Unit X Open Studios

4pm—7pm

Unit X Open Studios is a celebration of ambitious, collaborative practice across the School of Art and Design at Manchester School of Art.

The exhibition presents work developed through Unit X by students working across programmes, departments and in partnership with external organisations. It reflects a culture of collaboration that is central to our approach: connecting disciplines, testing ideas and responding to real world contexts.

The projects on display span a wide range of themes and formats. Together they demonstrate thoughtful, innovative responses to contemporary challenges, shaped through dialogue, experimentation and shared expertise.

About Unit X
Projects: BA Year 1
Projects: BA Year 2

Projects: BA Year 1

Our first-year students have collaborated on live briefs and experimental commissions, working with external partners to develop creative responses.

Micro, Macro, Matter

BA1

BA Craft

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Super-Collider

BA1

BA Graphic Design

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There Will Always Be Ideas Worth Fighting For

BA1

BA Illustration with Animation

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Future Encounters

BA1

BA Interior Design

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Vitsœ

BA1

BA Product Design

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Symbiosis

BA1

BA Textiles in Practice

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Projects: BA Year 2

Youth State is an experimental civic project led by Year 2 students at Manchester School of Art.

Over eight weeks, students formed ministries, departments and offices to test how young people might govern differently. Working with artists, designers, researchers and community partners, they explored voice, belonging, archives, futures, ecology and waste as sites of collective decision making.

Each ministry operated with its own agenda, collaborators and public outcomes. Together, they form Youth State: a living prototype for alternative governance.