X
UNIT X 2019 / SECOND YEAR PROJECTS The key aim of Unit X is to bring together students from different creative disciplines to explore collaboration and develop projects in association with regional partners across art and design. The unit culminates in a student-led festival that takes place between Tuesday 7 – Friday 10 May 2019. This booklet provides details of 18 project options. Please consider each project carefully and think about which choice might be most interesting and relevant for your own creative development and studio practice? You should also consider which option might enhance your studies, help you develop new skills and challenge your perspectives. If you are unsure about what to choose you can speak to your tutor or the co-leads of Unit X ahead of the choice deadline. What Next? We will be running a series of briefing sessions and will provide an overview of all the projects and allow time for Q & A. You need to attend one of these sessions and this can be booked via your Option 1 Moodle Page. Making your choice Choices are made via Moodle Option 1. You will be required to choose 3 project choices in order of preference. In the event that an option is over-subscribed you will be allocated your second or third choice.
KEY DATES Tuesday 22 January Project choices will be distributed Thursday 24 January Briefing sessions will take place and will last an hour. Each of the sessions are repeated and you will only need to come to one of the following: - 10AM - GMLT6 - 11AM - GMLT6 - 1PM - OXLB.02 - 2PM - OCLB.02 - 3PM - OXLB.02 Tuseday 29 January Drop in sessions for those that miss the Thursday 24 January briefings. - 11am – 3pm - OX LB01 Monday 4 February – Friday 8 February You can make your project choices via moodle. All choices must be finalised by 8th February. Monday 4 March Launch of “X” (4th, 5th & 7th & 12th & 14th March). Visiting Speakers Programme. Beginning with a series of conversations planned to inspire and situate interdisciplinary and collaborative practice. March 5th & 7th & 12th & 14th March Visiting Speakers Programme. Beginning with a series of conversations planned to inspire and situate interdisciplinary and collaborative practice. Friday 5 April Your X Festival Map and Programme will be produced during this week [more details will follow] Tuesday 7 – Friday 10 May X Festival Opens
PLACEMENTS
Creative and industry partners Students may negotiate to undertake a full-time work placement during Unit X. This must be discussed with your programme tutor to establish suitability of the placement to your studies. The organisation of your placement must be undertaken with the support and guidance of the Placements team. In order to ensure your placement is a legitimate learning experience and will count towards your studies you must complete Manchester Metropolitan Universities Placement paperwork. It is the students’ responsibility to provide any placement information and the completed paperwork. For more information contact The Schools Placement Team on: 0161 247 1700 or AHplacements@mmu.ac.uk We define Placements and Work-based Learning (PWBL) as any period of vocational or academic activity where students engage with a third party as part of their programme of study, and where there is transfer of direct supervision to this third party. There are many ways for you to organise your placement. Information can be found on your Option 1 Moodle page; in the Unit X Student handbook and by contacting the Placement Team. Assessed through a Reflective Submission. Placement details and information will be shared via social media, interview or commissioned film, which will be featured as part of the Festival.
“X” FESTIVAL TEAM
The student team will bring a unique perspective to this large-scale collaborative festival, while gaining transferable skills that will prove invaluable for the rest of their studies and beyond. The key role of this team will be to work with the Unit X team to help shape the unique character of the Festival. We require students who select this option to think carefully about their responsibility to other students. This is particularly important as the project requires participants to be ambassadors for the Festival and create connections between all Unit X projects. Students need to be committed, professional and self-motivated. The option will include workshops presented by Design Partners, Birthday Studio (alumni of Manchester School of Art). The project will focus on the following: - The Festival Context - Ways of working with artists, designers and producers - Art Handling, Production and Risk Assessment - Communications and Social Media - Engagement )creating relationships with public, stakeholders and peers) - Printed Matter: interpretation, labelling and artist-led publishing
- Documentation and Archiving Assessed via agreed learning outcomes and in three stages: 1. Festival plan and details of each individuals ‘Roles and Responsibilities’ 2. Mid-Unit Review (Group Crit) 3. Assessment Viva at the end of the Festival.
