Noel Gallagher, Andy Burnham, Paddy McGuinness and Maxine Peake celebrated in Manchester photography project

The people that make Manchester great are being celebrated as part of a major project that “really sums up the Mancunian spirit”. 

Noel Gallagher, Andy Burnham, Paddy McGuinness and more will sit alongside everyday heroes as part of the ‘Greater Mancunians’ photography exhibition coming to Central Library next month. 

The Manchester College project, supported by the council, has seen students photograph significant Mancs in a location that is important to them. Co-ordinated by tutor Harry Potts, there are now more than 120 pictures in the collection including Gallagher, Burnham, council leader Bev Craig, Olympic athlete Keely Hodgkinson and Manc music favourites Clint Boon, Johnny Marr and Peter Hook. 

“It's become a celebration of what's great about Manchester,” said Potts, who has 24 years of press photography experience. “It’s a great opportunity for students to get out of their comfort zones. We have some students who are very quiet and this project has really sort of brought them out of their shell and made them feel more confident about being a photographer. The thing I particularly enjoy is people photographing, working with people, engaging with people, meeting people and getting interesting stories and finding out things about people that people don't know."

Despite the high profile people featured, Potts says the students have had no problem getting the snaps they wanted. 

“Everyone who's done it has done it in a very community spirited way so I really think it really sums up the Mancunian spirit as everyone we’ve photographed has been genuinely brilliant,” he said. “I thought as we did this project there'd be a selection of people who were perhaps a bit narcissistic or difficult or awkward – but absolutely everyone has been a joy. It's been a really great experience and really invigorating to see the human spirit, particularly the Manchester spirit, that people give the time up and are so friendly.”

The idea for the project came around six years ago after one of Potts’ students asked to photograph Salford icon John Cooper Clark. From there, more and more students became interested in the idea of photographing their favourite Mancunian. 

Potts said: “My favourite is that first picture of John Cooper Clark stood under Blackfriars Bridge, which is on the border of Salford and Manchester, against one of his murals that was done by a famous artist from London. 

“He stood next to his old mural and lined up exactly with it. It was just a bit awe inspiring because it set the tone for the whole project. It was a great picture, all the other pictures have all sort of matched up to it, but that's my favourite. It's so evocative of the dawn of the start of the project.” 

Greater Mancunians will be exhibited at Manchester Central Library April 19 - June 30. The layout is going to be decided among the students to represent each photograph as equal.

Potts said: “Everybody is equal in the project.  There's not going to be a hierarchy as you come in, it's going to be very mixed. So Noel Gallagher will be next to someone who's done lots of charity work or Peter Hook might be next to someone who has done something with homeless people. There's lots of people in there that have done absolutely something incredible in the city that's never really got publicity.”