Part of Manchester’s maligned ‘Berlin Wall’ could appear in an art gallery for its ‘historical importance’ - and a piece of it could be yours if you ask for it.
That's according to Councillor Pat Karney, the council’s city centre spokesperson and perhaps the staunchest critic of Tadao Ando’s modernist creation in Piccadilly Gardens.
It has divided opinion ever since it won an international design competition launched in the aftermath of the 1996 IRA bombing in Manchester.
Coun Karney said he will be saving broken parts of the wall, which is the renowned Japanese architect’s only building in the UK, after its demolition today.
He also suggested the graffiti reading ‘the north is not a petri dish’ could be replicated on a larger piece that could also be kept.
The message was daubed on the wall in response to the mounting tensions between Greater Manchester leaders and the government over lockdown measures.
Coun Karney said: “People love the graffiti as it marks the moment that we made a stand.
“It’s got historical importance, and I’ve been asked to save some pieces back.
“I’ve spoken to the guy who did the graffiti and we want to save him a square slab so he can do a miniature version.
“Hopefully it could be put in the Manchester Art Gallery, or Andy Burnham's garden.”
When asked if it was right to only consider the wall as art once demolished and covered in graffiti, the Labour councillor argues that the structure should never have been built in the first place.
Some have spoken up against it, with the The Modernist Society arguing that the wall has been used as a ‘whipping boy’ for wider problems in the Gardens.
But by getting rid of it, Coun Karney said Manchester council could progress wider plans to regenerate Piccadilly Gardens and surrounding areas, which could cost up to £10m.
It is also hoped that police will have better ‘sight lines’ to monitor what has become a hotspot for drug-dealing, drug use and violence.
Coun Karney said: “We want to show that we are serious about the Gardens and making it a place where people want to go and can be proud of.”
Manchester Art Gallery, which is run by the council, has been made aware of the proposals though no detailed conversations have been had.
It has been suggested that there is interest within the council to retain part of the wall for its archives with a view for potential future display.
