It wasn’t until last week that I realised how much of Manchester’s identity is tied up with rain, red bricks and music alongside a very solid burgeoning creative industry. Robert Shadbolt invited me in to give a talk and do some tutorials with the Illustration students at Salford University. It was interesting to see the range of styles and interests that the students portrayed and very encouraging to see a real active involvement with the City’s businesses on projects. What I hadn’t banked on was how much I was taken by the place. Salford is on the agenda a lot at the moment due to the new Media City and although the larger area of Salford is under development, the proximity to the centre of Manchester is so close I had no idea. We went along to the opening of Manchester & Salford Illustrated which was an open submission show with the brief of ‘What does Manchester mean to you’.  It seems it means rather a lot to quite a few people! I really enjoyed the show and then a stomp through the rainy streets of Manchester to a lovely bar called 57 Thomas Street selling Marble beer that is brewed in Manchester.

I’ll definitely be going back to explore further – and see what else is up Manchester’s sleeve!

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