Artworks (IRL)

A little insight into the project…

This year, the Whitworth and our most local secondary school Manchester Academy embark on a three-year project to explore whether art can be used as a tool to enact positive social change in young people’s lives.

The project is in response to two community conversations hosted at the Whitworth in the spring of 2024. The conversations with Manchester Academy students and local youth sector partners highlighted the following themes: poverty and social deprivation, safety, Artificial intelligence and social media, wellbeing, and trust. It was also established that most young people in the neighbouring wards of the Manchester Academy and the Whitworth, lack art and cultural opportunities, with the idea of art being of little value. This project aims to reframe art perceptions and build on skills rooted in Art and Design to pursue their ambitions.

Each year the Whitworth will work with a small cohort of year 9 students, and teachers at Manchester Academy, to explore the possibilities of art beyond the classroom walls, and their relevance to traditional career paths.

We will ask students to consider whether art really matters? Is art merely just skills and techniques taught in a classroom, or can creativity shed light on problems and questions we seek solutions to in our daily lives?

Working with partners and local community youth providers, we hope to create more favourable environments which connect young people to local opportunities, resources, and couple learning experiences with the development of real-world transferrable skills.

In 2025, year nine students from the school have had the opportunity to take part in a series of arts workshops that have aimed to showcase the profile and potential of studying Art and Design.

The project has paired a core group of 15 students and artist, Mishka Henner, to explore the controversial subject of AI and art. Students will be invited to ‘unbox’ the gallery through behind the scenes collections store visits with Whitworth curator Valentin Diakonov, debating questions that explore the myth, value and how believable art is in modern society?

Mishka Henner is a sculptor, writer, photographer and filmmaker, who explores cultural and geo-political themes, often challenging the norm whilst inviting the audience to reflect on their interactions with the world.

The students will work with Mishka to produce an outcome that will showcase of their work to be displayed and celebrated at the Whitworth on Thursday 18^th September 2025.

Click through the carousel to see their progress so far!