A love letter to Manchester: Mancsy paints Valentine’s Day mural at Corn Exchange

Corn Exchange is unveiling a special mural for Valentine’s Day this year: A memorial to Manchester people we’ve “all fallen in love with”.

Painted by local artist Mancsy, ‘Messages from Manchester’ the mural can be found next door to Salvi’s restaurant – adorned with inspired words and famous city faces from codebreakers to comedians.

Emmeline Pankhurst, James Joules, Les Dawson, Tony Wilson, Alan Turing, Rowetta, Caroline Aherne and Foo Foo Lamar were selected for the mural following a social media poll in which people were asked to put forward names of their Mancunian heroes.

A QR code can also be seen alongside the painting – offering passersby the opportunity to make a donation once they’ve posed for a pic, with all proceeds going to We Love Mcr Charity.

Mancsy said he was “thrilled” to get involved with the Valentine’s Day project.

“I’m very excited to be helping the residents of Manchester beat the lockdown blues and bring some positivity to the city,” the artist added.

“I really wanted to convey in my art the history of Manchester, showcasing the people that made it great, as well as give people hope that the city will soon be buzzing again soon with little motivational quotes.”

Liam Mooney, General Manager at Corn Exchange Manchester, said: “In previous years, the Corn Exchange has been filled with couples enjoying romantic meals on Valentine’s Day. 

“With lockdown making things very different this year, we wanted to celebrate by showing our love for Manchester with our very own love letter to the city and its amazing residents throughout history.

“That’s why we partnered with an iconic local based artist to create a mural that can inspire and delight city residents during their daily walks or while they run essential errands.

“We can’t wait to see the reaction on social media and hope to raise some funds to support the amazing work of We Love MCR in the process too.”

Most restaurants in the area are currently closed under national lockdown rules, but a handful of Corn Exchange community members are still open for collection and takeaway.

These include Salvi’s Deli – which is selling a wide variety of Italian produce and coffee – and Vapiano and Gino D’Acampo Restaurant for food orders.