Contributed by Alice Litchfield on 11.05.2016

An Article about the opening of the Manchester Museum's new exhibition Climate Control. Written by Alice Litchfield 

In early 2016 Manchester committed itself to becoming a zero carbon city by 2050, in order to do this the whole city needs to be engaged and so exhibitions such as Climate Control have been established. On Tuesday 10th May, Manchester Museum opened its doors later than usual for an event celebrating the start of their new exhibition - Climate Control and it was opened by fashion designer, activist and founder of Climate Revolution, Dame Vivienne Westwood.

Climate control is run by Manchester Museum and will be hosting a series of exhibitions and events focusing on Climate Change. The events will be for visitors to explore the future they wish to have and the practical action they need to take in order to achieve this. It is a project developed in partnership with the Tyndall Centre and Global Development Institute at the University of Manchester, and Manchester: A Certain Future. Climate Control is the Museum’s main contribution towards the involvement of Manchester as the European City of Science. The events run from 11th May to 4th September and are free so be sure to visit when you can, it proves to be a highly engaging and successful period.

Last night, Dame Vivienne Westwood passionately spoke about her goals and what she believes are the actions we need to take to tackle Climate Change. Her goal is to build a green economy which encompasses the idea that there will be a fair distribution of wealth and the economic system will not be based on fossil fuels. In order for this to work a community of care needs to be built; everyone should have the right to life and no one should experience poverty. She wants to create a society of comfort and culture but not of consumption. Westwood’s strong message was to create a community, bringing people together to fight Climate Change as one. We should find ways to connect with each other and create freedom fighting. 

The event was successful with a vast audience turning out to hear both Vivienne Westwood’s contribution but also to preview the Climate Control exhibition inside the museum. The diversity of the audience was also positive so the message could be spread further to all different groups in society and it was excellent to see the Museum occupied by people who may not normally use that space. Manchester has an incredible history of culture and sport amongst other things and we are exceptionally well positioned to take a leading stance in the fight against Climate Change. The final message of the event by Westwood was to go away and think about the role you as an individual has and how you can bring people together.

Use the #MMClimateControl to find out more and be part of the experience