2019 Radical Response: Bradford Pit Memorial

Radical Response Exhibition IASDR Conference Manchester Metropolitan University September 2019.

Project Contributors: Lucy Gannon, Ian Whadcock, Jonathan Hitchen

Unity Progress Strength: The Bradford Pit Memorial

This installation presents a life size visualisation of a
memorial which commemorates the industrial heritage
and community of the former Bradford Colliery in East
Manchester, now occupied by SportCity and
Etihad Stadium.
It is the culmination of The Bradford Pit Project,
initiated in 2013 by Lauren Murphy, a BA(Hons) 3D
Design alumnus, and her research into memorial crafts.
The project evolved through a public engagement
process which led to the development of archives, a
collection of oral histories, exhibitions and practical
workshops engaging a spectrum of audiences. Ian
Whadcock worked with a number of students from the
School of Art to produce a range of visual responses to
this material. In 2016, in collaboration with Broadbent
Studio this culminated in a significant grant from the
City of Manchester to realise the aims of the project,
in the form of a permanent memorial on the site.
The design is a collaboration between Lucy Gannon
and external partners Broadbent Studio. It features
the drawings of former Illustration student Jacob
Phillips and graphic design by Jonathan Hitchen. The
physical memorial structure represents a lift shaft
cage. It allows the viewer to imagine being lowered into
a subterranean world below the streets of Manchester
and to recognise the history and legacy of this site.
The output represents the impact of practice-based
research, and the value of academic, community and
industrial partnership. Driven by an authentic voice of
protest, seeking meaningful recognition for the past in
the present : Lauren Murphy.
We would also like to recognise key role of former
design academic Jenny Walker, in making the
formative stages of this project possible for the
students and partners involved.

Web: bradfordpit.com

Radical Response Exhibition 2019