Vertical Gallery

During our student’s final year, by means of an open call, we invite proposals for the Benzie Vertical Gallery space. The Gallery is situated at the entrance to the School of Art’s Benzie building and is a vast space comprising of wood, metal, glass and concrete, with large walls, platforms and intricate walkways.

As the space is so visually demanding, students are encouraged to be ambitious and further develop their work for the space. The philosophy of this exhibit is simply to enable students to propose, pitch and create work in a competitive commission process. As well as writing the proposal, students also deliver a presentation to a panel and beyond this, if successful, the students will work closely with the gallery team until opening night. This opportunity also comes with financial support to enable our students to create ambitious commissions should their proposal be successful.

We aim to represent all of the courses within the Manchester School of Art family, including; Manchester Fashion Institute and Manchester School of Architecture. Only then are our visitors able to see the breadth of the disciplines that make up our community and the exciting practices and collaborations forming within them.

Due to Covid-19 restrictions, we paused the process in its first stages. This area features the work from those students who made proposals at that first stage. Whilst it’s not wholly representative of our wider courses, the work that has been created during isolation is too good not to be featured. Students have used any means available them to create their work, and like many of the students across the UK, they have overcome these challenges creatively.

These and all of our students have worked incredibly hard, they have displayed resilience and professionalism, and we are proud to have worked with them during these challenging times.