Factory International (@factoryinternational)

Four days of Teletech setup in 15 seconds 🤯 Watch a (rapid) timelapse of our team setting up for Teletech (@Teletechuk) in the Warehouse at Aviva Studios, home of Factory International. What a setup… #Timelapse #Rave #Teletech #Manchester

Meeting Jean-Baptiste Mondino almost didn’t go to plan for Benji Reid. But he eventually won the respect of the iconic photographer, who has worked with the likes of Grace Jones, Madonna and David Bowie. Find out why Benji’s talent is so hard to ignore by catching the wildly innovative stage show Find Your Eyes at #MIF23, an emotional journey through his successes and struggles. #photographer #photographersoftiktok #jeanbaptistemondino #mondino

Now THAT is audience participation 👏🪭 Audience members (including @Cheddar Gorgeous) at House of MCR at Aviva Studios took to the runway 💅 #runway #runwaywalk #ballroom #ballroomscene #cheddargorgeous #manchester

Timelapse of the stage setup of Chris Stassy Presents USS 🔥 Wow…two incredible nights of Chris Stassy (@CHRIS STASSY) in our Warehouse space at Aviva Studios… And what a setup! Thanks to everyone who came and raved 🫡 @USS.EVENTS | #ChrisStassy #Manchester #AvivaStudios #Rave #Timelapse

A first look at Portrait of Black Britain at Aviva Studios 👀 Returning to Manchester after the 2021 edition of Manchester International Festival, Cephas Williams' powerful photography exhibition has landed at Aviva Studios, home of Factory International. In Portrait of Black Britain, Cephas Williams explores the question: ‘What does it mean to be Black, living in the UK?’ The exhibition profiles a range of Black people living in the UK, highlighting the different roles people play in our community - and bringing together new faces from Manchester and beyond. 📍 The Social | Aviva Studios, home of Factory International 📆 2 October - 1 November 🎟️ Free, no booking required 🔗 Link in bio for more info. #Manchester #ThingsToDo #Exhibition #Photography

Does culture influence music or does music influence culture? 🤔 Thoughts/feelings? Share yours in the comments! 💬   Ahead of Common Frequency - the free exhibition on the transformative power of music created by the adidas OCN North cohort - we headed out into Manchester to hear what you think about the influence of music and culture in our lives.    Asking the questions are two members of the cohort, Pelumi Fatayo and Phoebe Bonser.    Over six months, the cohort have come together to interrogate the relationship between music, community and identity - culminating in Common Frequency. adidas OCN North was established by adidas Originals and Factory International. #VoxPop #Manchester #Culture #Music

#SearchBarSelects with Adam Ali: Favourite queer films 🎥 With actor and filmmaker Adam Ali hosting an evening of films, music and Queer Speed Friending at SINcerely, Adam, we asked them what their theee favourite queer films are in our latest Search Bar Selects. Creatives behind their favourite queer films include Dania Bdeir, Bassem Ben Brahim and Nabil Ayouch. Discover Adam's recommendations - type in the keywords provided and search away 📱 #Film #Recommendations #LGBTQIA #QueerFilm

Yesterday, two newlyweds Adam and Harriet popped into Ai Weiwei's Button Up! after their vows. Not your usual post-ceremony event! Both had previously attended gigs in the Warehouse, so we couldn't be happier to see them there again - but this time as bride and groom ❤️ Congratulations Harriet and Adam! 🥂

Sewing a Button has been streamed at Piccadilly Circus 🎥 Ai Weiwei was projected on to Piccadilly Lights (@CIRCA) in London earlier this evening! Sewing a Button is Ai Weiwei’s e-enactment of his 81-day secret detention by Public Security in China, condensing his detention into 24 hours and inviting audiences through day and night to bear witness to his experience. The performance has been streamed globally to audiences, including via CIRCA (London), ACMI (Australia), ArtHaus Central (Argentina) and Dover Street Market Paris (Paris). 🔗 If you’re reading this on 3-4 July…click the link in bio to watch the livestream! #AiWeiwei #Art #PerformanceArt #PiccadillyCircus #London

A first look at Ai Weiwei's Button Up! 👀 Ai Weiwei's Button Up! opens tomorrow 🙌 Check out the exhibition for the first time in the Warehouse at Aviva Studios, home of Factory International. Ai Weiwei turns his critical gaze to the last 200 years of global history with this major new exhibition. Monumental in scale and ambition, Ai Weiwei: Button Up! is the artist’s most expansive presentation in the North to date. The artist turns his lens on two centuries of Chinese and British relations. Taking inspiration from Manchester, a city at the heart of the Industrial Revolution, Button Up! explores how historic systems of trade, empire and exploitation resonate in today’s humanitarian and political crises. 📍 The Warehouse | Aviva Studios, home of Factory International (Manchester) 📅 2 July - 6 September 🎟️ Aviva £10 Tickets available 🔗 Book now - link in bio.

