What do a colourful sculpture at Salford Quays, a light installation in Castlefield, and a trendy bar and restaurant in the city centre have in common? It’s not that they combine to make an excellent day out in Manchester – though they do – it’s that they were all, in some part, brought to life by the people at M3 Industries.
Located in a huge, hangar-like warehouse around the back of Salford’s Islington Mill, M3 Industries have spent the last decade and acting a bit like the fairy godmothers of the Manchester hospitality and culture scene. A group of artists who are pretty handy at making things, and makers who have an arty streak, these guys are responsible for some of your favourite bars, restaurants and galleries in Manchester. You just probably haven’t realised it yet.
Business partners Aaron and Simon have art backgrounds, but formed M3 Industries because they were being approached to realise large scale projects for their friends in the hospitality and arts scenes. One or two projects became a constant roster, and now you’re lucky if you can book them in for a job.
If you’ve ever enjoyed a beer or small plate at an impressive, multi-kitchen party place Exhibition or enjoyed a cocktail and cabaret at the Gay Village’s Maya, you’ll have admired some of their creative handiwork, from impressive custom light-boxes to lavish booths to eye-catching A-boards. When we arrive at M3, we find Aaron manoeuvring around a 6ft tall head made of lasercut layers of cardboard, created for an (admittedly low-budget) Spanish sci-fi programme. We were immediately intrigued.
Elsewhere, you might have seen one of their large-scale collaborations with artist Liz West. Her vast, geometric sculptures have had residencies in Salford Quays as well as further afield in King’s Cross, Westminster and Yorkshire Sculpture Park. From a triangular corridor of light and colour which visitors can walk through, to a room full of cascading mirrored discs, West imagines whimsical spaces, and M3 build them. Shiny things, curved things, mirrored things, they’re on it. ‘Art fabricators’ is what they call themselves.
Using everything from traditional carpentry to 3D printing, they’ve worked with the likes of Manchester International Festival, having created a custom, gallery-sized screen on which to project Forensic Architecture’s 2021 work ‘Cloud Studies’. More recently, they created neon poetry fragments displayed audaciously on the walls of Manchester’s Roman ruins for MIF 2023. In short, it’s a mixed bag.
So what next? Aaron says they ‘might be’ creating the world’s largest disco ball. He’s also keen to make it clear they do little jobs too. So whether you’re looking to realise a larger-than-life holographic tunnel, or simply want a really nice A-board for your cafe, why not pay a visit to M3?
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