Contemporary Cartography. Mapping Manchester.

Dan Russell of Manchester Municipal Design Corporation wants your help in mapping the creative underground in Manchester

So, okay, we all know that Manchester is famed for its creativity. Just about everyone can rattle off the high-profile artists and poets and musicians, the big-name institutions and orchestras and festivals that make up the smiling (or is that moodily smoldering?) cultural face of Greater Manchester, peering out of the Northwest at the rest of the world.

But what about all the stuff that doesn’t have such an outward projection? The vital organs (if we’re staying with this Manchester-as-giant-human analogy, which we are) and the cells that comprise the lifeblood of our contemporary creative city? Stop and think for a second about how much is actually going on in this city, and it soon becomes apparent that it would take many people’s input and a succession of updates just to map and keep up with everything.

Fortunately, even as you read this, just such a project is being crafted to document the innovative, independent streak running through Manchester’s cultural scene. It’s a collaboration between writer/researcher Laura Mansfield and the Manchester Municipal Design Corporation, of which I am a part.

The map is intended to detail the range of contemporary arts activity occurring in Greater Manchester and the spaces, people and facilities that support new work. Established organisations will appear next to independent initiatives to give an overview of what comprises the creative ecology and economy of the city. I’m talking avant-garde arts collectives, elusive exhibition spaces and freethinking festivals.

The idea is to produce a non-hierarchical visual guide to the city, celebrating the lesser known but vibrant. Late-night arts cafes, craft workshops, design co-operatives, arts bookshops, events, libraries, publications, museums, galleries, venues, theatres and studios will all feature, as well as anything we’ve missed, as long as it fits our not-for-profit celebration of culture.

The first edition of this piece of creative cartography is being prepared to coincide with October’s Manchester Weekender. It will provide a snapshot of the contemporary creative scene as viewed by its curators. However this isn’t going to be the definitive article. No-one can know about everything!

A preview will be provided when the pocket-sized map is made available (for free) during the events that form the Weekender. A series of tours featuring places on the map will coincide with this. A formal launch will take place some weeks later at the Whitworth Art Gallery. Regular updates that improve and expand the scope of the content will be necessary. New links and layers will add to the richness of the overall picture.

And we need your help! You can suggest places, people, organisations or entities in the comments below or tweet us @CreativeTourist using the tag #artmap. Or email your suggestions to Laura Mansfield at lauramansf (at) gmail (dot) com. (Images: map courtesy Dan Russell/Laura Mansfield; Kraak gallery courtesy Debbie Sharp.)

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