THE NITE SCHOOL
ARCHIVE
An online exhibition
Nite School’ HAPPENINGS, artwork, photographs and stories
VHS video footage by Demetae
2025
THE Stretford ARNDALE
THE COMMUNITY THAT CAME TO DANCE
AND THE CLUB THAT WE BUILT TOGETHER
ALL
NITE
PAWN
Unit 44, THE STRETFORD ARNDALE, M32 9BB
Video produced by Vicky Mcintyre at Videovic
One nite in early 2025, Cal and Richie, NOW KNOWN AS The Brokers,
found themselves inside the soon to be demolished
Stretford ARNDALE, after hours...
It was a bizarre experience, in the darkness. ..
The £kids carousel rides playing ‘funfair’ melodies on repeat
The backlit shop signs, some flickering
The intermittent flapping of pigeon wings
The Mall might have felt slightly eerie... if only Shape of You by Ed Sheeran wasn’t playing over the tannoy.
And then, as if by request, the unmistakable synth pads of 808 State’, Pacific State, started playing in replacement of Ed.
Tinny 909 drums echoed through the alcoves
THE MALL suddenly felt…...
]Playful
Cinematic
Nostalgic
Full of memories.
Stories etched in the walls...
There’ is something
important about
not letting a place
go out quietly
STRETFORD MALL
BY TWILIGHT
She was built in 1969
She was described as Bold, Modern,
and Full of Energy
She was the centre of daily life
in Stretford
Photo credit, Dom Cycling
She was a place for:...
Errands
Haircuts
Groceries
Prescriptions
Clothes shopping
Dentist checkups
...…Pawn loans
She was a meeting point:...
Running into old pals
Perhaps, some local characters
Perhaps, Muhammad Ali flogging Ovaltine in 1971
Perhaps, The winner of Miss Stretford, 1973
…Perhaps, For a dance at El Patio, or The Sands
She was the epicentre
of Stretford
... But, over time,
Like many malls
of her kind
She began to fade...
By 2025
her energy had waned
Shops had closed
Units had emptied
Public opinion began to turn sour...
And just when many, like Gareth, had already
written her off for good...
Something
strange
happened…...
A distant hum of music
could be heard starting up, in the nite
STRETFORD MALL
BY NITE
It started, like all well— considered plans do
in a Pawnbrokers...
The reason that Cal and Richie
were in the Mall
so far past their bedtimes
was to spitball
ideas for how these
empty spaces
could be utilised...
...for late nite
mischief
A plan was formed around repurposing one of the larger spaces,
namely the former Boots Pharmacy,
for a big, final blowout party
to commemorate the Mall and send her out on a high...
...before she was to be closed for good
But that event was scheduled to take place
in September 2025, and it was currently March...
... and Cal and Richie were ravenous for nonsense.
They turned to Abby Barker, mover and shaker of the Stretford Mall management team... and not to mention, a fellow GENERATOR of weird ideas
They asked...
You wouldn’t happen to have any
smaller spaces
going spare that we could occupy
sooner, and more regularly
would you?...
Abby replied...
Hmm, let me think...
we might have a
PAWNBROKERS
coming available soon...
Perhaps a bit weird,
but would that be
of any interest to you
??????????????Cal and Richie knew, without any shadow of a doubt...
That this was definitely the
most interesting question
that they had ever been asked
They replied...
We will take her
THE INSTALL
THE BROKERS WERE BORN...
AND THEY GOT TO WORK
TURNING WHAT WAS A PAWNBROKERS...
... IN TO A FAR DODGIER LOOKING PAWNBROKERS
THE NITES
LET THE VALUE EXCHANGE BEGIN
PHOTO GALLERIES AND ARTWORK
MAN POWER, Rosie, and Neil Diablo
By mid -August, it was widely believed that time was running out… for All Nite Pawn and the Mall in its entirety.
A high percentage of units already stood empty...
Shutters coming down, one by one.
All Nite Pawn was scheduled to close alongside it in September...
The Brokers decided a fire sale was needed, STAT
Calls were made to their good friends, Man Power, Rosie and Neil Diablo.
It was time to get the Geordies down.
GAY PAWN
A celebration of queerness in the heart of Stretford
Any kind of pawn is ALWAYS welcome on this shop floor.
Gay. Lesbian. Trans. Straight. Not sure?
…What about country of origin?
None of that matters in this value exchange.
ALL valuables are accepted. NO questions are asked.
PBR Streetgang and James Holroyd
Leeds legends and a Stretford veteran join the Nite School crew.
By this point, things had started to gather pace. What began as a contained experiment was now operating more consistently, and drawing wider attention.
On this occasion, additional external operators were brought into the system...
PBR Streetgang and James Holroyd
Hammer
By mid-summer, word had begun to spread.
All Nite Pawn had begun to operate a late nite exchange on a regular basis.
The Brokers brought in an external valuer, Belfast-hailing Hammer (Feel My Bicep) to assist with the punters.
FOR KEITH)
For Keith, a fundraiser organised to raise funds for Keith McIvor and his family following his cancer diagnosis.
Rest in peace, Keith.
Your work and art will never cease to inspire us all.
LATE NITE PAWN
Late Nite Pawn, the launch of Nite School’s programme of events in the Stretford Arndale, Saturday 24th May, 2025