Statement from HOME regarding the artwork installation of Friedrich Engels

We want to clarify that there is not an intention to remove the artwork installation of Friedrich Engels from the front of our building.

Friedrich Engels sits outside HOME as a previously co-commissioned piece of work with Manchester International Festival. It is part of the artwork and film Ceremony created by artist Phil Collins, which tracked the journey of the decommissioned statue from its previous position in Ukraine, here to Manchester.

Please see here for more detail about the artwork and film Ceremony when it was first published:

Given the origins of the artwork, everyone involved believes it is important that we consider its meaning in the context of the illegal invasion of Ukraine by the Russian army. We also want to do more to explain how the installation came to Manchester and the reasons behind this. We are in discussions with the co-commissioners Manchester International Festival and the artist Phil Collins about how best to do this.