On Wednesday 5th October, Bruntwood’s new flagship building, Neo, which is currently under development, will host Skyline Manchester, an exhibition of large scale artworks by acclaimed photographer and artist Andrew Brooks.
The exhibition is in partnership with Design Manchester, and includes imagery commissioned for its DM16 city-wide festival of design, launching on 12th October.
Skyline Manchester brings together newly commissioned photography and existing works that focus on the skyline and architecture of the city. With views from some of its most iconic buildings, including a view of Neo during its development, this is a unique collection that shows modern Manchester at its most dynamic.
Brooks captures these views in vivid detail. Each image is built digitally from up to two hundred separate photographs. Through this process, the complexity of the city is shown in all its detail and the light and colour is refined to give them an almost painterly atmosphere.
Andrew Brooks comments: ‘I feel incredibly lucky to get to visit these rooftops with such amazing views of Manchester. I aim to show how it felt to be up high, watching the city; from a single person rushing below, to huge new buildings rising amongst tower cranes.’
Design Manchester’s DM16 will celebrate the part that design plays in making Manchester and other cities great to live in., from architecture to culture and world class media, start-ups and studios in creative tech, shops for a design-conscious generation and the return of craft in everything from beer to print in the new culture of making.
John Owens, DM16 director and co-curator, comments: ‘Andrew Brooks captures the unexpected, producing cityscapes that are familiar, but need closer inspection to really appreciate the detail. We were honoured to work with him on DM16’s Design City campaign, working together to reflect how design weaves through the fabric of the city, even when it goes unnoticed.’
Bruntwood’s Neo, an 11-storey, 52,000 sq ft building on the corner of Portland Street and Charlotte Street, is currently under development and Skyline Manchester will be an exclusive one-off event on the 10th floor.
Neo will feature Bruntwood’s most evolved workspaces to date and will house coworking spaces, event spaces, private studios, a communal lounge and kitchen, a roof terrace and a digital art space on the ground floor. The upper floors, including the 10th floor exhibition space, will feature open-plan office layouts with panoramic views across the city.
Neo will provide innovative tech solutions and support services for all sectors, including the creative, media and digital industries, as well as the more progressive, creatively-minded businesses seeking a flexible and collaborative approach to the way they work, which makes it a perfect fit to collaborate with both Andrew Brooks and Design Manchester.
This will be Neo’s first event, marking its intent to collaborate with the creative industries and businesses with a creative outlook. Neo will have a dedicated on-site Community Manager to develop the building’s internal social network, running a programme of events that also takes in health and wellbeing, social networking and business support.
Bruntwood and Design Manchester present
Skyline Manchester, an exhibition by Andrew Brooks
Private view: 6-8pm, Wednesday 5th October
Neo, Charlotte Street, M1 4ET