State Legacy Fringe/ Birthplace of the Industrial Resolution

The Windhorse Project by Vanessa Cuthbert
Mon 20 April – Sun 24 May
The Holden Gallery & All Saints Park

The idea and motivations for the Windhorse Project are based on the Buddhist notion of prayer flags: The Tibetan word for a prayer flag is “Lung ta”, which translates literally as ‘wind horse’. Traditionally the flags are hung outside in the landscape. Each time the wind brushes against a prayer flag it carries an offering, idea, wish or thought to the world. The prayers become a permanent part of the universe as the images fade from wind and sun.
Vanessa Cuthbert’s project draws on this ancient spiritual tradition with 20 banners on display in All Saints Park (Cavendish Street, M15 6BR), bringing several contemporary artists together who have each designed a banner.
Contributors include John Hyatt, Charley Peters, Andrew Baker, Neil Grant, Ian Whadcock, John Goodwin, Erica Wright, Linda Hughes, Claire Tomas, Mary Taylor, Ian McCullough, Tom Bingham, Vidyamala Burch and Olga Kenyon.

Fri 3 April – Sun 24 May
Foyer of the John Dalton Building, Faculty of Science and Engineering, MMU, Oxford Road

The third year studio programme promotes the development of sustainable urban visions as strategies for future development and change. These projects are concerned with exploring and designing the post-industrial city as a place for working, living and culture in the 21st Century. Manchester’s recent re-branding typifies the emergent economic cultures within the city, a significant proportion of which are related to the creative industries. This exhibition will present considerations of how the city’s heritage and new cultural conditions can be connected in a meaningful and sustainable way.

Fri 3 April – Sun 24 May
Foyer corridor of the John Dalton Building, Faculty of Science and Engineering, MMU, Oxford Road

This research collective based within MSA (Manchester School of Architecture) and beyond acts as a think-tank for creative solutions based around, within and for the contemporary city. The project ‘Silt City’ investigates the ecological issues raised as a consequence of industrialisation. Through the analysis and synthesis of data generated by the original industrial city, Manchester is used as a vehicle to explain dynamic solutions that offer both ecological sustainability and adaptability to changing needs and future use. By communicating creative strategic proposals this research seeks to form a more intelligent perspective upon the material benefits and unwanted side effects of industrialisation. The emergent post-industrial landscape evolves through the integration of natural systems and man-made processes combined with the various levels of public interaction and events to develop an urban masterplan whose adaptability enables ecologically and culturally sustainable relationships to exist.