In post-pandemic England, Manchester College decided to launch their new Openshaw Campus with a visual commemoration of the challenges and triumphs their students experienced in 2020.

They enlisted a curator to work with a student panel to select and commission an artist to interpret a brief through a 7 x 9 metre mural. The curator then collaborated with artist Zoë Power as she created a “visual time capsule,” encapsulating the feelings, fears, and hopes for the future of Manchester College students and staff throughout the pandemic.

Although the mural was briefed to represent the challenges of the pandemic, the predominant theme was hope, opportunity, and aspiration. The mural depicts the tenacity of the students and the support of their staff, highlighting their combined efforts to uplift each other within their educational community. It also reflects the reconnection and healing people found in nature during lockdown, and the positivity students demonstrated in the face of adversity.

The mural represents how staff encouraged students toward ambition, with the figures supporting one another and eventually reaching liberation.