- defining your practice
- formal intension
- ground rules
- statement of intent
- political declaration
- belief/policies you stand for
We had the opportunity to read through a few examples of manifestos written by artists, designers and political parties before discussing what a manifesto is and then writing our own.
The layout of the manifestos varied, and I noticed that everyone's was completely different.
In the sub group I was in, we decided to write our manifesto as a recipe to make it seem more light hearted and fun.
why are artists interested in manifestos?
In the early 20th century, many artists were interested in politics, and this was reflected in their work.
Their work was used as propaganda or reflected what was happening at the time
The futurists were the first movement to use manifestos, and after this all artists had to have one in order to voice their ideas.
I think that being able to write a manifesto will be useful when we start planning the design festival, because we will be able to clearly state our proposal, and it will also provide us with some ground rules that we can stick to as a group.
Example of an existing manifesto
planning our manifesto
Our manifesto for writing a manifesto
Choosing the biref
we were given the choice of two briefs to choose from; the first was working with Manchester Art Gallery in order to come up with an idea for a work shop that engages the general public and the second was to create an imaginary design festival that would take part in Manchester.
I chose the latter.
Brief
'This project option will consider ideas for a future festival of design to take place in Manchester. You will work in small groups in response to the project brief which asks you to focus on process rather than product. The project is deliberately open as you will be generating the content rather than responding to a set brief. Our project partners are looking for imaginative responses that explore what format(s) the festival might take, where it could be situated in the city (if indeed it needs to be situated in a physical space), its possible venues, branding and marketing etc.
College 3 - Blue Sky Thinking - is about the possible rather than pre-existing formats, it asks you to speculate, to push boundaries and to test ideas through a variety of different media and materials. It is about ideas in a state of flux that might find temporary expression in proposals, models and maquettes, performances, films, zines, posters, banners, pamphlets, speeches, debates, events … You are therefore encouraged to think of design as a process involved in problem solving and communication rather than thinking in terms of commercial ʻendʼ products.
Building on the opening two weeks of Unit X where you have explored collective concerns through the un-conference and used the manifesto as a creative tool for the expression and communication of ideas, you will now identify key themes that enable you to form small groups with other students from across disciplinary areas. Working with your manifestos as a starting point you will develop themes.'
