First installed in 1997, Lemn Sissay’s poem Flags stretches a little under a mile down Tib street – running from Market Street up toward Swan Street.
Originally part of the Tib Street art trail, created to draw people back into the Northern Quarter when it was in serious decline, Flags has long been a part of the area’s fabric.
Over the years, some of the poem’s stones have disappeared: leaving us to guess the missing letters and marvel at the way a simple act of feet treading the pavement has, over time, changed the meaning of the Chancellor of the University of Manchester’s words.
On his blog, academic Dr. Tony Shaw calls it “living poetry, uncertain poetry” – where “sometimes you have to kick aside cigarette ends to read more clearly, or wait for a momentarily parked car to move.”
And for the past 24 years, that’s exactly how it has been: A piece of urban poetry slowly eroding under our feet, the very meaning of the art changing as stones disappear, wear away or – as artist Tim Rushton notes – are taken home as souvenirs.
In a bold move, the full work has been immortalised in a new ‘cast iron’ rendering – restored on Tib Street in full, with a new version of the poem written especially by Sissay for the occasion.
Supported by Manchester City Council, Bruntwood, and the Arts Council, Sissay was able to work once again with artist Rushton – who designed the original poem’s font back in 1997 – on the new installation.
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Rushton had designed a special font called cypher for the piece back in the ’90s, which is used again on the new rendering.
“In the last couple of years it has become obvious that Lemn Sissay’s poem Flags on Tib Street has finally become past reasonable repair,” said Tim, reflecting on how the poem on the pavement has changed over the years.
“General wear and tear, scaffolding pole drops and souvenir hunting has rendered [the original poem] very patchy.”
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Sissay’s poetry can be found across Manchester. In fact you’ve probably noticed one of his most famous, Rain, painted on a wall above Gemini takeaway near the Oxford Road university campus.
Lemn Sissay’s poem Rain can be found above Gemini Takeaway on the Oxford Road corridor / Image: Gerald England
Now an internationally respected poet with work recognised across the globe, Sissay has come a long way from using his unemployment benefit to self-publish his first poetry pamphlet Perceptions of the Pen.
The official poet of the 2012 London Olympics and Chancellor of the University of Manchester since 2015, for this year’s Manchester International Festival Sissay has also co-curated an exhibition at HOME with Hans Ulrich Obrist.
On display until 30 August, it’s called Poet Slash Artist and is all about forging new links across cultures, continents, languages and generations – joining up poets and visual artists to connect words and images across gallery walls and city streets.
Just like the Tib Street poem, it’s not all found in the gallery: Rather, the new exhibit has spilled out onto the streets of Manchester: creating a new trail that runs from Deansgate to Whitworth Street West.
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A full map of the locations for these new works of living art can be found here.
Flags by Lemn Sissay – the original poem (deciphered by Dr. Tony Shaw) versus the new edition:
The original 1997 poem:
These pavement cracks are the places where Poets pack their warrior words
These pavement cracks are the places where sleeping shadows of moving bridges stole
Where dying dust of dreams slides where the slits silt turns to food
Where home truths trickle home and confide Where the silent forests brood
Where spines bent?? the bridges arches where they vaulted with asice(?) to ? speak
And unity sown on to the sun of alll trades perhaps they’re a script words of the street
Perhaps these pavement cracks are the places awhere flattened flags lies solidified waves
The telling lines within a sea of faces where sufferers take cover of street caves
The telling lines within a sea of faces Where sufferers take cover of street caves
Where wander the wayward and lost Where the runaway can chart his journey back home
Where the water runs as the world defrosts The street breathes beneath this stone
And perhaps the pavement cracks are the pattern of concrete butterflies
Where thoughts carefully cultivated waiting to waken grow wings and fly
Like us they hold the people of a modern earth This world between the windswept flags
Where pavement cracks are the places where sleeping shadows of moving bridges stole
The cold
The updated 2021 poem:
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Pavement cracks are the places
Where poets pack warrior words
Verses to catch the surfeit of faces
Where seeds slip from bitter birds
Trip and fall between the ledges
Where sweeping silent rivers run
Hidden roughened toughened edges
Where darkness swallows the sun
Pavement cracks are the places
Where shadows of bridges roll
Where water falls water races
Heat crouches beneath the cold
The dust of the city slides
And secret silent worries wait
Home truths trickle home
Cracks are the lines of fate
These pavement cracks are patterns
of concrete butterflies
A perfectly positioned parallax
Waiting to wake grow wings and fly
And perhaps these pavement cracks
Hold the Manchester myriad———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
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The cracks the cracks the cracks!
