The first of a series of upcoming community events designed to bring Manchester’s old and new neighbourhoods together took place under the railway arches on Red Bank over the weekend.
Hosted by Found, a brand set up by property development company Far East Consortium, the Red Bank Arch Party hosted a range of local food and drink businesses, artists and DJs throughout the day and into the evening.
Whether it was partygoers, families, or creatives there was something for everyone to enjoy – even football fans – as the Green Arches bar screened the England v Ireland game in the evening.
The afternoon was soundtracked by Manchester City’s resident DJ Jamie Anne with Jake Rowbottom and SHADEV taking to the decks later in the day.
Despite the unsurprising lack of sunshine, the rain steered clear and it was instead bakehouse Half Dozen Other were cooking up a storm on the BBQ.
Their menu for the day included burgers, hotdogs plus a couple of veggie and vegan options starting at £8, alongside their usual offerings.
Other choices for partygoers included coffee from local chain Foundation, beer from Green Arches, mocktails mixed by Love From and even chocolate-topped waffle sticks from Drip & Drizzle.
The railway arches just off Faber Street and Red Bank in the Green Quarter was acquired by FEC in 2019 with Half Dozen Other opening in a separate building on the site in 2023.
Developers are hoping to take inspiration from the New York High Line by transforming the disused railway line above into a public garden.
Foundation Coffee already caught the memo, hiking the price of a Flat White to £3.50 at the point of payment despite listing it at a reasonable £2.70 on their menu at the event… almost as if we were actually in New York!
Away from food and drink, creatives were in the spotlight outside BlackOwned Studios as local artists Benjamin Rock and Dan captured the prominent brickwork of the Victorian-built railway arches on canvas.
“For me, painting live at events pushes me creatively and just time management-wise and also it’s just a really nice community,” Dan explained, as she began to outline the foreground on top of the striking red arches portrayed on the canvas.
“Being in this space with people who also make things is very inspiring and I feel like you get lots of ideas and its just nice to meet people in the city that you live in who do the things that you do.”
Benjamin, who has painted live on the streets of Manchester for more than10 years, said: “I was invited to come down here by Heads UK and I’ve never actually painted the arches of this area of Manchester and its one of the perspectives that I really like.
“I’m a plein air artist, so I paint live on the streets of Manchester…so I’ve always got a brolly!”
The event also featured a limited number of market stalls from local creatives who were selling handmade designs and original art.
Emerging Manchester street artist Joe Blackwell was taking those at his stall on a journey of discovery, discussing the heavy themes that inspire his unique designs inspired by the convergence of pop art and street art.
“I don’t usually do market stalls but it’s really cool and if people like the work and like the story behind it and connect with it then that’s good,” Blackwell explained.
“It’s nice to meet people who are like-minded, they like art, they like this kind of environment.”
Found is set to host a second event in time for the end of astronomical summer on September 19 at Angel Meadow Park which promises candle-lit serenades of some of Manchester’s favourite anthems with tickets starting from £6.