ART, POLITICS, PROTEST
In association with ‘The People’s History Museum and archives’ culminating in an exhibition at Grosvenor Gallery. On the 16th August 1819, a crowd of (estimated at 60-80,000 people) gathered on St Peter’s Field, Manchester to demonstrate, asking for parliamentary reform. The crowd were subjected to open fire, resulting in what is now known as the Peterloo Massacre. A small number of people were killed and it is estimated that hundreds were injured. 2019 marks the 100-year anniversary of the massacre. This option takes the massacre as a starting point for thinking about the relationship between history, politics and creative practice. At the start of the unit students will work with the ‘People’s History Museum’ Manchester, visiting the archives and looking at the materials in its collection. These visits will form the research and inspiration for students to develop a call for artists to submit works for an exhibition based around the theme of art, politics and protest (title to be decided by the student unit). Students participating are welcome to submit artwork for the exhibition. The project will be assessed via agreed learning outcomes and will include a reflective submission that relates to the context of the project.
USEFUL CULTURE
In association with Manchester Art Gallery This project will be cross-disciplinary exploring the relationship between Manchester Art Gallery and Manchester School of Art. The Royal Manchester Institute was founded in 1823, and opened its doors to the public in 1833, becoming the Manchester Art Gallery in 1882. In 1883 the Manchester School of Design was opened in the basement of the RMI, Mosley Street and became the Manchester School of Art in 1853. This project will give students the opportunity to research the foundations of the art school and respond to the history and objects held in a number of archives. Working from this research, students will produce creative works from a range of disciplines for a pop-up exhibition at Manchester Art Gallery. Participants can explore the social and historical context and respond with an outcome with contemporary relevance. Students are tasked to consider how the Gallery is useful in modern Manchester. The project is open to any student in the School of Art and Design and crossdisciplinary collaboration is encouraged. Assessment will involve Group work (examples of this could include: moving image, printed publication, installation, performance and workshop) & Individual Reflective Workbook (individual evidence of the working process) submitted as a digital submission.
INTANGIBLE CULTURES
In association with the Centre for Chinese Contemporary Art & Donghau University, Shanghai, partly funded by the Chinese Ministry of Culture. The project is based on a creative and technical exchange between the two Schools and will consist of research, design development, textile, fabric manipulation and illustration. This is a collaborative project that fuses art, fashion and textiles. It involves students and staff from Donghau University, Shanghai exploring intangible cultures and heritage. The physical work that may result from this collaboration includes drawing, photography, documentation, installation. The students involved will work collaboratively to create a narrative/theme. The project will create an opportunity to present the work in the education space at the Centre for Chinese Contemporary Art and discuss creative exchange and interdisciplinary working. The project will require students who participate to think creatively about ways of presenting and documenting the physical designs for the festival.
REBEL TARTAN
In association with Liberation Kilt Co, Bute, Ethical Fashion Source and Lisaa Art School, Paris Presented to peers and professional partners (venue tbc) This project explores the process of Tartan production and ethical fashion. The key aim is to address the context of sustainability within the project. It is intended for students who have a specific interest in weaving, textiles and design ethics. The project promotes collaborative working by inviting students to come together to create a collection of textile swatches (knit, weave, stitch or print) that push the boundaries of Tartan traditions and explores creative conventions. Students are encouraged to select this option who have a very specific interest in textiles, weaving and production processes. These swatches will be presented to professional partners. This project will be a competitive process, with the winning team becoming members of the ‘Ethical Forum’ and offered the opportunity of placement in Bute textile company. https://www.butefabrics.com/our-story
ART SCHOOL COLLABORATION
In association with Islington Mill Art Academy Students should note that if they choose this option, they will be collaborating with a ‘Free Art School’, sessions will need to run when the majority of students can attend, which may include weekend working. As contemporary cities face complex future problems, do they need the creative leadership that artists can bring to culture and communities? Manchester School of Art and Islington Mill Art Academy (IMAA) have a legacy of students graduating to become key activists in artist-led and social projects in Manchester and Salford neighbourhoods. Both groups of students thrive through self-organised collective learning that mixes a multitude of disciplines. However, they learn in two very different models of art education. Where MSoA students are part of a degreeawarding institution and HE context, IMAA operates as a DIY collective whose members teach and learn as equal peers, with no formal assessment. As part of this exciting Unit X option, students will explore new dynamics that will occur when these two art-schools collaborate on a project. Through sharing resources, skills, difference and experience in a safe space, the two groups will cross-fertilise the positive energies of both models. This will result in a totally selfdirected event which all participants will co-create as a rewarding celebration of transdisciplinary knowledge and artist-led leadership. The project will be hosted by IMAA. Students will be free to discuss the challenges that face art schools and debate different models of art education. The project will arise from the student body who will decide the focus of their learning and make a joint commitment to encourage, challenge and support one another in the development of their collective ideas.
