Neglected Manchester ginnel blossoms into a vibrant art gallery overflowing with greenery
18.06.2023 - 08:15
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
A passage in South Manchester overrun with fly-tipping waste has been completely transformed by a community.
The ginnel in Moss Side, Manchester, has been reborn as an oasis of shrubbery and flowers. There's also an art exhibition here.
DR.ME, a Manchester-based design studio, added artworks made up of perspex typographic mirrors featuring lyrics and quotes from notable Mancunians.
READ MORE: Residents work together to transform neglected alleyway into green oasis
Named Reflective Passage, the gallery honours house music pioneer A Guy Called Gerald, novelist Anthony Burgess, R&B group Cleopatra, Thin Lizzy’s late frontman Phil Lynott and peace activist Erinma Bell.
Running between Acomb Street and Crofton Street, the gallery also honours suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst, former lord mayor Roy Walters, composer Barry Adamson, boxing trainer Phil Martin, and DJ Lavender Rodriguez.
Mark Edwards - who co-owns DR.ME with best friend Ryan Doyle - moved into the area with his wife, Anita, in 2019, before the couple realised their ginnel was a fly-tipping hotspot.
But after a couple of months, Mark began his greening efforts by re-appropriating fly-tipped items like baths, sinks and even toy cars and turning them into large planters.
“I decided to try and make a change by building planters around the bins so there was less space for fly-tipping to occur - it worked so I simply carried on,” Mark told the Manchester Evening News. “Gardening has only really been something I’ve come to since we moved here, having more outdoor space (I lived in a 6th-floor flat previously) has definitely had an influence.”
The fly-tipping reduced drastically, and Mark decided he wanted to add the artwork (with the help of Manchester arts and