The world between the windswept flags
Art & Culture
Thousands of FREE tickets to The Big Night of Musicals at AO Arena have been released
Thomas Melia
There are thousands of free tickets up for grabs to attend ‘The Big Night of Musicals’ in Manchester next year which features a variety of theatre classics.
The curtain has risen once again as returning favourite, The Big Night of Musicals, is coming to AO Arena for a fourth year.
Hosted once again by the one and only Jason Manford, this event contains segments from some of the world’s greatest theatre productions.
Fronted by The National Lottery, this showcase is a thank you to all players whose money has supported more than 20,000 theatre-related projects totalling £1.3 billion.
These funds have been used on many performing arts resources including restoring theatres and enabling hundreds of musical-related projects to commence.
This isn’t something to be missed out on as the bill is shaping up to be one of the event’s biggest to date featuring stars from the West End and some of the most notorious shows.
Attendees can expect to hear some familiar favourites in the likes of Bat Out of Hell, Here & Now: The Steps Musical, Mean Girls and more.
There’s even an exclusive preview of the upcoming theatre adaptation of a Disney superhero as snippets from ‘Hercules’ will be performed live.
Guests even have a chance to be in the same room as musical theatre legend Carrie Hope Fletcher as she takes on the role of Calamity Jane in the theatre show of the same name.
Dear Evan Hansen is also on the bill and if you aren’t free for the musical ensemble, it’s running at Palace Theatre Manchester from 18-22 February next year and tickets are available right now.
This event has a super varied lineup too, from throwback pop bangers to Wild West heroines, this night really caters to everyone.
In true musical style, there will be big, bold performances and, of course, lots of excellent surprises all set to make a fantastic night of live music at the AO Arena.
All National Lottery players have the chance to reserve up to four tickets, the only cost is proof they’ve purchased a product from the National Lottery and a £2 booking fee per ticket.
Tickets for the ‘Big Night of Musicals’ on 25 January are already on sale you can try your luck at grabbing some free seats HERE.
National Portrait Gallery to debut ground-breaking digital exhibition in Salford
Daisy Jackson
The National Portrait Gallery has announced a ground-breaking new experience that’s set to make its debut at MediaCity in Salford.
Some of the world’s most famous paintings will be brought to life in an immersive digital exhibition, called Stories – Brought to Life, that will tell the stories behind iconic portraits.
FRAMELESS Creative has partnered with the National Portrait Gallery on the project, which will be the first major touring art experience by any UK art institution and makes up a long-term partnership called National Portrait Gallery Unframed.
Those who attended the hugely popular and acclaimed Van Gogh Alive experience will already know a little of what to expect – famous paintings reimagined with digital projections, visual effects, and audio technology.
FRAMELESS has been granted access to the National Portrait Gallery’s collection to create Stories – Brought to Life, which will tell the tales of people who have shaped history, from the Tudors to the present day, in an innovative new way.
While the exhibition will premiere here in Greater Manchester next year, there’s a planned national and international tour to follow.
The National Portrait Gallery will be debuting a ground-breaking digital exhibition in Salford / Credit: MediaCity
Rich Storton, general manager at FRAMELESS Creative said: “We are delighted to announce this new long-term partnership with the National Portrait Gallery. We hope that by unleashing the power of digital storytelling we can help the Gallery to bring art to a whole new audience.
“We’re living in a changing world and there is a real need for new experiences that help open up art and culture to new audiences and crucially help ensure that national institutions such as the National Portrait Gallery and their incredible collections continue to be accessible and have cultural significance for the next generation.
“MediaCity is a vibrant cultural hub attracting a hugely diverse audience. This combined with its proximity to major transport links and focus on technology made it an obvious choice for premiering our first experience.”
Rosie Wilson, Director of Programmes, Partnerships and Collections at the National Portrait Gallery said: “The National Portrait Gallery aims to share our unique collection of portraits with as wide an audience as possible and explore the human stories that shape our history and culture.
“This exciting new partnership with FRAMELESS, inspired by our Collection, will enable us to take these stories outside of the Gallery walls and bring them to life in new, innovative ways.”
Caroline Aikman, Director of Marketing, Brand and Place at MediaCity said: “We are honoured that the National Portrait Gallery and FRAMELESS have chosen MediaCity as the first stop on the tour of this unique immersive experience.
“We’ve hosted many arts and culture events, experiences, festivals and exhibitions over the last few years and we can’t wait to welcome visitors to Salford when the experience opens its doors in May next year.”