Ian McKay - Project Lead Artist
From round 'ere
Gorton Visual Arts have been creating artwork that
represents their local community since 2006. Meeting once
a week at Collier House in Gorton the work celebrates the ‘ERE
history of Gorton and its surrounding areas, sharing personal
experiences and stories. This is a community engagement
project that involves the elderly, vulnerable adults and
residents with learning difficulties.
The organisation is volunteer lead by Ian McKay and earlier this year he developed a social history project called ‘From round ere’. The aim to produce a collective piece of artwork which is centered on the 12 football players of St Mark’s Church, West Gorton - the predecessor to Manchester City Football Club.
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From 1880 St Mark’s took on several incarnations and by 1884 they had beome Gorton AFC. These are the years that the visual arts group focused their attentions.
Examining not only the design aspects of a series of magnified Panini style stickers featuring team members on each canvas, they surrouned each player amongst a backdrop containing aspects of life from this period.
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The players dipictions are portrayed from archive photographs of the team. They are annoymous as reports at the time didn’t contain the players full names; they added initials but even this was not consistent. However, the annonimaty allowed for greater interpretaion in the detailing and scene setting.
The correlation of the footballer placed within the illustrated detail of West Gorton in the 1800’s reveals an insight into why football developed such cultural significance within working class towns and cities.
The industrial revolution bought rapid growth and huge changes to East Manchester. The combination of factories, mills and housing to accommodate the workers had a significant impact on the appearance and character of the area. West Gorton became well known for its jerry buildings and poor living conditions; the area was plagued by Scuttlers - young men engaging in gang fights, their weapons were belt buckles, stones, slings & knives. Community leaders worked hard to improve the situation with the formation of outlets such as Lads Clubs.
From 1880 St Mark’s Church in Clowes Street, West Gorton formed an association football team, along with other sporting activities it was hoped that young men could channel their energies in a more positive way. It was well recieved and fixtures were organised with other teams. The first reported game for St Mark’s was played at a Farmer’s Field on the 13th November 1880 with thier opponents Macclesfield Baptists. The result...
St Mark’s 1
Macclesfield 2
Football had a positive impact, by appealing to young men to take part and diverting their attentions from scuttling, the benefits to the community were immeasurable. It also provides an indication of how football has become so
precious to many of us. It’s routes are grounded in community
organisations such as the church, Along with the exercise, It
promoted a healthier outlet for competition. It also created pride in place and a sense of belonging, factors that are powerful elements in football supporters today.
Gorton Visual Arts echo this sense of belonging in all of their projects. By celebrating the cultural identity of Gorton and displaying this art within the community it is
accessed by a broad audience and helps to maintian a connection with their routes. The work gives an increased understanding to the community of who they are and where they come from.
The ‘From Round Ere’ exhibition is currently being displayed at the Library, Gorton Hub, Garratt Way, M18 8HE.
