Something big is about to happen in Manchester, we are talking about a street art project on the scale of which our beloved city has never seen before. It is happening much sooner than you can imagine and thankfully Nomad Clan are nicely tangled in the Cities of Hope project web!
#citiesofhope is designed to amplify the messages of 9 international street art giants: Axel Void, Faith 47, Pichiavo, beloved northern street artist Phlegm, Case, C215, Hyuro, Never Crew and Martin Whatson. The Artists are set to produce an inspirational giant mural themed around a cause that resonates with their values. These 9 murals form a street gallery of hope across Manchester’s Northern Quarter, each mural is matched to a local grassroots organisation through which cities of hope raise awareness and champion the work of 9 social justice agencies that operate in the city. In turn there are plans to exhibit and sell original works to raise money that will go directly to the local charities involved!
Alongside the 9 International artists there will be some of Manchester’s finest who will be producing large scale murals focused on ‘Iconic Manchester’. This where we come in, along with some of our piers.
For too long heavy weight creative talent up north has been somehow overshadowed by the hype beast that is London. As fruitful as Manchester’s art & cultural heritage is, it has been trailing behind in the ‘Giant Mural’ phenomenon which has yet to truly blossom in the city. It is particularly Strange and Ironic considering that Walter Kershaw, a Rochdale lad, actually pioneered large external murals. He painted on slum properties across Greater Manchester in the ’60s, ’70s and early ’80s .. in essence he is the very first ‘street artist’ of this kind!
This is just the tip of the iceberg of what Cities of Hope will bring to Manchester. As the world fixes its gaze on the project this May and its incredibly impressive line up of street art elite, it will also be confronted with bold sociopolitical messages. This is perfect timing as our daily news feed is crammed full of environmental disasters and no end of humanitarian crisis that we can scroll past or phase out. Cities of hope will bring direct action and support to 9 charities already battling it out in Manchester, raising funds and awareness across the globe.
Last year Manchester’s homeless population rose by 50%, anyone walking through Manchester couldn’t fail to see the increase. The city now has more rough sleepers than anywhere outside London, the Charities set up to provide food and shelter are overstretched and constantly suffering from budget cuts. Just another example of how valuable this project will be to Manchester.
Art for change fills me with a fresh hope, its a notion that we have been solely focused on for the last 3 months with our own ‘Art for Aid’ project. Maybe we are not so helpless if we come together under whatever our shared passions are, for a cause…. to make a difference.
Art for Aid, our Kickstarter project
INTERESTING READS & LINKS:
The Guardian, Walter Kershaw – Street Art Pioneer
nomadclanblog.wordpress.com 