Assemble, a collective working across the fields of architecture, design and art, have developed a social enterprise in Liverpool’s Toxteth area, called Granby Workshop. Within Granby Workshop the collective works with local people and arts graduates to design and produce ‘products’ that use the materials of the area, which for a long time has faced dereliction. The resulting pieces are functional objects of art and craft, made with simple techniques and unusual materials. The process of making these works offers people new skills, while their sale raises awareness and income; profits go directly back to the community from which they come.
Granby Workshop, First Collection: Products and Process (2015) is a body of works, including the trials, prototypes, moulds and documentation, which shows the development and collective working process of the Granby Workshop.The collection features the four key product lines: ceramic doorknobs, a mantelpiece and lights made from the ‘Granby Rock’, collaged tiles and printed fabrics. These works are accompanied by initial tests and prototypes, alongside the tools and moulds used, as well as the instruction manuals and documentation, including printed materials, digital images and videos.
As Assemble have now decreased productionto hone the making processes and improve their financial stability, it is the perfect time to acquire a collection of the pieces, processes and stories behind them for Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art, Teeside University. Products from Granby Workshop complements MIMA's existing collection, as it highlights processes and techniques involved in the production of craft. Furthermore, the work bridges some of the key areas in the collection – ceramics, drawing, prints and more conceptual work – and offers a contemporary take on some of the craft pieces in the collection. As a prime example of Arte Útil, or useful art, the work ties in with mima’s current vision in which the museum has a useful, socially-responsive programme, where the collection is used as a tool for teaching.
Assemble, comprised of eighteen members, began working together in 2010 and are based in London. Assemble’s working practice seeks to address the disconnection between the public and the process by which places are made. Assemble won the Turner Prize in 2015 with the Granby Workshop project, and have worked on many notable projects across the UK, including The Cineroleum and The Brutalist Playground.
