Design Manchester announces DM17 festival programme highlights

Here we share some of the highlights. For all DM17 events, and to book tickets, visit: www.designmcr.com.

Guardian Live – The Great Debate

The public realm is the key ingredient of a livable city – our architecture and landmarks, our open spaces – but what is the public’s role in shaping it? How much of our public space is privately owned? How well connected are the different parts of our cities? How can we make sure our public realm supports our communities – and how welcoming are we to visitors?

Discussing these issues will be footballer-turned-developer Gary Neville, whose plans for new developments in Manchester city centre caused some controversy when first revealed; Ali Grehan, the city architect of Dublin who has led that city’s design strategy over the past decade; and Katie Tonkinson, partner at Hawkins\Brown, the architects creating a rooftop garden in the Northern Quarter.

Tickets £10 - Wednesday 11 October, 6.30-9pm at Manchester School of Art

Design City Weekender

Design City Weekender will be held in Upper Campfield Market on the closing weekend of the festival and once again incorporates Manchester Print Fair featuring 58 creatives over two days. This year, the weekender has extended its capacity and moved indoors to host three days of workshops, exhibitions, live art and design, music, showcases, three-minute portraits, food and drink and much more.

During the day, live artworks will be created around this unique space and there are many opportunities to get involved. The Weekender will host over 100 creatives with affordable works for sale and a schedule of workshops from University of Salford’s BA (Hons) Fashion Design, G . F Smith, SWALK Creative, Fred Aldous, Animation Nation and Lazerian including screenprinting, paper marbling, stop-frame animation, fashion design, collage, and colouring.

Free entry - Friday 20 October - Sunday 22 October at Upper Campfield Market

Conference: Design City Reframed

The DM17 Conference will be held in The Principal Hotel’s ballroom on Friday 13 October; a day-long conference of ideas and inspiration hosted by Patrick Burgoyne (Creative Review) and featuring internationally celebrated and influential speakers including Factory lead architect Ellen Van Loon (OMA), North, Naresh Ramchandani (Pentagram), film production designer Alex McDowell, illustrator Emily Forgot, alongside Tash Willcocks (Hyper Island) and Lawrence Kitson (Co-op Digital).

Tickets: £25 - £50 - Friday 13 October, 11am-6pm at Principal Hotel Ballroom

DM17 on Screen: Reframing Reality

This year’s Design Manchester film season, DM17 on Screen: Reframing Reality, will run throughout the festival with screenings at HOME, the Dancehouse, and Texture. Curated by Sir Christopher Frayling, working alongside Malcolm Garrett and Fiona McGarva, the season, which looks at different versions of the reality and the future, takes in Metropolis (1927), Her (2013), Blade Runner (1982) and A Clockwork Orange (1971). In addition, a screening of Duncan Jones’ Moon (2009) will be held as part of the National Science and Media Museum’s Widescreen Weekend in Bradford.

During each weekend of the festival, Texture in Manchester’s Northern Quarter, will be screening design-led films, B-Movie: Lust & Sound in West Berlin (2015) and Graphic Means: A History of Graphic Design Production (2017) with Q&As from some of the design experts featured in the films including Swifty and Mark Reeder.

Tickets via designmcr.com / homemcr.org - Sunday 8 October - Tuesday 24 October at HOME, Texture & The Dancehouse

Fizzing at the Terminals: Buzzcocks with support from PINS

Buzzcocks will take to the stage with support from contemporary all-female Manchester punk band PINS (Bella Union). PINS recently collaborated with Iggy Pop on their Bad Thing EP, and in 2015 opened for Sleater-Kinney on the UK leg of their tour. Artwork and projections from the ‘Fizzing at the Terminals’ and ‘Orgasm Addict Reframed’ exhibitions will be displayed around the venue during the gig.

Tickets are on sale on Friday at 10am from Skiddle and Ticketmaster - Thursday 19 October at O2 Ritz Manchester

Lucienne Day: Living Design

Lucienne Day: Living Design, will span three floors of the Benzie Building, home to the Manchester School of Art. Curated by Professor Emma Hunt and Dr Paula Day to mark Lucienne Day’s centenary year, the exhibition celebrates her life’s work as one of Britain’s most influential designers of the 20th century. Best-known for her textiles, Lucienne Day (1917–2010) was a virtuoso pattern designer and colourist, who worked in a variety of media during a career that spanned nearly six decades.

This exhibition was developed by the Arts University Bournemouth in conjunction with the Robin and Lucienne Day Foundation is part of the nationwide programme of Lucienne Day centenary celebrations co-ordinated by the Foundation, the design education charity established by Paula Day in 2012. #LucienneDay100

Free - Wednesday 11 October - Saturday 21 October at Manchester School of Art