20:TWENTY

On 3 October 1985, Cornerhouse opened its doors to the public. As the city's first international contemporary art centre, it would maintain its position as a focal point for social interaction and debate around the most pressing issues of the time, with important perspectives presented in film, visual and moving image art and publications. The artistic programme at Cornerhouse, well known for its multi-disciplinary, radical, experimental, diverse, and inclusive content, is now recognised as an important building block for the contemporary arts in the region. Reputedly the first place to serve cappuccino in Manchester, and 'the' café to hang out in and meet up before a long weekend of music at Hacienda, it remains a hub of artistic intensity.

The first exhibition at Cornerhouse was curated by Norbert Lynton. Human Interest included 110 artists, was on view in Galleries 1, 2, and 3 for six weeks, and attracted a record breaking 26,000 viewers! Since 1985, more than 2,000 artists have been presented in approximately 240 solo, group and themed exhibitions. Guest curators based regionally, nationally and internationally have participated in the organisation of its shows.

Collaborative ventures and co-produced exhibitions, commissions and events, lectures and parties have spanned the spectrum of its artistic activity. The organisation has had its well known financial ups and downs affecting the exhibition programme and staff, but it rebounded in ambitious and creative ways, always presenting a confident and strategic perspective to the public.

The archival exhibition 20:TWENTY is a timeline of all gallery exhibitions and projects at Cornerhouse. It is a reflection on the history of the gallery exhibition programme, and is the first step towards an analysis of the sometimes controversial exhibition programme. The materials gathered from our research, from existing files and folders - from boxes of photographs and books of unlabeled slides, to put together this timeline proved to be quite incomplete. Many exhibitions have no materials on file in any form, making it necessary to seek clarification from the former staff. Along with the physical evidence on hand, the reconstruction of the programme was made more specific from interviews and discussion with Exhibition Directors Sue Grayson Ford, Stephen Snoddy and Paul Bayley; Exhibition organisers Bev Bytheway and Kate Jesson; Education Director, Sue Clive and institutional directors Dewi Lewis and Virginia Tandy.

From our discussions and encounters with former colleagues, we learned that Manchester was a very different city in 1985. There was a definite desire to encounter cultural activity -The Castlefield Gallery (an artists' collective) and Greenroom (our neighbouring performance art centre) both started an active public programme in 1984. The Chinese Arts Centre and the GMEX centre both opened in 1986. But until Cornerhouse, there was no contemporary art centre in the Northwest region. Cornerhouse galvanised a leading edge audience, with an open attitude towards non-conventional art and a hunger for experimental work. It was 'the' mandatory experience for all working artists, art students and progressive cultural pundits then, as it is now. Kathy Rae Huffman

20:TWENTY
A Timeline of Cornerhouse Exhibitions 1985 - 2005

Ausstellungen (Auswahl):

HUMAN INTEREST - 50 Years of British Art about People
Date: 3/10/1985 - 17/11/1985
Kurator: Norbert Lynton

Künstler: Adrian Wisniewski, Alfred Daniels, Allen Jones, Amanda Faulkner, Ana Maria Pacheco, Andrzej Jackowski, Anthony Caro, Anthony Fry, Anthony Green, Antony Gormley, Bert Hardy, Bill Brandt, Brian Griffin, Bruce McLean, Carel Weight, Caroline Mardon, Ceri Richards, Chris Killip, Craigie Aitchison, Dame Laura Knight, Daniel Meadows, David Buckland, David Chadwick, David Hockney, David Redfern, Dennis Creffield, Don McCullin, Eduardo Paolozzi, Edward Burra, Eileen Agar, Eileen Cooper, Euan Uglow, Evelyn Williams, Francis Bacon, Frank Auerbach, George Fullard, Glynn Williams, Graham Smith, Helen Chadwick, Henry Inlander, Henry Moore, Hilary Cartmel, Humphrey Spender, Ian Berry, Jack Crabtree, Jack Smith, Jacob Epstein, Jo Spence, Jock McFadyen, John Armstrong, John Bellany, John Cobb, John Davies, John Harris, Josef Herman, Katherine Gili, Keith Vaughan, Ken Kiff, Kenneth Armitage, L S Lowry, Leon Kossoff, Leonard McComb, Leslie Duxbury, Lucian Freud, Mac Adams, Maggi Hambling, Mark Gerson, Mark Power, Marty St James & Anne Wilson, Michael Andrews, Michael Kenny, Neil Jefferies, Nick Hedges, Patrick George, Patrick Hayman, Paul Butler, Paul Hill, Paul Waplington, Paula Rego, Peter Clarke, Peter de Francia, Peter Kinley, Peter Peri, Ronald B. Kitaj, Richard Greenhill, Richard Hamilton, Rita Donagh, Robert Colquhoun, Roger Hilton, Roger Mayne, Roland Penrose, Rose Garrard, Sirkka-Liisa Konttinen, Stanley Spencer, Stephen Buckley, Stephen Campbell, Stephen Willats, Steven Payne, Sue Coe, Susan Hiller, Terry Atkinson, Timothy Hyman, Tom Phillips, Tony Bevan, Tony Ray-Jones, Vanley Burke, Victor Pasmore, William Coldstream, William Roberts

