CAMPUS (2012)
If we were young and trendy, we would probably call this a ‘throwbackthursday’, but instead we’ll call this ‘another treat from our archive’. Campus, our project from 2012 saw a band of Modernist pranksters confer guerrilla conservation status on an endangered sixties campus.
Founders of the Manchester Modernist Society, Jack Hale & Maureen Ward together position themselves as uninvited artists in residence of the University of Manchester and autonomously declared the UMIST campus as Manchester’s first Modernist Conservation Area, much against the inclinations of the Manchester City Council and the University Estates department. The campus, much of which was under threat of sale by the University, was not only judged by the artists to be of significance due to its architectural and sculptural qualities but also because of its place within scientific and mathematical modern history. It is this legacy that the artists sought to rescue from disregard and neglect.
The modernists rasied funds for this project by 'selling' degrees from the Modernist University. This crowd-sourced funding campaign later won a national award.
The degrees were awarded at the UMIST campus, followed by the planting of specially designed plaques commemorating each of the campus buidings.
The plaques and campus maps were designed by Lisa Barlow and Nick Yates. Thanks also to Sue Platt and Jonathan Hitchen of the Manchester School of Art.
CAMPUS was a Cornerhouse Micro Commission, supported by Paul Hamlyn Foundation
