Maureen Ward is a brutalist bluestocking, an anachronism, an urbanist, dreamer, moocher and researcher investigating, writing and collaborating on the intersections of art, activism, architecture, cultural theory and social geography, to present an Archaeology of Us. A trained archaeologist with a masters in visual culture, her research question at the Manchester School of Art focused on the legacies of post war British modernism, vernacular creativity, contemporary art practices and the dialogues made possible by their collisions and collaborations. In 2009 she co-founded the Manchester Modernist Society, a creative project dedicated to celebrating and engaging with 20th architecture and design through events, exhibitions and creative collaborations, and was founding editor of 'the modernist', its publication arm. Always keen to work across disciplines, she has written sleeve notes for Warp artist Lonelady, held a midnight tour of the city from the vantage point of an abandoned motorway, and distributed free popcorn to passersby outside a listed modernist cinema up for demolition. Art as process, practice and conviviality – as a space for change, experiment and open enquiry – and art as laboratory, is always at the centre of her contemporary archaeological practice.