Factory International is delighted to announce highlights of its autumn/winter season at Manchester’s landmark cultural venue, Aviva Studios.
Fuelled by Anderson’s fascination with humanity’s current reality, ARK: United States Part V (14-24 Nov 2024) brings together new music, cinematic imagery, stories and songs. Weaving together multiple threads from her five-decade-long career, ARK is an imaginative and personal interrogation of where we are now, asking: what has brought us here and how much time do we have left?
Anderson was born in Chicago in June 1947, the same time and place that atomic scientists began the Doomsday clock’s countdown to the midnight of nuclear destruction. Fast forward to the present day and the multiple countdowns that now engulf us: Climate collapse, environmental disaster, and the proliferation of artificial intelligence have all added to a sense of isolation and powerlessness as we retreat further online. ARK fuses these themes in an ambitious new stage show about fear, disaster, preservation, invention, love and escape – from the Biblical Flood to current natural disasters and beyond. Download the full ARK press release here.
Laurie Anderson says: “For a long time I’ve wanted to make a new large-scale work about the United States – a collection of songs and stories about what has shaped this country in the 21st century. I plan to tell these stories moving through myth, journalism, fable, and Tik Tok, conjuring alternate realities and stories from my own life. Part ruminations, part long-form poems, ARK will also be a kind of 3D movie.”
David Hockney: Bigger & Closer (not smaller & further away) comes to Manchester in December following its immensely popular run at London’s Lightroom. David Hockney will use the extraordinary capabilities of the vast warehouse space of Aviva Studios to take audiences on a personal journey through 60 years of his art. This new run of Bigger & Closer further strengthens David Hockney’s connection to UK audiences, following his relocation back to the UK in July 2023.
The artist’s process is revealed in a cycle of six themed chapters, featuring his most iconic images alongside lesser-seen pieces and newly-created work. A unique and deeply personal running commentary by the artist is paired with an original score by Nico Muhly, and the show is directed by Mark Grimmer of 59 Productions. For lifelong fans and those new to Hockney alike, Bigger & Closer (not smaller & further away) affords unparalleled access to the mind of one of Britain’s most loved artists.
David Hockney says: “I’m very happy that my exhibition is going to Factory International in Manchester and that more people in the UK will be able to see my pictures bigger & closer than before. LOVE LIFE DH”
TRAPLORD (26-29 Sept 2024) is an Olivier Award-winning show from world-renowned artist and cultural innovator Ivan Michael Blackstock which fuses dance, live music and spoken word to explore life, death and rebirth. Weaving between dream and reality, TRAPLORD charts a heroic journey to self-actualisation, exploring raw themes of mental health and masculinity. A co-production between ALTRUVIOLET, Factory International and Sadler’s Wells, TRAPLORD premiered at 180 Studios in 2022 to rave reviews and won the 2023 Olivier Award for Best New Dance Production. TRAPLORD is an invitation to question the stereotyping of Black men in contemporary western society – portraying an attempt to escape from a mental state of being condemned before having lived.
Ivan Michael Blackstock said: “I am incredibly excited to bring TRAPLORD to Manchester at Aviva Studios this September. Sharing this personal and powerful journey of self-actualisation, mental health, and masculinity with the vibrant community here means a lot to me. I hope the show resonates and makes a meaningful impact, as we collectively explore and celebrate this shared story.”
Manchester’s industrial history and modern-day architecture intertwine in a meditative new film by British artist and filmmaker Jenn Nkiru which has its world premiere at Aviva Studios as part of Black History Month (4 October). Grounded in the history of Black music, Afro-surrealism, experimental film and the Black arts movement, Nkiru has developed her own style of filmmaking, switching between eras and locations in a process she describes as “cosmic archaeology” – evident in the music videos she’s directed such as Nenah Cherry’s Kong, the Grammy Award-winning Brown Skin Girl for Beyonce and most recently, Kamasi Washington and George Clinton’s Get Lit.
In this new work she weaves together new footage and archive material to explore parallels between architecture and the human body – and how they both shapeshift through time and space. Taking Manchester’s industrial history as a starting point, Nkiru’s film pays homage to the people and culture that make up a city. This is the final commission in the Virtual Factory series, which invited artists to create online works inspired by the architecture and site of Factory International’s new home.
Lola Arias, Yael Bartana, Adania Shibli, Samson Young and Ai Weiwei are the latest artists to join the line-up for Factory International’s ongoing series of artist talks focusing on artists in and from some of the areas most exposed to current global forces (Sept to Dec). Artists in Times of Upheaval asks what space there is for artists when life ‘as normal’ no longer seems possible. Why do they continue to create art, and how? The series began earlier this year with conversations with Amir Nizar Zuabi, director of The Walk: Little Amal, and Oleksiy Radynski, co-creator of Intervention – two Factory International co-produced projects which have responded to key world events.
Programmed and operated by Factory International, the organisation who also deliver the biennial Manchester International Festival (MIF), Aviva Studios hosts a year-round programme by leading artists from across the world, creating a global destination for arts, music and culture in the heart of Manchester. The venue’s development was led by Manchester City Council, with backing of £99.05m from HM Government and £7m National Lottery funding from Arts Council England.
Through the award-winning Factory Academy programme, Factory International is training the creative workforce of the future, providing opportunities for hundreds of Greater Manchester residents to develop careers in the creative industries, Manchester’s fastest-growing sector. Factory International’s talent development initiatives are also creating opportunities for artists from the North of England, particularly those most underrepresented in the sector. New opportunities for autumn include Artist Takeover, a new Factory International programme which offers artists from any discipline the chance to experiment in Aviva Studios’ flexible spaces, alongside guidance from industry experts and the annual Factory Fellowship which gives emerging artists the chance to work and learn alongside international creatives.
Aviva Studios also adds to the city’s thriving music scene, presenting a rich selection of gigs, including in-house concerts and collaborations with local and national promotors. Dates already announced for autumn include Gogo Penguin who are teaming up with London-based cognitive design studio TENENTNET, to showcase a brand-new audio-visual experience ‘Apophenia’ (18 Sept); a celebration of South Asian artistry and transcendental musical fusion with Jaubi & Tara Lily’s and partners Dialled In (2 Oct); and Grammy-winning vocalist and experimental jazz musician Arooj Afrab (12 Oct).
Reflecting Factory International’s commitment to ensuring access to the widest possible audiences, Aviva £10 tickets are available for all shows for Manchester communities across its year-round programme.
John McGrath, Artistic Director and Chief Executive, Factory International says:
“I am delighted to be sharing this new programme of work for autumn/winter as we look towards the end of the first year in our new building. The upcoming season includes the brilliant Laurie Anderson who has been part of our journey since 2017 when she hosted the groundbreaking ceremony for Aviva Studios, Ivan Blackstock’s extraordinary award-winning TRAPLORD, and the acclaimed immersive exhibition from David Hockney, one of the UK’s most loved artists. We hope there will be a multitude of ways that people will join us as we continue to support artists to explore their most exciting ambitions.”