DEVELOPING VISUAL NARRATIVES
In association with Manchester Museum When pitching an idea for an illustrated book or animation whether as an auteur or in collaboration with a writer, it is customary to provide a complete dummy or storyboard which outlines the content from beginning to end and the relationship between the words and the images, with highly developed visual samples to indicate the finished work. Initially working with curators at Manchester Museum, students will carry out independent research from which to develop their responses to the archives and narratives. In order to make the most of this unit option, students participating should have a specific interest in developing drawing skills and a good working knowledge of animation and moving image software. The project will result in a screening and exhibition display at Manchester Museum. The work will be assessed via portfolio and or showreel.
THE NATURAL WORLD: UTOPIAS & DYSTOPIAS
In association with Manchester Museum Archives. The project, linked to Manchester International Festival will explore themes of utopia and dystopia within a number of their 2019 commissions. This will give you an opportunity to work in small scale with projection mapping to explore narratives around these themes. Combining film, animation and photographic techniques you will ‘animate’ a 3D environment, effectively creating a sitespecific narrative or experience within a museum setting. Creative responses should explore moving image, animation and/or photography. Students across disciplines are encouraged to participate, it is expected that a basic knowledge of moving image work will be present, although during the project there will be a range of learning experiences that help you to gain skills in post-production/animation and projection mapping. You are encouraged to begin with the archives and either create original content or add/adapt existing material through creative response. Example threads to follow are: - A response to a particular theorist, writer or artist in relation to the themes - A narrative response to a text, book, film or idea. - A visual remix/re-contextualising of existing archives, resources. KEYWORDS Decay, growth, order, survival, science fiction, genetic modification, urban/ natural, patterns, colonies, infestation
THEORY IN/AS PRACTICE
“No matter how much theory is disguised or repressed, there is no practice without theory. The theory that practice has nothing to do with theory is a theory, a disingenuous and naive one, but none the less a theory.” Terry Atkinson (1990) “Phantoms of the Studio” The Oxford Art Journal 13:1 p49 In art schools there is sometimes a perception that theory is an unnecessary add-on to practice, or even something opposed to it. When the theoretical component of your course is boxed off in your timetables and happens in an entirely different and perhaps more daunting - environment from the studios or workshops in which you develop your practice, it can sometimes be a struggle to make a connection. This aim of this option is to challenge the idea that theory is something separate from your practice as makers, and to develop a sense of how your work is always engaged in dialogues with ideas at large. It is organised around a student-directed reading group that will meet regularly during X. It is intended for both the confirmed theory-addict and the theory-curious, and will be a supportive and collaborative environment in which to explore ideas. Staff will work closely with you to facilitate the reading groups and an exhibition, but both sides of the project are student-directed. Through the process you will: - Select texts that speak directly to your individual practices as artists, makers, writers and curators. We will take a very inclusive attitude to what counts as theory theory can be where you find it, outside of your own discipline, in films and novels and artworks, anywhere that you find ideas and themes that your work can enter into a productive dialogue with. - Collaborate in the programming of a series of reading groups. These may take place in studio spaces, class rooms with AV, and off-site, as appropriate. - Continue to produce work as appropriate to your own disciplinary identity. - Exhibit in a group exhibition themed on the link between theory and practice. - Collaborate with other students in the staging and support of that exhibition.
