Engine House launch Mystery Tubes Islington Mill project

The Engine House collective are launching a special Mystery Tubes art project raising money for Islington Mill, with a vending machine and accompanying art exhibition at Fred Aldous this April.

Feature by Jess Hardiman | 04 Apr 2017
The Engine House Collective

Spearheaded by The Engine House, a collective of creatives based in a shared multi-disciplinary studio at Islington Mill, the Mystery Tubes project gives Mill artists, residents and friends an opportunity to get involved in the ongoing fundraising effort for the Salford multi-arts centre – while also letting you buy affordable, high quality art from favourites of the local scene and beyond.

The Engine House asked artists at various stages of their career to donate print-based work – whether it's letterpressed, screenprinted, hand-drawn or risographed – which is then pooled with other artists' works and sealed in a Mystery Tube. Each tube contains six works, ranging from A6 to A2 size, and costs £25 including postage and packaging. This means you could receive work worth over £100 for a quarter of the cost, or you may become the proud owner of some rare, previously unseen pieces. 

Loads of outrageously beautiful screen prints by our pals from Berlin, duo Marion Jdanoff & Damien Tran AKA @palefroi all of these will be going in the #MysteryTubes which are being sold in order to help raise money for #saveislingtonmill

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Launching on Fri 7 Apr with a party at the Mill, the tubes will then be available to buy online or at the homemade vending machine (!) in Fred Aldous throughout the month, with an accompanying display in the exhibition space of Fred Aldous' window created by Engine House resident himHallows. 

Launch party Fri 7 Apr @ 6pm
Islington Mill, James St, Salford
Free entry

Mystery tubes available to buy online or at Fred Aldous in the Northern Quarter throughout April. 

For the next few weeks we will have posts from the Engine House collective, kick starting the #MysteryTubes fundraiser. Here is a sneaky peak at the internal workings of their full size Birch Ply vending machine which will dispense poster tubes. Each tube contains 6 pieces of artwork by different artists and friends of the mill. The machine will live at @fredaldous and tubes will be available to buy there and online from the 8th of April!

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Super exciting package of signed letter pressed prints for #MysteryTubes by world-renowned designer-artist-printmaker @anthonyburrill just arrived! These prints will be among many others in the tubes which are being sold to raise money for #saveislingtonmill!

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Next up is a stunning package of screen prints by another Mill legend @moderaterealism which can be found in #MysteryTubes available soon to help raise money for #saveislingtonmill

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To get us going with #MysteryTubes one of our own @johnpowell_jones has donated an absolute pile of amazing screen prints including one or two prints he was commissioned to create for the great @mogwaiband

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