The World at your fingertips...
Salford University’s Digital Retro open day (14th December) was a one off event charting the evolution of the domestic computer. I was pretty sure that I was going to be a fish out of water so to speak, but with a positive attitude and a quick brush up on my limited technology skills I headed over. When I arrived I was greeted by a nostalgic selection of computers and software in full working order all available to use. With a large queue of people waiting to take their turn on the Atari ST and the Commodore I found my place with a 1986 Apple Mac and a game of Mahjong. I then worked my way upwards through the decades till I finally came across the 2007 Microsoft table touch screen. I had much fun playing with the fully interactive touch screen and, with the help of Google Earth, at one point literally had the world at my fingertips.
I had a brilliant time but this event was a one off, more about introducing the university’s IT department to current and prospective students.
Not all events are this targeted. Greater Manchester’s Universities and colleges have a wide programme of public shows brimming with fresh ideas and new approaches.
A new media art project was recently produced by Salford University. The project was devised and produced by the students and celebrated the creativity of the local community aswell. A Salford tower block was lit up with a multi-coloured light show pulsing in time to music and sound. The university is also currently staging Op, Pop & Triple Pop, an exhibition of paintings which includes a piece by David Hockney. Other regional highlights include The Winter Fair Trade festival at Bolton University and the Somatic Practice and Lines of Flight, a mixed media exhibition exploring the creative process at Manchester Metropolitan University.
As many of the universities have a wide spread of off site educational facilities the events are never just contained to campus. You can find a great selection of productions happening all across Greater Manchester. There are a wide range of venues that are part of Manchester University, like The Martin Harris Centre, where you can enjoy everything from music and drama to literature events and talks, or the Whitworth Art Gallery which exhibits both traditional and contemporary visual arts. MMU presents an excellent selection of productions at Capitol Theatre and regularly stages a mix of exhibitions including its end of year degree show at The Holden Gallery. Salford University also has a dedicated Arts Unit that utilises local venues in and around the campus to highlight work from university staff, students and visiting professionals. Broadly divided into contemporary art, music and participatory arts you can see some of the shows within venues such as The Egg at Media City and Salford’s Church of St Philip.
So if you want to feel like you have the world at your fingertips head down to your local university for new and exciting experiences.