The School of Rock

The School of Rock is a city-wide celebration of creativity, inviting every primary school, secondary school, college and university across Greater Manchester to become part of an extraordinary public exhibition celebrating the life, legacy and artistic influence of David Bowie. Designed as both an educational programme and a major public art exhibition, the project encourages young people to explore portraiture, identity, music and self-expression through their own creative interpretation.

The programme is structured as a friendly competition across every level of education. Each participating school, college and university will be invited to curate and judge submissions internally, then select up to four winning artworks to represent their institution in the final exhibition. These selected works will then come together to form the School of Rock Collective, transforming Aviva Studios into a gallery showcasing Manchester's remarkable imagination, diversity, and creative future to visitors from around the world.

Every educational stage has its own bespoke creative brief, carefully designed to match the age and experience of the students. Primary schools will introduce Bowie through accessible painting, colouring and collage projects, inviting children to create their own interpretation of "the man from Stranger Things." Secondary schools will explore themes of identity, character and transformation through Bowie's iconic personas and artistic reinvention. College students will be encouraged to experiment with more advanced techniques, mixed media and conceptual thinking, using imagination as their only limitation. University students will be challenged to produce exhibition-quality works suitable for display in a professional gallery environment, creating ambitious portraits that sit alongside commissioned artworks throughout the wider exhibition.

To support teachers and students, the Face the Strange website will include dedicated learning hubs for every educational category. Each section will provide downloadable lesson plans, curriculum-linked teaching resources, project briefs, submission guidelines, printable stencils, reference imagery, lyric sheets, classroom posters, activity packs and creative inspiration designed to help schools confidently deliver the project. These free resources will allow every participating school to integrate the programme into classroom teaching while encouraging creativity, collaboration and artistic confidence.

The School of Rock Collective is more than an exhibition; it is an opportunity for thousands of young people to become part of one of Manchester's most ambitious cultural celebrations, giving students the chance to see their work exhibited in a world-class gallery while inspiring the next generation of artists, designers, musicians and creative thinkers.

A Manchester wide art competition

Category's

The School of Arts gallery

Primary 5-11

FE/Advanced

Secondary 12-16