Suzanne Lacy

What kind of city?
A manual for social change

The Whitworth presents the first major UK presentation of multiple works of US artist Suzanne Lacy, a pioneer of social practice and community organising for almost five decades. In the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic, What kind of city? has been conceived with the artist as a project that is more than an exhibition, one that takes key works with relevance to our current context and uses them to convene people in order to start new initiatives that will actively help rebuild our city. Working around fundamental themes such as youth agency, borders, social cohesion, and work prospects for older women, the exhibition is designed to operate as an evolving manual for how we create equitable transformation. This underpins a new direction of travel for the Whitworth, as an institution that actively works for and with people across the city, one that begins with the question: after Covid, what kind of city can we make together?

Thanks again to my friends at the Whitworth for asking me to document the event opening and associated artist’s talk.