COMIC ICONOCLASM
Date: 12/1/1988 - 21/2/1988
Curated by: Sheena Wagstaff
Artists: A. R. Penck, Ad Reinhardt, Alexis Smith, Andy Warhol, Bertrand Lavier, Claes Oldenburg, Colin Self, Crash, David Salle, Douglas Walker, Ed Ruscha, Eduardo Paolozzi, Edward Allington, Elizabeth Murray, Erró, Fischli / Weiss, Glenn Sujo, Graham Crowley, Gretchen Bender, Gudrun von Maltzan, Hairy Who, Herve Telemaque, Jasper Johns, Jean Dubuffet, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Jeffrey Dennis, Jerry Kearns, Jess, Jim Nutt, John Wesley, Julian Opie, Julie Wachtel, Karl Wirsum, Keith Haring, Kenny Scharf, Lawrence Weiner, Lydia Schouten, Markus Raetz, Matta, Maurice Lemaitre, Michael & Magdalena Frimkess, Michael Sandle, Nicholas Moufaregge, Öyvind Fahlström, Pablo Picasso, Patricia Gadea, Paul Blanca, Peter Blake, Peter Saul, Philip Guston, Philip Pearlstein, Pierre Alechinsky, Rammellzee, Ray Yoshida, Richard Hamilton, Richard Pettibone, Robert Combas, Robert Rauschenberg, Roberto Altmann, Roger Brown, Ronnie Cutrone, Rosemarie Trockel, Roy Lichtenstein, Sigmar Polke, Steve Gianakos, Susan Smith, Suzan Pitt, Tam Joseph, Valerio Adami, Vernon Fisher, William Snyder

THOMAS RUFF: Portraits
Date: 11/2/1989 - 11/3/1989
Curated by: Gerald Deslandes
Artists: Thomas Ruff

ADRIAN PIPER
Date: 18/1/1992 - 23/2/1992
Curated by: Donald G. Rodney, Elizabeth Ann McGregor
Artists: Adrian Piper

ARCHIGRAM - Experimental Architecture 1961 - 1973
Date: 9/1/1998 - 15/2/1998
Curated by: Paul Bayley
Artists: Archigram , David Greene, Dennis Crompton, Mike Webb, Peter Cook, Ron Herron, Warren Chalk

THINKING ALOUD
Date: 9/1/1999 - 28/2/1999
Curated by: Richard Wentworth
Artists: Andreas Gursky, Bernd und Hilla Becher, Brassaï, Francis Alÿs, Frank O. Gehry, Julian Opie, Mariele Neudecker, Patrick Caulfield, Rachel Whiteread, Tim Head, Walker Evans

DIARY - Different approaches to diary-making
Date: 15/1/2000 - 12/3/2000
Curated by: Margot Heller
Artists: Adam Dant, Annelies Strba, Christian Boltanski, Christoph Fink, Darren Almond, David Shrigley, Elke Krystufek, Emma Kay, Gabriel Orozco, Georgina Starr, Hanne Darboven, Hiroshi Sugimoto, Ian Breakwell, Jane Gifford, Jeremy Deller, Jim Shaw, John Baldessari, Jonathan Monk, Lily van der Stokker, Mary Kelly, Maura Biava, Michael Landy, Nathalie Lecroc, On Kawara, Rachel Lowe, Richard Long, Rosa Almeida, Tracey Emin, Tracey Moffatt, Yukinori Yanagi

REAL TIME STREAMING - Eleanor Antin
Date: 3/3/2001 - 22/4/2001
Curated by: Rachael Thomas
Artists: Eleanor Antin

MELANIE MANCHOT - Love is a Stranger
Date: 12/1/2002 - 24/2/2002
Curated by: Kate Jesson
Artists: Melanie Manchot

LISTEN TO BRITAIN - Works by Victor Burgin
Date: 11/1/2003 - 23/2/2003
Curated by: Catsou Roberts
Artists: Victor Burgin

ZINEB SEDIRA - Telling Stories with Differences
Date: 10/1/2004 - 22/2/2004
Curated by: Kathy Rae Huffman
Artists: Zineb Sedira

EVA WOHLGEMUTH - Bodyscan: Instandstillness
Date: 22/1/2005 - 6/3/2005
Curated by: Kathy Rae Huffman
Artists: Eva Wohlgemuth