Every Cloud: Ten Years After the Bomb

15 June 2006 – 18 March 2007

New Exhibition at Urbis Marks Manchester Renaissance

Ten years after the IRA devastated , Urbis opens a new exhibition that remembers the moments after 11.20hrs on 15th June 1996, when the bomb exploded. Every Cloud: Manchester Ten Years After the Bomb will recreate the huge dust-cloud described at the time by eye-witnesses, made with 80,000 pieces of paper by local schoolchildren. It will feature new interviews with local people who remember the moments after the explosion, as well as footage from the past. Curated by Phil Griffin and Urbis, the exhibition runs from 15 June to December.

Urbis was built on the bomb site. Like many cities throughout world history, the area now known as to the North of Manchester, was regenerated as a consequence of the bomb - the second biggest ever explosion on mainland Britain.

Vaughan Allen, Chief Executive of Urbis commented: ‘The evolution of cities through conflict has been a fact since civilization began and it seemed fitting that Urbis, the only exhibition centre in the UK dedicated to making sense of the city, should mark such an important time in Manchester’s history, and in the lives of people who experienced that terrible day.’

Every Cloud: Manchester Ten Years After the Bomb also marks the launch of a new Manchester Floor at Urbis, dedicated to its city now and in the future, and a new summer programme of events and activities that showcase contemporary creative Manchester. Vaughan Allen continued: ‘The history of Manchester is well-served by the cultural institutions of the city. Urbis takes up the story where they leave it and our new Manchester Floor will be a fantastic addition to the cultural life of the city, focussing on the people who make it what it is now and what it will become. The whole building will throb this summer in one enormous celebration of the rare and brilliant essence of Mancunians.’

A full programme of Manchester-focussed events and activities at Urbis including talks, food, walks, workshops and music is available.

Funding for Every Cloud: Manchester Ten Years After the Bomb has been provided by the Zochonis Charitable Trust.

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For further information and images contact Anita Morris at Anita Morris Associates on 01943 603311 (mobile 07976 584592) or email [email protected] Notes to Editors: Urbis, Cathedral Gardens, Manchester M4 3BG. Open 7 days a week, 10.00am - 6.00pm, open until 8pm Thursday, Friday, Saturday Closed Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Day Entry to Urbis is free. Tel: 0161 605 8200 [email protected] | www.urbis.org.uk

1. Phil Griffin. Manchester-based, architectural journalist Phil Griffin was born in Ancoats in 1951. He worked as a presenter and reporter on Piccadilly Radio when it opened in 1974. He was a researcher, producer and director with Granada Television from 1978 to 1989. In 2000 he presented a series of short pieces about North West buildings for Granada Tonight. 2. Urbis examines, explains and celebrates city life through the experiences and cultures of the people living there. It is about city lives, city voices and city people. With four floors of evolving displays, dedicated to the modern and future city, and an ambitious events programme, Urbis is about covering what’s new, original, and interesting about city life, and covering it first. 3. The bomb that exploded in the centre of Manchester on 15 June 1996 was the second largest used by the IRA in an attack on the British mainland. Although no one was killed in the blast, the device caused massive damage to the Arndale shopping centre - smashing almost every window in a half-mile radius. And the explosion was so powerful it could be heard several miles away. Police managed to evacuate 75,000 people from the busy shopping area after receiving a warning, but 200 people were still injured in the attack. It caused damage estimated at up to £700m.

In the last 10 years, the parts of the city which were destroyed have been completely redesigned and rebuilt and the centre of Manchester is once again a thriving international city.