Circus, skateboarding, music and more, all programmed by residents from across Greater Manchester, is part of The Welcome at Manchester's £240m new Aviva Studios (November 11-19), part of Factory International’s opening season,
The Welcome is an invitation to Aviva from local people to celebrate the new cultural space and has been created over the past two years by Factory Assembly, a cross-section of Greater Manchester residents. The programme ranges from a full-day Mancunian street-culture takeover of rap battles, workshops and skateboarding demonstrations to a reflective group performance inspired by Tai chi and Qigong.
Two larger-than-life exhibitions also feature: celebrating the faces that make up Greater Manchester will be Inside Out: This is Manchester, which is made up of large-scale black and white photographs of more than 200 local residents aged 5-90 in the undercroft at the studios entrance; while Under Construction, an exhibition by photographer Ming de Nasty, features life-size portraits of some of the construction workers involved in the creation of Aviva Studios. Productions Afrique en Cirque fills the venue for four performances (November 11,12,14 and 15) with high-energy acrobatics, dance, live Afro jazz and traditional West African instruments and Balete Spacecraft will be a sprawling, spaceship-like installation, by Filipino artist-designer Leeroy New, who takes waste materials and transforms them into a colourful tangle of roots inspired by the sacred Balete tree of the Philippines.
Throughout the nine-day programme there will be free pop-up performances, family-friendly activities and workshops for all ages across the building, from the foyers to the orchestra pit.
Reflecting Factory International’s commitment to ensuring access to the widest possible audiences, the majority of The Welcome programme is free, with £10 tickets available for all ticketed events as part of an affordable pricing strategy.
More information and tickets here