Lights, camera, elevator with Planningtorock 🛗 In the third episode of #ElevatorMusic, we were joined in the lift by electronic singer-songwriter and producer Planningtorock who performed as part of a powerhouse line-up of queer and trans contemporary artists at The Age of Consent (with The Chateau). Elevator Music is a new series produced by Factory International, where we invite touring musicians into our busy (and rather large) lift at Aviva Studios for a round of quickfire questions. 📲 Follow us for the next episode of Elevator Music. #Music #Interview #Planningtorock

Chris Stussy (@Chris Stussy) brings his acclaimed USS event concept to Aviva Studios 🎧    Designed as a space where music takes precedence, USS (@USS.EVENTS) strips the club experience back to its essentials: long unhurried sets, low lighting and an uncompromising focus on the dance floor.    Guided by Chris's refined, groove-led selections, the night unfolds with patience, allowing the music to breathe.    No phones, no spectacle, no unnecessary distractions. Just a shared connection between the DJ, the sound system and the people in the room. This is gonna be huge… 🔥 🎟️ General tickets are on sale Tuesday 7 July at 10am. 🔗 Link in bio.

Sans Soucis at Glastonbury? Let's make it happen! ❤️    In the second episode of #ElevatorMusic, we were joined in the lift by artist and songwriter Sans Soucis (@Sans Soucis) who performed as part of a powerhouse line-up of queer and trans contemporary artists at The Age of Consent (with The Chateau).    Elevator Music is a new series produced by Factory International, where we invite touring musicians into our busy (and rather large) lift at Aviva Studios for a round of quickfire questions.    📲 Follow us for the next episode of Elevator Music.

The Wang Family Ancestral Hall is under construction in the Warehouse for Ai Weiwei's Button Up! 🚧   Part of Ai Weiwei's (@aiww) next major exhibition, the Wang Family Ancestral Hall is a reconstructed Ming dynasty ancestral temple from Jiangxi province in China.   Built from over 1,300 wooden components, the temple uses traditional post-and-beam joinery techniques that require no nails, allowing it to be dismantled and rebuilt.   The monumental installation of Button Up! brings together new and existing large-scale works exploring the complex history between China and the UK, empire, power and trade. #AiWeiwei #Manchester #Exhibition #Art #ArtTok

What's on Tom Rasmussen's rider? 👀 Going up... #ElevatorMusic is our new series, where we invite touring musicians into our busy (and rather large) lift at Aviva Studios for a round of quickfire questions. We were joined in the lift by musician and artist Tom Rasmussen (@Tom Rasmussen) who recently performed as part of a powerhouse line-up of queer and trans contemporary artists at The Age of Consent (with The Chateau). 📲 Follow us for the next episode of Elevator Music. #Music #Interview

Drop your answer in the comments 👇 Breaking with operatic tradition, our new opera Angel’s Bone fuses multiple musical genres, spoken word and immersive staging.    So we thought we'd ask the people of Manchester...which record would you turn into the next operatic masterpiece?  An English National Opera (@ENO) production in collaboration with Factory International and BBC Philharmonic, along with performances from Kantos Choir, Angel’s Bone tells the haunting story of two fallen angels, drawn back to earth by a longing for its pleasures. #VoxPop #Manchester #Music #Opera

Well that was an unbelievable weekend…thank you to @Teletechuk for two unforgettable nights 🫡 @winsonngoh and @Sara Landry, you really brought it to the Warehouse 🔥 #Teletech #Manchester #Rave #Techno #Winson

Dave paired with an orchestra? Absolutely. 🔥   Ahead of Angel's Bone, in collaboration with English National Opera (@ENO) and BBC Philharmonic, we asked the people of Manchester which musicians they would pair with an orchestra...   Breaking with operatic tradition, Angel’s Bone fuses multiple musical genres featuring the orchestral sounds of BBC Philharmonic and Manchester based ensemble Kantos Chamber Choir. #VoxPop #Manchester #Music #Orchestra

