The title refers to responses the children gave to the question “Would you rather live in the online
world or the real world forever?” The ability to “respawn” or die and come back to life within console
games was an appealing prospect. Taking the video screen as a blank space of possibility, the
children devised repeat actions to fill it with. These were made in response to other questions, such
as “If you could be a child or an adult forever, which would you be?” Suspended in an eternal loop,
the children explore ideas around texting, telling off, falling over, love letters, sleeping, control,
freedom, re-birth, money, fandom and school.
world or the real world forever?” The ability to “respawn” or die and come back to life within console
games was an appealing prospect. Taking the video screen as a blank space of possibility, the
children devised repeat actions to fill it with. These were made in response to other questions, such
as “If you could be a child or an adult forever, which would you be?” Suspended in an eternal loop,
the children explore ideas around texting, telling off, falling over, love letters, sleeping, control,
freedom, re-birth, money, fandom and school.
Artists: Olivia Glasser with Hamza, Yasmin, Autumn, Ahlaam, Alyan, Osman, Shaheer, Nafiz, Yasser,
Subhan, Jahnae, Zaima, Jannat, Sofia, Aamna, Alasia, Theo, Al-Zahra, Tahani, Hassanur, Zainab,
Sumaya, Gurleen, Artus, Hesam, Zeeshan, Melika, Aaliyah, Joshua, Israr, Tesam, Hamza, Sagal,
Azoobah, Mohammed, Callum, Saffa, Namir, Keeva, Adam, Harris, Kyra, Umays, Inaayah, Zahra,
Rimas, Sakr, Ethan, Arsal, Amina, Dean, Fatuma, Layla, Rezan, Leo, Mihran, Zara and Abdul from
Plymouth Grove Primary School
Subhan, Jahnae, Zaima, Jannat, Sofia, Aamna, Alasia, Theo, Al-Zahra, Tahani, Hassanur, Zainab,
Sumaya, Gurleen, Artus, Hesam, Zeeshan, Melika, Aaliyah, Joshua, Israr, Tesam, Hamza, Sagal,
Azoobah, Mohammed, Callum, Saffa, Namir, Keeva, Adam, Harris, Kyra, Umays, Inaayah, Zahra,
Rimas, Sakr, Ethan, Arsal, Amina, Dean, Fatuma, Layla, Rezan, Leo, Mihran, Zara and Abdul from
Plymouth Grove Primary School
This work was realised across multiple sites in central Manchester, including Manchester Art Gallery, Deansgate Station and 111 Piccadilly
Head to https://www.artfund.org/pages/assembly to see more photos from the day
Art Assembly Manchester was a free one day festival with the theme of City as Art School that championed culture, art and creativity and showed how everywhere has the potential to become a place of creative learning.
Art Assembly was organised by Art Fund with Castlefield Gallery, HOME, Manchester Art Gallery, the Whitworth, and The Manchester College.
On the day of Art Assembly, the children from Plymouth Grove Primary School and I hosted 'Respawning', a workshop within which visitors could explore themes from our commissioned artwork and make their own take-away flipbook.
The children engaged adults and young people alike in the question "Would you rather be an adult or a child forever?"
Child Forever won out in the end! Though we had compelling arguments given from a range of ages, young to old.
I joined comedian Russell Kane and writer/theatre-maker Testament, at HOME in Manchester for a live recording of Art Fund's award-winning podcast Meet Me at the Museum.
This special edition – 'Meet Me at Art Assembly' – was dedicated to the festival and also featured participating artists Raheel Khan, David Blandy and Sally Gilford. Showcasing excerpts from Respawn, I also shared my thoughts on the theme ‘City as Art School’, along with some of my collaborators.
