Ian Curtis (2001)

Curated by Matthew Higgs, Director of White Columns, New York and author and film-maker Jon Savage with archivist Johan Kugelberg, True Faith is centred on four decades’ worth of extraordinary contemporary works from artists including Julian Schnabel, Jeremy Deller, Liam Gillick, Mark Leckey, Glenn Brown and Slater Bradley, all directly inspired by the two groups.

Also featuring Peter Saville’s seminal cover designs, plus performance films, music videos, fashion and posters from John Baldessari, Barbara Kruger, Lawrence Weiner, Jonathan Demme, Robert Longo, Raf Simons and Kathryn Bigelow, True Faith provides a unique perspective on these two most iconic and influential Manchester bands. The exhibition will also present a selection of rarely seen personal materials, including original hand written lyrics.

Joy Division was formed in 1976 in Salford by guitarist and keyboardist Bernard Sumner and bass player Peter Hook. Singer Ian Curtis and drummer Stephen Morris completed the line-up. After Curtis’ death in 1980 the remaining members, together with Gillian Gilbert, formed New Order, becoming one of the most influential bands of the decade.

In parallel to the exhibition, New Order will take over Stage 1 of Manchester’s iconic Old Granada Studios to play a series of intimate gigs as part of MIF. The shows are created in collaboration with Liam Gillick.

Commissioned and produced by Manchester International Festival and Manchester Art Gallery.

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