Manchester’s The Warehouse Project is marking its 20th anniversary with a major cultural retrospective including a new film, podcast series, photography exhibition and print magazine as it prepares to launch its WHP26 season this September.
The influential clubbing brand, which began life at Boddington’s Strangeways Brewery in 2006 before moving through Store Street to its current home at Depot Mayfield, said the anniversary season would celebrate “two decades at the forefront of UK club culture.”
As part of the celebrations, WHP has commissioned a new short film, Twenty Years In Manchester, directed by filmmaker Leigh Powis. The six-minute film combines archive footage with newly-shot material captured on Kodak Ektachrome film and positions Manchester itself as a central character alongside local dancers and clubbers.
The film will premiere online on 29 May, with Apple Music subscribers able to access it 48 hours earlier.
Alongside the film, WHP is launching an outdoor photography exhibition at The Avenue in Spinningfields this summer, a dedicated podcast series exploring untold stories from its history and a new print magazine documenting the artists, spaces and communities that have shaped the project since 2006.
WHP founders Sam Kandel and Richard McGinnis said: “Reaching 20 years is a huge moment for us. The Warehouse Project has always been about progression and pushing the boundaries wherever possible. Since that first event when Public Enemy played the opening night at Boddingtons Brewery we’ve always tried to keep things moving and respond as the music and culture around us has evolved. That feels like only yesterday! We have some truly incredible parties and line-ups in the pipeline for this 20th season, and both feel so proud to still be here in Manchester being able to do this”.
Over the past two decades, WHP has hosted artists including Aphex Twin, Four Tet, Disclosure, Bicep, Fred Again.. and Overmono, helping establish Manchester as one of Europe’s defining nightlife destinations.
The business is also continuing its partnership with Apple Music, which will include exclusive Spatial Audio DJ mixes and, for the first time, select live audio streaming through Apple Music Club. The streaming platform will also host a dedicated WHP archive featuring previously unreleased mixes from across the project’s history.
The WHP26 season launches on 18 September with Kiki, while other shows already announced include Interplanetary Criminal, Hannah Laing, Duke Dumont and Overmono. Several dates have already sold out ahead of the full programme reveal in the coming weeks.
Images by Sophia J Carey and Tanya Hanley.