Introducing Black Creative Trailblazers, the social enterprise dedicated to showcasing and supporting Black creatives 💫   Founded by sisters Adeola Adelakun and Ronke Jane Adelakun in 2022, Black Creative Trailblazers (@Black Creative Trailblazers) began with a simple problem – there were plenty of talented Black creatives in Manchester and the North, but not enough spaces for them to be seen, supported or paid fairly.   As Black Creative Trailblazers, the sisters host events – from open mic nights to their Black Creative Socials – run workshops and training sessions specifically designed to support creatives, and share opportunities for funding and paid work with their network of 400 creatives.   And in September 2026, this year’s Black Creative Trailblazers Showcase will bring together around 100 Black creatives from Manchester and the North West in an unmissable black-tie gala celebration.   🔗 Read more on Factory+ by clicking the link in our bio.

Introducing Ai Weiwei - the art world's biggest disruptor.    Known for his unflinching, large-scale artworks as well as his activism and advocacy for international human rights, Ai Weiwei is a multidisciplinary artist, working across mediums including sculptural installation, filmmaking, photography, ceramics, painting, writing and social media.   Weiwei's Button Up! and Sewing a Button are exhibiting exclusively in Manchester and speak to Weiwei’s extraordinary body of work and his refusal to shy away from the great crises of our age. 🔗 Read more on Factory+ by clicking the link in our bio. #AiWeiwei #ArtHistory #ArtTok #Art #ContemporaryArt

@Thundercat is sending shockwaves through The Warehouse rn 🫶⚡️🐐

Give us ya best bass face 😝 In tribute to Thundercat’s performance at Aviva Studios (as part of the DISTRACTED AF TOUR 2026), we asked everyone in the office to give their best bass face… @Thundercat | #VoxPop #WorkTok #OfficeTok #Manchester #BassFace

What a week of gigs!   Some of the biggest stars in the world of pop performed at Aviva Studios - Lily Allen (@Lily Allen), sombr and Kesha (@Kesha) all in one week 🤯   Thanks to the thousands of fans who joined us across the five consecutive nights. #Concert #Manchester #LilyAllen #Sombr #Kesha 🎥 sombr: @micha⎕ 🪩 🎸⋆⭒˚｡⋆ 🎥 Kesha: soteris_art on Instagram

Obsessed with the sombara… We spoke with our sombr superfans waiting in the queue for sombr’s performance at Aviva Studios in Manchester ❤️ #Sombr #Manchester #Tour #VoxPop

A rather iconic Lily Allen classic: strings mode 🎻✨ @Lily Allen | #LilyAllen #WestEndGirl #Manchester #Concert #Tour

Ready for two sold out nights of N̶o̶r̶t̶h̶ West End Girl in Manchester 💖 Lily Allen (@Lily Allen) is in Manchester and has made her way to Aviva Studios for two ✨stunning✨ nights of her West End Girl tour ❤️ #LilyAllen #Manchester #WestEndGirl

An introduction to Thundercat - the two-time Grammy Award-winning bassist, songwriter and producer 👏🎵 @Thundercat | #Thundercat #Music #MusicTok #Bass

All time best Robbie Williams song? Let us know in the comments 👇 @Robbie Williams | #RobbieWilliams #Manchester #VoxPop #GreatestHits #AllTimeHits

Diva, yes ✨ Bailey J Mills (@Bailey) brought the chaos to Aviva Studios and performed at UTOPIA - a working pub made by artist Trackie McLeod with Factory International’s Young Curators. Icon. 👑 #BaileyJMills #DragShow #Drag #Manchester

A first look at Trackie McLeod's UTOPIA in Manchester 👀 Trackie McLeod's new art installation - a working pub inside our Warehouse space - opens today! Madison Marcantonatos- one of Factory International's Young Curators - took us round the space for the first time. Playfully exploring nostalgia, class, identity, gentrification and the changing landscapes of Glasgow and Manchester, the installation - made in collaboration with Factory International's Young Curators - raises a glass to the places that shaped us 🍺 #Manchester #UTOPIA #Pub #Art #ThingsToDoInManchester