Anne-Marie Nugnes, Creative Manchester Manager in the School of Arts, Languages and Cultures
Tell us about last week’s event
The event last week marked the official launch for the Creative Manchester project. We welcomed 130 guests to the Whitworth Hall for an ambitious event chaired by Professor of New Writing, Jeanette Winterson.
The audience, who were made up of guests from the creative industries sector, Manchester City Council and key stakeholders from the University, were treated to artistic performances from Klezmer Ensemble, Manchester Vox and the Women Asylum Seekers Together Choir. They also heard multilingual poetry and music compositions written by current students.
The event was a glimpse into the types of research, cultural engagement and social responsibility projects that are at the very heart of Creative Manchester.
You can read more about the event on the University website.
What are your hopes for the future of the project?
Creative Manchester is very much a University-wide initiative, and so I hope it will also give us the opportunity to form exciting new inter-disciplinary collaborations throughout the University. The project will also present more opportunities to reach out to, and to work collaboratively with the creative industries sector, across the City and beyond.
Creative Manchester gives us the ideal platform to showcase the amazing work taking place at the University, and to explore future creative collaborations, through our research, teaching and learning, and social responsibility activity.
You’ve recently changed roles - what are you looking forward to doing in your new role in the next few months?
I am looking forward to working closely with colleagues across the strands of Creative Manchester, and also those at the University’s Cultural Institutes - the Whitworth Art Gallery, the Manchester Museum, the John Rylands Library and Jodrell Bank.
I’m also excited about meeting with those involved in the creative industries across the City, sharing our ambitious plans with them, and exploring future opportunities to work collaboratively.
What are you currently reading?
At the moment I’m reading ‘Behind the Scenes at the Museum’ by Kate Atkinson. This was a recommendation by colleagues in the mini ‘SALC book club’ I’m part of. But, it’s also written by an author we are welcoming as part of the Manchester Literature Festival.
I am enjoying it so far!
- Watch a short video about Creative Manchester, or find out more on the Creative Manchester website.