The Modernist

Benjamin Disraeli is remembered for many things. Not least as one of the central architects in the development and establishment of contemporary Conservative politics as we know them today. As such, his name is rarely recalled with much affection in our city — a place where socialism, workers rights, and left wing perspectives have always reigned supreme. Nevertheless, Disraeli had a real soft spot for our hometown, and viewed it as the world’s most forward thinking metropolis during the mid-1800s. “What Manchester does today, the world does tomorrow” he famously quipped, a phrase which helped establish a reputation as the planet’s first truly modern city. 

Almost 200 years later and a lot has changed, but in a corner of the Northern Quarter genuinely revolutionary things are still taking place. Blink-and-you-could-miss-it, The Modernist is a small scale shop with very big ideas. On the one hand, it’s a magazine store that specialises in publications that deal with subjects such as the built environment, architecture, solution design, and social theory. It also sells wonderful merchandise and paraphernalia, some designed by the team themselves. This includes pin badges, homewares, t-shirts, badges, cards, maps and stationary, all celebrating — and often playing with — the modernist aesthetic. 

That’s only really part of the story, though. This is the Modernist Society’s HQ, which organises “city mooches, talks, film screenings and exhibitions”, and supports a network of chapters in major cities across the UK. One of the most significant elements of this output is the critically acclaimed and gloriously realised magazine, The Modernist, which focuses content on unique perspectives relating to 20th-century architecture and design. Arguably one of the most fascinating addresses in one of the most fascinating neighbourhoods in Manchester, this should be an essential destination for anyone with even a remote interest in the relationship between places, people, society and civilisation.