The new £186m Factory International arts centre will open to the public in June 2023 - and highlights of the opening programme will include a huge arts event based on The Matrix films directed by Oscar-winning Danny Boyle. The vast new building will create a "landmark cultural space" for the city at the edge of the Old Granada Studios.
At a media event on Thursday, details of the first events were unveiled, and the opening date confirmed for the first time. The giant futuristic building will first open to the public from June 2023, when it will form the centrepiece of the 2023 Manchester International Festival from June 29-July 16.
But the official opening production for the building will come later in the year in October - with a large-scale immersive performance based on The Matrix films "presented across the building's ultra-flexible spaces". It is set to be a "dramatic retelling" of the movie which starred Keanu Reeves through "dance, music and visual effects".
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The event, called Free Your Mind, will bring together the choreography of Kenrick "H20" Sandy MBE, a score by Michael "Mikey J" Asante MBC, designed by Es Devlin and directed by Radcliffe's own Danny Boyle. It was announced that 5,000 tickets for the opening show will be made available for £10 or less as they are keen for the arts space to be "accessible to all".
The event will be a "space for the world, a space for everyone, a space for the communities of Manchester," said artistic director John McGrath. It is planed for the centre to be a global destination for arts, music and culture.
Film director Danny, speaking at the event, said: "I have a friend who says you should only use the word amazing when you see two blue horses! But it's impossible to look around this place and not use the word amazing, it's vast.
"It's a space that gives you an enormous amount of potential. It's wildly ambitious in terms of its scale.
"In my lifetime, to see a new space like this open is hugely empowering, and I hope the new generation of artists feel that power."
Mikey J said: "With our production we want to show people what they could possibly do in this space. that they have the opportunity to create something different and get them to envisage how they would us it." Kenrick added: "Let our show be a beacon of dreams, of how you want to push it to that next level."
The show is set to be inspired by key themes of The Matrix movie franchise, interpreted through dance, music and visual effects.
A cast of professional dancers will join with hundreds of Manchester participants to create some of the film's most iconic scenes. It is said it will "provoke visions of an alternate future".
Before the official opening, the new venue will form the centrepiece of MIF 2023 with a major exhibition in its main warehouse space - You, Me and the Balloons. It will celebrate three decades of Yayoi Kusama's spectacular inflatable sculptures shown together for the first time.
Created especially for Factory International, it will be the renowned Japanese contemporary artist's largest ever immersive environment, featuring works that are over ten metres tall - including giant dolls, tendrilled landscapes and a vast constellation of polka dot spheres. That event will run from June 29, 2023 - August 28, 2023.
Later in the year and following Free Your Mind, a wide range of music, circus, art and fashion will fill the building and its outdoor spaces during The Welcome, a nine-day programme developed by Greater Manchester residents, from 11-19 November.
Guests at the launch event were given guided tours of the newly-named Factory International on Thursday, which is fast taking shape on the banks of the River Irwell. The development is being led by Manchester City Council, with backing from HM Government and Arts Council England.
It is located in the rapidly developing new St John's neighbourhood on the site of the former Granada Studios off Quay Street. Bosses say it will make a "major contribution to the ongoing regeneration of this part of the city centre."
Designed by the world-leading Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA), it is the practice's first major public project in the UK. Spanning 13,350 square metres, the building will offer multiple configurations, enabling large-scale artistic work of "invention and ambition that is not made anywhere else".
Audiences will be able to enjoy year-round, in a new world-class facility, the broadest range of art forms from major exhibitions and concerts, to intimate performances and immersive performances. Outside, the public areas will come alive with pop-up performances and immersive arts experiences, events and markets to create a thriving riverside destination.
John McGrath, artist director and chief executive of Factory International said: "At every stage in imagining and building this extraordinary space we have focussed on creating new possibilities - for artists to let their imaginations fly, for citizens of Manchester and the world to meet and dream, and for people of all ages and backgrounds to build skills and gain experience. Factory International is truly a place where we can invent tomorrow together."
The space is set to play host to over 80 gigs a year, including in-house concerts and collaborations with local and national promoters. A highlight of the opening programme will be a series of special music events in the warehouse - with details yet to be announced.
Ahead of opening, artist Luke Jerram will celebrate the births of hundreds of babies born locally with a spectacular installation outside the building which will cast beams of light into the sky to represent new births. Each of the families with babies born in January will received lifetime membership to Factory International - providing priority booking, discounted tickets and exclusive invites.
Tickets for the opening events will go on general sale from 10am on October 6. There will be priority booking for Factory International members from 10am on October 4.
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