Meet the Neighbours: The Weekend

Twenty years ago, a few thousand people lived in Manchester City Centre. Today, that figure has reached 65,000 – and like the cranes, it keeps going up.

Thriving, growing, dismantling, reshuffling, Manchester is a prime example of today’s fast-changing cities. But does growth come at a price? And what is happening to neighbourliness amid the chaos of urban change?

This weekend event is an open invitation to be part of a conversation about how we live together. Bringing together a diverse range of practices, approaches and theories – from performance to activism, economics to planning – it will look deeply at the effects of urban growth and explore notions of neighbourliness as a social and artistic practice.

Join us for guided walks, expert provocations, food, music and conversation. We’ll explore the city together, gaining new perspectives and raising important questions about city living and our shared future.

The event is curated by Florian Malzacher and ensemble of artists Quarantine, and produced by the same creative team as the opening event of MIF 2017 What is the City but the People?, which put Mancunians on a bright yellow catwalk above Piccadilly gardens.

Meet the Neighbours: The Weekend will mark the end of a three-year artistic project inviting artists into the heart of rapidly developing cities across Europe and North Africa.

9-10 November 2019

Secret Manchester City Centre locations

Programme

Saturday 9 November, 12 noon – late

The day will begin in secret locations across the city centre. You’ll meet neighbours old and new, venture into places normally unseen, before gathering together for an afternoon of active reflection and future-gazing with provocations from leading thinkers.

In the evening, we’ll meet Manchester’s noisiest neighbours as we end the day with a gig showcasing some of the city’s most exciting musical talent.

Lunch and dinner included

Sunday 10 November, 12 noon – 5pm

On Sunday, we’ll look beyond Manchester to cities across Europe and North Africa that are also experiencing rapid change.

Join us for food and guided conversation with Meet the Neighbours project partners, artists, thinkers and researchers to explore the politics of living together and what it might mean to practice neighbourliness.

We’ll discuss the place of artists in cities; art as a form of social action; and the effect urban growth is having on the arts ecology.

Lunch included

Tickets

Full weekend ticket: £35 (£17.50)

Saturday ticket: £25 (£12.50)

Sunday ticket: £12 (£6)

The event will begin and end in Manchester city centre. You will be given your exact start time and location at least 24 hours before the event begins via email and/or text.

Meet the Neighbours: The Weekend has been made possible with support from Arts Council England, the European Union’s Creative Europe programme, the Rank Foundation, Unity Theatre Trust and Slater Heelis.