Press

Here are some of the articles in which we’ve been featured, interviewed or mentioned, plus reviews of events we’ve been lucky enough to host at our space:

2021

Series 2 of The World Transformed FM is focusing on the themes of leisure and for their latest episode our events coordinator Sophie and volunteer Teegs joined them to talk a bit about what we’ve been up to at Partisan and how going forward we all need to ensure that dancefloors are safer and more inclusive.

2020

Our old basement venue at Cheetham Hill was used as a filming location in Jazz 625, The British Jazz Explosion on the BBC!

“A thoroughly impassioned project” Shut but not forgotten – here’s why we miss… Partisan Collective – Manchester Wire

Amidst Coronavirus Chaos, Bright Spots Appear for UK Nightlife – beatportal

EX.499 On The Scene: Manchester – Resident Advisor

2019

Manchester Cooperative Partisan Is Ushering in a New Era of Socially Conscious Clubbing – MixMag:
“At a time when many of Manchester’s city centre clubs are falling foul to exorbitant rents and noise complaints from new builds, Partisan is offering a genuine, sustainable alternative that reconnects music and culture with the surrounding community.”

Dark room with red lights and disco ball. A DJ is playing to the shadows of dancers on a crowded dance floor.
Credit: MixMag, JodyHartley

Hopeless Isolation & Queer Euphoria: The Contradiction of Being Gay in ManchesterLove for the Streets:
“The budding, queer-driven underground music and arts scene here in Manchester bears extraordinary emancipatory potential in helping those on the peripheries of our community to find new forms of protest, new means of celebrating the diversity of identities and expressions that lie within it. Venues like Partisan and Soup Kitchen are, for me, irrefutably important spaces, abuzz with the kind of queer energy I never thought I’d find.”

All My Friends #Ep26 All Hands on DeckAll My Friends:
“The thing that’s so great about Partisan Collective is that everyone behind it really strives to create a great community space… It’s because most of the people running the club nights are all volunteers; they are the people invested in making the space a success. Whether that’s for the reason of ensuring the space itself can continue to be viable and allow provide free/ reduced meeting space for social justice organisations during the week, or even just that they want to support a sick and diverse DIY arts scene within their city.”

Review: The Binary Exhibition – The Mancunion

2018

Review of Women of Aktion at Partisan – North West End

https://louderthanwar.com/interview-rebecca-swarray-shes-bringing-90s-back-life-manchester/ – Louder Than War:
“It is a space for independent, community led, DIY and cultural based projects in Manchester and given that my whole premise is grass rooted, it felt like a natural space to hold the launch and in turn support what they are doing… They are also keen to hold more LGBTIQA events too which is great. The events team are also very helpful, supportive and welcoming.”

Kiran Leonard at Partisan – Creative Tourist:
“Partisan is a relatively new but thriving collective based in the heart of Manchester… Hosting an array of innovative DIY gigs, club nights and arts festivals, as well as a plethora of arts workshops and community meetings, they’re the twinkle in the eye of many a Manchester-based creative.”

Manchester’s DIY club revolution is safeguarding the city’s creative legacy – Crack Magazine:
“Before the Partisan space, many housing groups in Manchester found it difficult to afford a space big enough for all of them to meet. The Partisan building has become that space, and therefore become a hub in a network characterised by collaboration and cross-pollination.”

Tom Gillespie on creating an urban commons in Manchester, with Partisan – Impolitikal

Is 2018 going to be a tough year for Manchester’s night-time scene? – I Love MCR

The magic of Manchester’s Partisan Collective, and plenty more gigs to come – Louder Than War

Manchester’s must-visit clubbing spots – picked by the locals – Red Bull:

2017

3 Ways You Can Build Corbynism From Below – Novara Media


A New Dawn: Meet the Future of UK Nightlife – Eventbrite

Does Manchester have the answer for shared arts spaces? – The Irish Times

You need a room to change the world: some open spaces in London and Manchester – The Alternative UK

London’s exodus offers a stark warning to other UK cities: your culture is at risk – The Guardian:
“Partisan collective, a new worker and member-owned co-operative arts and social club in Manchester is one such space. In February 2016, 50 people, including many new arrivals in the city, met in the back room of a Northern Quarter pub to discuss the possibility of setting up a collectively owned arts venue. Eighteen months later, having secured a space in the city centre, they opened their doors with a weekend-long festival of music, film, workshops and discussions.”

Partisan Open Weekend – Visit Manchester

Manchester has a radical social centre again – Freedom News

Partisan Open Weekend – Manchester Wire

2016

Does Manchester need more creative, radical – not retail – space? – I Love MCR

Building Our Own Infrastructure: Introducing Partisan – Plan C

Partisan Collective to open new alternative venue for Manchester – Manchester’s Finest

Partisan Collective – Salford Zine Library

Partisan: A Simple Idea – NowThen Magazine

Introducing Partisan Collective – 3Space