Manchester Ramblers are taking part in a festival led by Turner Prize-winning artist, Jeremy Deller, that will see a major procession take place along the canal in Manchester.
Manchester Ramblers are one of twenty groups helping to demonstrate this unique display of local pride as part of the Manchester International Festival on Saturday. More like a carnival than a Lord Mayor’s Parade, this once-only event will let communities and local people take centre stage.
Manchester International Festival captures the spirit of Greater Manchester through political and social artist. While some groups of people in the procession will have met through their shared role or interests, others will have been formed especially for the event. An exhibition on the history of parades and processions as well as a film of the event will follow at Cornerhouse, co-commissioner of Procession. There will also be an online element for those who will not be able to make it to Manchester.
Manchester and Peaks Area Footpath Secretary, Edgar Ernstbrunner, comments: "We are delighted to be participating in a unique celebration of this area that we know and love to walk so much. Manchester's city streets are steeped in history and very rich ground for walks, we're very pleased that the procession passes through them.
Artist Jeremy Deller said, “I love processions – as humans, it’s almost part of our DNA to be instinctively attracted to big public events that bring us together. A good procession is in itself a public artwork: part self-portrait and part alternative reality. I hope this event will be in the tradition of Northern social surrealism”.
Festival Director Alex Poots said, "This commission will bring to the Festival a joyful, enquiring and ambitious beginning, and we are delighted to be working with such a politically and socially motivated artist whose work so often reveals hidden truths and new ways of seeing and experiencing history and events".
Manchester International Festival is the world’s first festival of original new work and special events, and takes place biennially in Manchester, UK. The Festival launched in 2007 as an artist-led, commissioning festival presenting new works from across the spectrum of performing arts, visual arts and popular culture.
Procession is a MIF Creative project. MIF Creative is a major new creative learning programme from Manchester International Festival. Its activities range from largescale artistic commissions developed with everyone from local school children to shop assistants, from refugees to pensioners, to programmes to help emerging Manchester-based producers get ahead on the professional ladder.
For more information about specific projects go to www.mif.co.uk/creativelearning