BBC-LIVE / ARCHIVES
In association with BBC 5 LIVE, the Museum of Science and Industry & National Football Museum Archives. This project gives students the opportunity to create a series of podcasts by using the digital archives of the Museum of Science and Industry and National Football Museum. Students will work collaboratively to produce a short piece of moving image or installation work based on a client brief supplied by the public service broadcaster, BBC 5 Live. Using a portfolio of podcasts across their core areas of news and sports coverage, students will work with the material and explore how this audio based content can be re-interpreted in visual formats. The chosen areas to be explored and re-interpreted are the podcasts for Sport and Science. Examples include (but are not limited to): - 5 Live Science/Naked Scientists - The Squad - Football Daily - Flintoff, Savage and the Ping Pong Guy Further examples including an archive of previous podcasts can be seen via BBC 5 Live podcasts website at https://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/5live. You will be required to organise yourselves into small creative teams with identifiable roles. Your team will then begin the process of responding to the brief, this will result in a pitch to the client and staff. You will present the final work to the client in a delivery presentation and teh client will offer advice concerning production. Assessment will be based on your team submission and pitch and through the submission of a portfolio (details will be provided) plus assessed presentation. You will also be asked to submit a “making of� film that demonstrates your individual development and contribution to the work.
12.
LANGUAGE, MATERIAL, MEANING
In association with Manchester School of Art, Special Collections and In association with Manchester Special Collections (Artists’ books) and Hotbed Press. This Unit X project is about you bringing your current practice and finding ways to work collaboratively with other students around the theme of language. You will work across a range of different media including print, performance, poetry, sound. At the end of the Unit you will have produced a public exhibition and zine. The project will focus on the playful relationship between language, material and meaning. We will look at how language is used by artists and musicians such as Cally Spooner, Grand Master Flash, Samuel Beckett, Bruce Nauman and Barbara Kruger. We are working in partnership with MMU Special Collections “Artist Book Collection” and Hotbed Press, Print Studio. We will visit the Special Collections archive to look at original print and ephemera including concrete poetry. We will also visit contemporary Art Galleries. You will work towards creating an exhibition in the Special Collections Library at Man Met. You will also work on a collaborative publication or zine presented and launched at the Unit X Festival and distributed as part of the festival. This project will give you an opportunity to test new ways of making, expand on your knowledge of contemporary artists and find out more about the relationship between archive, image and sound. You will gain skills on setting up a public exhibition and how to make your own publication or zine. The project will require you to work independently in your studio as well as participate in group-sessions.
DRAGON’S DEN
In association with industry partners and Bank Associates. The project is based on the concept of the “creative pitch”. It enables students to collaborate on a theme and to pitch a concept to a panel of industry professionals. It is intended that students will work to their strengths and acquire a wide variety of skills and knowledge in response to the theme. Across the creative industries “pitching” has become a significant part of the design process. It also is important for artists who are presenting their work to arts professionals. The ability to propose a solution in a visually engaging manner to convince a client that your idea is not only a viable one, but the most appropriate way to answer a brief or respond to a given context. It is anticipated that the pitch will use a variety of methods including printed visuals, digital mock-ups, photography, and moving image to communicate the concept. Initial workshops will be delivered by Sebastian Bissinger and Laure Boer of Bank Associates http://www.bankassociates.de. The project will culminate with various posters, materials and documentation which will be presented for the festival (venue tbc).
HAPTIC
In association with the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) a charity who have expertise and great understanding of visual impairment and The Lowry Arts Centre, Salford Quays. Haptics is any form of interaction involving touch. It can refer to: Haptic communication, the means by which people and other animals communicate via touching. Haptic perception, the process of recognizing objects through touch. The project is a collaboration with the RNIB to design and make haptic, tactile, sensory artefacts. The theme of imagined places will drive the project. This includes exploring and understanding a given site from the perspective of a sighted individual and also someone visually impaired. The brief may include an off-site visit to explore a place together to inspire visual research in a variety of forms. The RNIB are also keen to share in a number of art-based workshops, some led by our students and a couple led by the RNIB to facilitate a better understanding of each other’s worlds.
