Grand words as MIF 2023 launches at 'unfinished' Aviva Studios

“It feels like we’re inhabiting a work of art,” MIF artistic director John McGrath declared to those of us inside Aviva Studios.

And, much like La Sagrada Família in that other great second city (oh come Birmingham, really), it’s not quite finished.

Both MCC leader Bev Craig and McGrath made it clear - three times no less - that the new arts venue is not quite complete. I don’t doubt that come October, when the hi-vis jackets have been hung up and the last Heras fence is hauled away, it will be a thing of beauty. At present the jury's out.

You're going to see some very special things from Factory International, and we're confident that the catalyst for change that will bring, not just to Manchester but the thriving UK culture and art scene, will be significant.

Only a city as committed to its culture as Manchester would tie itself up in knots to get something like Aviva Studios (formerly Factory International) off the ground in time, and to that you have to tip your hat (bucket or otherwise).

Ultimately, it would be crazy not to capitalise on Brand Mancunia when generating interest in something like Factory International, but what was particularly interesting was the talk of it joining an existing constellation of cultural venues around the world, sending original productions on tour to the likes of Vienna, Oslo and Provence. International indeed.

But John McGrath was also quick to remind us of what the organisation will be contributing closer to home.

“We’ll be presenting work year round and again taking it to places around the globe,” he said. “So this space is an originator and collaborator with venues and festivals all across the world. It’s really important to say that one of the impacts that we want this building to have is creating new opportunities in arts and culture, particularly for employment.

“We all know that this great industry, this great practice that we're part of has all sorts of different jobs and opportunities and we've created something called Factory Academy in collaboration with large cultural and media institutions across the north to train up the next generation from a genuinely wide range of backgrounds to have jobs and economic opportunities.”

Manchester City Council leader Bev Craig was similarly beaming with civic optimism, that other crucial ingredient in making the likes of Factory International a reality (and is much easier to underwrite).

“We’re a city where our histories and identities come together as one,” she said. “To make us proud not only of what we've contributed to the past, but what we'll deliver in the future.

“Through the whole journey of Manchester's transformation, culture has been at its heart, and it's not just about the economic impact and regeneration that culture has undoubtedly brought […] It's about what it means to have a good and fulfilled life. It's about the role that culture, art and music plays in creating new opportunities, helping people broaden their horizons and learn about new experiences.”

We were then led upstairs to the Warehouse. Not so much a room as an aircraft hangar, it’s a space that’s quite stunning in its scale, and will seemingly be able to accommodate even the wildest artistic impulses.

Now, the name - Aviva Studios.

For an artistic endeavour harking loud and clear back to Factory Records - reckless risktakers who bought a boat showroom and sent the once smack-addled Shaun Ryder to Barbados - it just clangs that Factory International’s home is now named after an insurance company. Tony Wilson could talk, but not as loudly as £35m does.

It would be a shame, however, to let the moneymen sully what will be a magnificent centre for arts and culture in the city, something both locally proud and outward looking, artistically open, multinational and Mancunian.

Now that the cogs have ground into gear and Factory International is up and running, let’s see what it creates for the city.

For more information on MIF and to book tickets visit their website

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