manchester

MANCHESTER’S annual festival celebrating creativity, collaboration, art, design, film and music returned this week. Now in its fourth year, Design Manchester has established itself as one of the most exciting events in the city. Here is what you can’t afford to miss at venues across the city over the next few weeks…

Design City Fair
Saturday 15th – Sunday 16th October: 10am-5pm
London Road Fire Station
Now in its third year, the Design City Fair will host more than 100 creatives over two days, with affordable works for sale and a schedule of workshops including screenprinting, letterpressing, book-binding, frame-making and a special origami workshop. During the day, live artworks will be created around this unique space and there will be many opportunities to get involved. There will also be music, entertainment, food and drink to enjoy.

Street Art Tour
Saturday 15th and Friday 21st October, 11am-1pm
Meeting at Shudehill Metrolink station, Northern Quarter
Learn about the creation of the Northern Quarter as we know it today, and how the unique feel of the Northern Quarter was created. The tour, which are hosted by award winning writer Hayley Flynn, will be an insight into how modern art movements in Manchester hope to continue to drive creativity within the neighbourhood, and how art was key in the redevelopment of a fast decaying area of the city. Booking ahead is essential, call 07891 299921.

Data. Design. Diversity
Tuesday 18th October, 6.30pm-9pm
Texture
Presented by Creative Data Club, this event asks if data can help us design and create with more diversity. Creative Data Club is for artists, scientists, agencies, designers, marketers and programmers to listen, debate, disagree and be inspired by data and creativity. They will bring together a handful of speakers from different backgrounds to share their thoughts and stories.

City ID: The Great Debate
Wednesday 19th October, 6.30pm-9pm
Old Granada Studios
The Great Debate will this year discuss city identity and the nature and character of our cities of the future. Specific topics will include city devolution, from Liverpool to Hull, ‘Brexit means what?’, transport, education and skills. The panel at the event will include Andy Burnham MP and former cabinet minister and EU Trade Commissioner Emer Coleman.

Women in Print Exhibition
Thursday 13th October – Sunday 23rd October, 12pm-6pm
The Co-Op, Angel Square
From political reformists to palaeobotanists, the work of women has helped to shape Manchester into the great city it is today. Women in Print is an exhibition of work by a host of local designers, print-makers and illustrators which celebrates the life and achievements of iconic female figures who have made a significant contribution to Manchester.

Ideas Worth Fighting For
Monday 17th – Sunday 23rd October, 10am-5pm
People’s History Museum
The museum’s Engine Hall will play host to sculptures, prints, paintings and banners created by 13 prominent artists, displaying their interpretations of ‘ideas worth fighting for’. Co-curated by Patron Laura Harper, this exhibition is a celebration of freedom of expression in the name of democracy. Artists featured include Mackenzie Thorpe, Rob Ryan, Humberto Velez, Malcolm Garrett and more.

Design City Film Season: Fight Club
Sunday 16th October, 5.50pm
HOME
One of the most controversial films of the late 1990s, David Fincher’s Fight Club has become a cult classic, using explicit violence and moral ambiguity to explore conflict between young people and the value system of advertising. The film is introduced by its production designer, Alex McDowell, who will reveal the personal story that influenced the design of the setting.

Manchester Moleskine
Thursday 20th October, 6pm-11pm
Old Granada Studios
For almost two years, Jon Massey and Adam Stanway have documented Manchester’s affluent creative landscape. Bound within an A5 Moleskine sketchbook, the project has captured the narrative of an entire city and catalogued over 50 local visionaries. During the evening, final submissions will be created and projected live, and the book will be exhibited in its entirety for the first time. Alongside a feast of musical treats and local DJ’s, there will be food and drink plus more surprises.