BEYOND EDUCATOR In association with various partners, including: CASS Art, Manchester and Market Place Studios. This unit X project is suitable for students interested in developing teaching, learning and/or audience engagement skills within various fields. These might include, but are not exclusive to – formal teaching, gallery facilitator, community artist, arts and health practitioners and those involved in socially engaged practice. Those who take part in this option will focus on how the varied practices of Art School students can be explored to interrogate creative pedagogy, knowledge exchange and various educational models. Through observing shared experiences, disciplinary boundaries, differences and overlaps, students will build their skills to devise, develop and implement creative outreach projects. Students will work in groups to deliver existing outreach workshops, co-develop projects with community and/or school groups, learn how to pitch ideas and present workshop proposals and develop an outreach event for the Unit X Festival. Please note this option is focused on a broad definition of ‘educators’. However, for those students interested in a teaching profession, there is an opportunity to continue the project beyond the end of the unit as part of the Extended Third Term, Man Met University. This will help students to work on placement in schools and offers a route into PGCE application/interviews for those interested in becoming teachers.
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FUTURE INTELLIGENCE
In association with Laura Perryman, Cargo Collective “Trend forecasting is much like archaeology but to the future.� Lidewij Edelkoort This is a project about forecasting future design. It asks you to explore how changes in the world around us will affect what society will be responding to over the coming years. Students will explore design research methods to develop a trend resource that provides inspirational information to other designers or people working in the creative industries. Your trend resource might involve material thinking, future design proposals and product outcomes. This project is open to students from any programme; the outputs can be in any design context. The project will result in an exhibition at Manchester School of Art, MMU.
MIF FESTIVAL SQUARE The project centres upon the conceptual ideas development for the content of 2 glass house structures within Albert Square (sited specifically for the duration of MIF). Working in groups, students are invited to propose and develop concepts which will provide the setting for festival bars/hospitality space to be sited within each. The design of the working bar fixtures will be designed separately by the client’s main appointed festival designers. With MIF as Client, students will use processes between drawing, modelling and prototyping to offer conceptual design responses to the client’s operational and cultural briefing. This will be structured to allow cross-disciplines to collaborate, with flexibility in deliverables to encourage cross-disciplinary collaborators to work to their strengths. The client will have the opportunity to select a single idea or collection of complementary ideas to then take forward and instruct their preferred suppliers/ makers/installers as appropriate.
WHITWORTH THREADS
In association with Whitworth Art Gallery The project supports the development of emerging creative practitioners who broadly sit within the field of design & making. Students will investigate the Whitworth as an archive, gallery and building, set within a public parkland. Working in response to the collections, venue and archives, ‘Whitworth Threads’, provides an opportunity to develop products, limited editions and artefacts that are appropriate for the gallery shop. All students will work in groups, collaborating their individual skills and ambitions to develop and prototype proposals inspired by the Whitworth Gallery. Groups may work together to either develop a single unified product or range, or develop a range of individual proposals connected by a single theme. Projects can combine materials from across all the material making workshops (including glass, metal, wood, ceramics, weave, printed textiles‌) and your contribution can be functional or involve limited edition artworks and hand-crafted objects. This project will be of interest to students who wish to work to a client brief, and explore ways that their practice can be developed for a commercial context. As part of the Whitworth Threads project, you will gain privileged access to archives, and develop your designs in consultation with staff from various teams within the organisation, including curatorial & commercial staff. Collections held within the Whitworth that might be an inspiration to your designs In addition to the collections, you might be inspired by the building itself. Extensively re-configured and extended in 2015, this stunning award winning building blends historic and contemporary architecture, an inspiration for those who might seek to develop designs that embrace the traditional and the modern. The Whitworth are seeking to work with emerging artists, designers and makers from Manchester School of Art, to develop proposals that convey their Playful, Intelligent and Personal ethos.
NOTES
Lesley Raven & Judith Winter - Co-Leaders e. l.raven@mmu.ac.uk / e: j.winter@mmu.ac.uk Clare Campion - Collaborative Projects Support Manager E: c.campion@mmu.ac.uk T: 0161 247 1904 Adriano Digaudio - Professional Practice Support Manager E: a.digaudio@mmu.ac.uk T: 0161 247 1978 Marcus Lord - External Liaison Manager E: m.lord@mmu.ac.uk T: 0161 247 4625 Adam Smith - Placements Officer E: AHplacements@mmu.ac.uk T: 0161 247 1267 UNIT X SOCIAL MEDIA Twitter: @ProjectUnitX Instagram: @ProjectUnitX Blog: www.projectunitx.wordpress.com Webpage: www.art.mmu.ac.uk/unitx Please tag us in your social media posts using the above information. If you have any questions about these accounts, please contact Clare Campion.