🎨Visual Artsrecruiting

Manc Noir: A Zine of Forgotten Corners

Illustrated Documentary / ZineManchester3 weeks

Project Timeline

Pre-production

1 week

Production

1.5 weeks

Post-production

0.5 week

Published

Launch on final day

Project Brief

This project is a love letter to Manchester’s overlooked architecture and urban textures. We’ll identify six ‘forgotten corners’—a back-alley in the Northern Quarter, an abandoned Victorian warehouse on Whitworth Street, a forgotten canal lock near Castlefield, a graffiti-covered tunnel under Piccadilly, a hidden courtyard in the Gay Village, and a derelict mill in Ancoats. Each location will be reimagined through moody, high-contrast illustrations that blend urban decay with atmospheric storytelling, reminiscent of Edward Hopper meets Sin City. What makes this unique is its collaborative creation: one artist will sketch on location, an illustrator will translate those sketches into noir-style digital paintings, and a theatre actor will provide voiceover or write short, poetic captions for each scene. The final product will be a limited-edition A5 zine, printed on recycled paper, with an optional companion audio tour. This project taps into the current trend of hyperlocal, tangible art in a digital age, and offers each team member a standout portfolio piece that celebrates Mancunian grit and beauty.

About this project

This project is a love letter to Manchester’s overlooked architecture and urban textures. We’ll identify six ‘forgotten corners’—a back-alley in the Northern Quarter, an abandoned Victorian warehouse on Whitworth Street, a forgotten canal lock near Castlefield, a graffiti-covered tunnel under Piccadilly, a hidden courtyard in the Gay Village, and a derelict mill in Ancoats. Each location will be reimagined through moody, high-contrast illustrations that blend urban decay with atmospheric storytelling, reminiscent of Edward Hopper meets Sin City. What makes this unique is its collaborative creation: one artist will sketch on location, an illustrator will translate those sketches into noir-style digital paintings, and a theatre actor will provide voiceover or write short, poetic captions for each scene. The final product will be a limited-edition A5 zine, printed on recycled paper, with an optional companion audio tour. This project taps into the current trend of hyperlocal, tangible art in a digital age, and offers each team member a standout portfolio piece that celebrates Mancunian grit and beauty.

Project Details

Stream🎨 Visual Arts
GenreIllustrated Documentary / Zine
LocationManchester
Timeline3 weeks
Created2026-06-30T06:02:28.826634+00:00

Team Status

2/4
👤👤??

2 roles still open

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