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Despite only having been open since 2023, Manchester’s Factory International has already established itself as one of the UK’s foremost cultural destinations. Yayoi Kusama and David Hockney are among the artists who’ve exhibited at the St John’s venue, while Aviva Studios has hosted gigs by the likes of My Bloody Valentine, Underworld and ANOHNI.
And Factory International’s hot streak is set to continue in 2026. Sure, we might not be getting an edition of flagship biennial event Manchester International Festival, but Aviva Studios has plenty to see and do over the coming months. Its spring and summer programme spans theatre, dance, music and visual art and will feature several names with mighty cultural heft.
Arguably the biggest deal on the programme is a major exhibition from Ai Weiwei. The artist and activist’s biggest ever exhibition in the north will be titled Ai Weiwei: Button Up!, with British imperialism, Anglo-Chinese relations, globalisation and censorship being some of the themes on show.
Excitingly, the exhibition features two new commissions especially for Aviva Studios, one of which will be Ai Weiwei’s biggest 2D artwork to-date –made from over a million toy bricks. That’ll all land on July 2 and last until September 6.
Also on the Aviva’s bill is The Surge: An Ode to Sinéad O'Connor, a dance work created by Tony award-winning choreographer and director Sonya Tayeh. Set to O’Connor’s music, the piece will be performed by 10 women and be a ‘mediation on voice, protest and the courage to live a life that defies the norm’. That’s on June 25-27.
The UK premiere of Du Yun’s Angel’s Bone, a contemporary opera that won the Pulitzer Prize in 2017, will run at the venue on May 16-18. The production is directed visionary theatre maker Kip Williams – who also directed the triumphant Sarah Snook-starring The Picture of Dorian Gray in London – and is a collab with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra.
Also in May (7-10) is the world premiere of Return to the Forest, a new puppetry and dance show by experimental children’s theatre company Theatre-Rites and award-winning South African choreographer Gregory Maqoma.
Then there are the gigs. Lily Allen is set to perform her hit 2025 record West End Girl in full on two dates in March, while Aviva Studios will also host popstars Kesha and Halsey, DJ Fatboy Slim, psych-soul bassist Thundercat, trip hop legend Tricky and alt-rock stalwarts Pixies.
Better yet, all shows will have tickets starting as low as £10. You can find the full programme and get tickets on the Factory International website here.