Manchester Moleskine project turns its final page
After a two-year labour of love, the Manchester Moleskine sketchbook project comes to an end, bowing out with a closing party at Old Granada Studios. We spoke to curators Jon Massey and Adam Stanway as they look back on their favourite submissions.
Taking 52 local creatives and letting them loose on 104 pages of an A5 Moleskine sketchbook, the Manchester Moleskine project started life two years ago as a way of collating the city's creative diversity, while also documenting the 'now'.
The simple premise has seen curators Jon Massey and Adam Stanway hand-deliver the book to designers, artists, sculptors, developers, illustrators and even musicians around Manchester, and invite them to doodle whatever they want across a double-page spread, giving them one week to do so before letting the book continue its journey.
[Curators Jon Massey and Adam Stanway]
Throughout the book's pages you'll find work by artists and designers including John Powell-Jones, Caroline Dowsett, DR.ME, Aliyah Hussain, Alex T Frazer, Dave Sedgwick and Will Berry (scroll to the bottom for the full list), with six more to complete the book.
This labour of love will wrap up with a closing party at Old Granada Studios on Thu 20 Oct, as part of creative festival Design Manchester – coming full circle after last year's festival played host to the first ever Manchester Moleskine exhibition.
The event will see the final six submissions created and projected live and the book exhibited in its entirety for the first time, along with tunes from SHE Choir and DJ Zvöok!, food from The Real Junk Food Project MCR and GRUB, and booze from the good people of Runaway Brewery.
As the final pages get ready for the home stretch, we asked curators Jon Massey and Adam Stanway to select some of the pieces that particularly struck a chord with them:
Dan Hett
"From the very start of the project is was important for us to capture as many crafts as possible. Coding and sketchbooks don't traditionally 'go', but Dan blew the doors off preconceived creative dread." (Jon Massey)
DR.ME
"We've been a massive admirer of their work for years, and to have them involved, as a fan, is really exciting. They have the ability to make beautiful look effortless, and their entry is nothing short of this." (Adam Stanway)
Caroline Dowsett
"You can't look at Caroline's work and not feel happy. The marks, colour and expression jump from the page, taking me to a warmer climate bang in the middle of a Mediterranean fiesta." (Jon Massey)
Tash Willcocks
"Tash is a real driving force in our creative scene and despite her small size, her huge talent rarely goes unnoticed. It was really important for us to have her involved. Tash's piece in the book was a special one as it commemorated the old Cornerhouse, and as we see the Manchester Moleskine as a creative time capsule of the now, it's special that this iconic landmark has found a place to be remembered." (Adam Stanway)
Jay EEgo
"We met Mr EEgo during a talk around six months ago at HOME. Jay's humble appreciation towards being an artist and his uplifting backstory almost brought me to tears. His pursuit of redemption through art is constant and we knew we had to get him involved." (Jon Massey)
Daren Newman
"Another creative we've always been in awe of, Daren's skill in lettering is rarely matched and his contribution captures the complex, intricate nature of his magnificent work. Daren also holds a special place inside our Manchester Moleskine hearts as he made us wait the longest out of all the contributors to reveal his work!" (Adam Stanway)
The Manchester Moleskine closing party takes place at Old Granada Studios on Thu 20 Oct, 6.30pm. Register for your free ticket here.
Find out more about the Design Manchester 2016 programme in our preview.
Full list of contributors to Manchester Moleskine:
Will Berry, John Owens, Rick Raby, Robert Lomas, Barney Ibbotson, Dan Hett, We Are Empire, Stanley Chow, Dave Sedgwick, Alex Darke, Nick Chaffe, Made By Memo, Jane Bowyer, SHE Choir, James Oconnell, Tash Willcocks, Blanche McIntyre, Woody Woods, Gary Grainger, Jack Sewina, Lisa Risbec, One Minute Briefs, Ian ‘Swifty’ Swift, Sian Ediss, Daren Newman, Tim Isherwood, John Powell-Jones,
The book is now up for auction via eBay, raising money for Forever Manchester.
@MCR_Moleskine | manchestermoleskine.co.uk