ForeverFromManchester is a lighted-hearted, graphic celebration of Mancunian heritage. The project fuses the past with the present, depicting a variety of legendary Mancunians, both native and adopted, in iconic Manchester settings. A big part of being Manc is about not talking life too seriously, the essence of which the project attempts to capture.

The idea behind ForeverFromManchester was conceived by ForeverManchester Ambassador, Duane Cormell, and has been developed and brought to life by James Chapman. James (http://www.soundimals.com/) is an illustrator, born in Birmingham, currently residing in the Manchester suburb of Didsbury. He began his career researching and illustrating the fun and engaging, educational series ‘Soundimals’, which focuses on the varied selection of onomatopoeic sounds from around the world. This work drew viral attention online, being featured by The Guardian, The Independent, Huffington Post and The Daily Mail, as well as BuzzFeed, with which he became a frequent collaborator. Two books – Soundimals and How to Sneeze in Japanese – were self-published from this project, and his work in the area of culture and diversity continues with further illustrated series in the pipeline. He also holds a PhD in physics."

With thanks to The Fitzgerald, Hobs Reprographics, G.F. Smith, Manchester Gin and Realm Recruit