Stainless Steel Arch Entrances, Seats and fence panels
Following the demolition of Albert Mill, the site adjacent to neighbouring Victoria Mill in Miles Platting was left abandoned for many years until the Groundwork Trust took the initiative to address this derelict space. They sourced funding – including European SRB (Single Regeneration Budget) money to create a new park for the surrounding community.
Amongst the numerous artist commissions that made the park so unique, Monkey Business Partnership (myself + artist Ann Gilligan) was commissioned to work with two local youth club groups over 12 weeks to design four entrance archways, six seats and a series of fence panels for the young children’s play area.
As part of the workshop programme, we took the youth groups to Quarry Bank working mill museum in Styal, where the youngsters filled in specially produced activity booklets that encouraged them to observe interesting aspects of textile production that we could apply to our designs. Hence the repeat pattern work and the overall form of the seats, based on fabric being rolled through the printing rollers.
Date
1999
Client
Groundwork Manchester
Photos
Mike Anders