Music for the Senses
Manchester
7 July – 31 August 2025
An art arrangement for a musical city.
Manchester is the place for music, and this summer, while the city celebrates an incredible line up of musical talent, Wild in Art – the team behind the award-winning Bee in the City – will take over the streets with a brand new art trail, Music for the Senses: an art arrangement for a musical city.
Created in collaboration with Manchester City Council, the trail will run from 7 July – 31 August 2025.
The trail will feature artworks, exhibitions and installations that celebrate the people, places, moments and instruments of Manchester’s music scene.
At the heart of Music for the Senses is Guitar Street, an interactive installation on a to-be-revealed city centre street by Manchester artist Liam Hopkins, known as Lazerian. Liam’s artwork will lovingly repurpose broken guitars, donated by members of the public.
Meanwhile, additional unusable guitars will be painted or adorned by professional artists, turning them into individual artworks, and displayed in shop windows and venues around the city. The first artists announced are Hammo and Danielle Rhoda.
At the end of the trail the decorated guitars will be auctioned to raise money to support grassroots music projects and venues throughout Greater Manchester via a dedicated music fund managed by our charity partner Forever Manchester, in collaboration with key music partners in the city.
At the heart of Music for the Senses is Guitar Street, an interactive installation on a to-be-revealed city centre street by Manchester artist Liam Hopkins, known as Lazerian. Liam’s artwork will lovingly repurpose broken guitars, donated by members of the public.
Meanwhile, additional unusable guitars will be painted or adorned by professional artists, turning them into individual artworks, and displayed in shop windows and venues around the city. The first artists announced are Hammo and Danielle Rhoda.
At the end of the trail the decorated guitars will be auctioned to raise money to support grassroots music projects and venues throughout Greater Manchester via a dedicated music fund managed by our charity partner Forever Manchester, in collaboration with key music partners in the city.
Guitar Amnesty: Donate your unused guitars!
Do you have an old guitar gathering dust in the loft or garage? A broken or unused instrument that’s lost its song? Now’s the time to give it a new lease of life!
The call is now open for the people of Manchester to contribute instruments, whether they be new, old, broken or revered, to become part of the trail.
Get Involved
Sponsorship
A range of sponsorship opportunities are available and businesses across Manchester are invited to step forward to support the event and sponsor the artwork on display. For more information on sponsorship please contact Julie Gaskell, Wild in Art’s Head of Partnerships: hello@musicforthesenses.co.uk
Schools
We are exploring options for schools to get involved. Please register your interest and we’ll be in touch as plans develop.
Artists
At the heart of Music for the Senses is Guitar Art which will see more than 50 acoustic and electric transformed by artists into individual artworks which will be displayed in shop windows and venues around the city.
The open call for Music for the Senses has now ended. Thank you to all who submitted designs.
Supporting Grassroots Music
Forever Manchester is Greater Manchester’s Community Foundation, the only charity that raises money to fund and support community activity across Greater Manchester.
Since Forever Manchester was established in 1989 it has delivered over £65m into local communities, supporting over 1,300 community projects in Greater Manchester each year.
At the end of the trail the decorated guitars will be auctioned to raise money to support grassroots music projects and venues throughout Greater Manchester via a dedicated music fund managed by Forever Manchester, in collaboration with key music partners in the city.
Images: David Oates Photography, Chris Hepburn/iStock, Lightfield Studios/Shutterstock
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