MAKE way for a celebration of the saving of the World Monument site of Gorton Monastery - in vacuum-formed plastic and computer-enhanced speech songs.

The stunning but derelict, Pugin-designed monastery in Gorton is celebrating the award of '1.8m in European funding to add to the English Heritage and Lottery money already promised, meaning that nearly '7m is available to begin the transformation of the former Franciscan church and dwellings.

Chorus - an installation and soundscape by artist and writer Brendan Fletcher and musician Kevin Malone - takes over the church tomorrow and Sunday, 2-4pm with an event that proves that the Monastery of St Francis still has something to say about the present.

Fletcher - a lecturer in visual arts at Salford University - has worked with vacuum-formed plastic to create an alterpiece, which plays with the concept of religious iconography and draws parallels with the contemporary fascination with designer logos.

In Malone's case, the lecturer in late 20th century music at Manchester University has taken the speaking voices of members of the monastery's former congregation giving their personal testimonies and transformed them first into choral music and then into catchy jingles.

This event is part of a transformation of the church into a leading arts venue that organisers hope will be an inspiration to visitors. The intention is to hold exhibitions, conferences and events in the ornate surroundings, once the building is restored.

The monastery was abandoned in the 1980s and was nearly transformed into luxury apartments in the 1990s, before a locally-initiated campaign ensured its inclusion in the World Monuments Fund's list of 100 Most Endangered Sites in the World and saved it as a cultural centre. Tweet