CAMPUS (2012)

Modernist pranksters confer guerilla conservation status on 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 declare 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 recently under threat of sale by the University, is 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 seek to rescue from disregard and neglect.

This is their sketchbook…

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