5 things to catch at Design Manchester 2018

The Warehouse Project & Design Manchester present… End Of Store Street.

What: For much of the past 12 years revellers have been flocking to Store Street to get lost in the music, lights and hedonistic experiences that The Warehouse Project offers.

But after more than a decade of hosting top DJs and thousands of partygoers, the venue that sits under the arches beneath Manchester Piccadilly train station will cease to be the “spiritual home” of WHP.

This exhibition will look at some of the most interesting graphic artworks from the WHP archives, some of the most famous posters, and photographs from past club nights.

It has been curated by designer Paul Hemmingfield, who created the well-known WHP logo, as well as some of its most famous posters, alongside WHP photographer Sebastian Matthes.

Aside from a two-year hiatus, for 12 weeks every year WHP has taken over the Store Street venue, but as it prepares to move on, the exhibition will also consider what the future may hold.

When: Wednesday 10 October, 2018 – Sunday 4 November, 2018

Where: Ply 26 Lever St, Manchester M1 1DW

Info: Free entry. For more information, head here.

D(isrupt)M: Transformation by Design – The DM18 Conference

What: A day-long interactive conference featuring talks, workshops seminars and more with speakers from a range of creative fields taking centre stage to offer an insight into their work.
Ideas and inspiration will be explored at the event, which returns for a sixth time, looking into areas including branding, typography, architecture, film and more.

The event will be split over five areas and will include workshops, Q&As, seminars, craft-making and interactive installations.

Key speakers will include designer and artist, Morag Myerscough, co-founder of branding agency DesignStudio, Ben Wright, award-winning designer and creator of live performance content, Kate Dawkins and creative director at Shagri-La at Glastonbury, Kaye Dunnings.

Anthony Burrill, Liza Enebeis, Michael Wolff, Matt Ipcar and Aleesha Nandhra are also on the line up for the event, which will be hosted by Patrick Burgoyne, editor of Creative Review.

This year the conference will be spread across four additional spaces outside of the main room, where visitors can catch events including the People are Revolting project in collaboration with Patrick Thomas and the I Love to Hate You project by Studio DBD which features confessions from creatives.

Where: The Bridgewater Hall, Lower Mosley Street, Manchester M2 3WS

When: 10:00am -6:00pm, Friday 19 October 2018

Info: Tickets range from £60-£90. For more information and to buy tickets, head here.

The Manchester Print Fair

What: A two-day event celebrating work by independent artists and designers.

More than 50 stalls will pop up in the historic Whitworth art gallery, offering plenty of design work to buy, from jewellery to homewares and handmade gifts.

The family-friendly event offers a platform for a network of creatives, ranging from print-makers to ceramic artists.

There will also be workshops run by G F Smith paper makers and Fred Aldous, which will be doing three minute portraits.

When: Saturday 20 October 2018 – Sun 21 October 2018

Where: The Whitworth Oxford Road, Manchester M15 6ER

Info: Free entry. For more information, head here.

Bee in the City Farewell Weekend

What: Visitors to this family-friendly event can catch the colourful spectacle of 101 decorated bee sculptures all in one place.

The event is the culmination of the Bee in the City project, which saw artists, community groups, children and others decorate bee sculptures. These were then placed all over the city for a few months, forming an art trail and encouraging the public to try and see them all, while exploring Manchester.

More than 100 large bees were placed in areas such as parks, streets and other public spaces, while 130 little bees created by schoolchildren as part of a learning programme were placed in cultural spaces such as museums and libraries.

All the large bees will be on display at the event at the HSBC UK National Cycling Centre, which takes places ahead of an auction on Wednesday where people can bid for some of the bees, with profits going to the Lord Mayor of Manchester’s We Love MCR Charity.

There will also be live entertainment, food stalls, an art fair, and live entertainment.

When: Friday 12 October 2018 – Sunday 14 October 2018

Where: The National Cycling Centre, Stuart Street, Manchester M11 4DQ

Info: Tickets from £2.50-£15. Under 5s go free. For more information and tickets, head here.

Airport City x DM18 – The Future of Workspaces

What: Based around the theme of designing Manchester, this talk will look at how the future of the region may look in terms of properties and workspaces and what part architects, designers planners, developers and local governments have in shaping it.

Also known as the MEN Business Breakfast, this discussion will look at the changing nature of what companies may want in a modern workplace, and whether priorities have shifted to include factors such as community and sustainability as well as price and location.

The event features a panel discussion with speakers including Jonathan Haigh from Airport City Manchester and Tim Heatley from Capital & Centric. There will also be time for networking and breakfast.

When: 8:30am Thursday 18 October 2018

Where: Platform Airport City, Manchester Airport, 4007 Chicago Avenue, Manchester Airport, Manchester M90 3DQ.

Info: This is a free event, but spaces are limited so people can register for free tickets. For more information and for tickets, head here.

Other things to catch:

PRINT. MAKE. DANCE. [RE]PEAT: A free “printing party” run by a collective of creatives known as Salford Makers based at Islington Mill, complete with “making” sessions, music and dancing. For more information, head here.

Talk Alice Rawsthorn: Design as an Attitude: Design critic Alice Rawsthorn, will speak with festival directpr Fiona McGarva about her new book and discuss topics including a designer’s role in political issues and how a new generation is using digital tools to express themselves. For more information and tickets, head here.

Breaking News 3.0: An interactive installation in the window of Fred Aldous by Patrick Thomas, which invites members of the public to send in their own news headlines with their phones using a QR code. For more information, head here.

Manchester Art Fair 2018: Thousands of contemporary artworks from more than 120 artists and galleries will be on sale at this event, which was known as the Buy Art Fair in previous years. For more information and tickets, head here.

All images courtesy of Design Manchester.