After some light shopping and a what can only be described as a heavy lunch it was on to the Manchester Art Gallery for some cultural exploration.
Manchester Art Gallery houses a vast collection, displaying works from the likes of Turner to the 20th century great Terence Conran, with works spanning over three centuries the endless gallery are crammed with beautiful pieces to appreciate.
A personal Favourite of this visit were the Empire Marketing Board Posters.
This exhibition is part of a major project working with women who have migrated to the North-West of England from all over the world. The women, drawn from a range of diverse backgrounds, are working with artists’ collective UHC (Ultimate Holding Company) to co-curate a display featuring and inspired by Manchester City Galleries’ collection of Empire Marketing Board Posters.
The posters displayed were produced by the Empire Marketing Board, a promotional body set up by the British government in 1926. They are large, colourful lithographic prints, which are now regarded as a rare example of peace time government propaganda. Each set of posters promotes a way of thinking about the Empire
As with any cultural material, however, their meaning has changed over time and the poster collection today is subject to quite different readings from those originally intended and Manchester Art Gallery helps to present these posters in both a critical and creative light.
Understanding personal experiences of belonging in relation to these posters was some what eye opening, with Britain being a multicultural society and the strength of patriotism ever growing especially in the lead up to the olympics, it is interesting to understand how belonging to a society means more than holding a passport.
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