Arts venue named ‘one of the world’s greatest places’ by Time Magazine

Aviva Studios, the dazzling new home of Factory International, has been honoured by Time Magazine as one of the World’s Greatest Places of 2024.

The striking venue, situated on the grounds of the former Granada Studios, has been making waves since its grand opening last October.

Factory International

From the spellbinding Danny Boyle-directed ‘Free Your Mind’, to Yayoi Kusama’s psychedelic wonderland ‘You, Me and the Balloons’, Factory International continue to push the realms of what’s possible with the intriguing art space.

Designed by the renowned architectural firm Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA), and co-founded by the celebrated architect Rem Koolhaas, Aviva Studios stands as the first UK cultural institution to bear their signature.

This state-of-the-art complex has revitalised a historic industrial tract along the River Irwell, positioning Manchester as a burgeoning cultural capital.

As the permanent home of the Manchester International Festival, Aviva Studios continues the festival’s legacy of showcasing groundbreaking work from renowned creators.

Since its inception in 2007, the festival has staged performances in unexpected venues, including a dramatic adaptation of Italo Calvino’s Invisible Cities within a disused train station.

Here’s what Time Magazine had to say about it

The long-anticipated performing arts campus on the grounds of the former Granada Studios had star power behind it long before its first show premiered last October. 

Aviva Studios, home of Factory International is the first cultural institution in the United Kingdom designed by the powerhouse architecture firm Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA), co-founded by Rem Koolhaas.

This latest development, revitalising an industrial tract along the River Irwell, serves as the new permanent home of the Manchester International Festival.

Since 2007, this biennial arts fest has premiered new works from acclaimed creators like David Lynch and Yoko Ono in the unlikeliest places all across the city, including staging a theatrical adaptation of the Italo Calvino novel Invisible Cities deep within a derelict train station.

Now Manchester is emerging as a cultural capital: new shows will debut under this one roof all year round. The opening season kicked off last fall with Free Your Mind, a modern dance interpretation of The Matrix, by native son and Oscar-winner Danny Boyle.

What has been the impact of Factory International so far?

A recent report to the Manchester City Council shed some light on Factory International’s impressive achievements and its promising future.

The multi-million-pound arts centre has not only enriched the city’s cultural scene but is also projected to inject up to £1.1 billion into Manchester’s economy over the next decade through job creation and visitor spending.

The venue expects to welcome up to 850,000 visitors annually, with numbers soaring to a million during the Manchester International Festival years.

The venue has attracted more than £106m of national funding to Manchester including £78.1m in Treasury Funding, £21m Cultural Capital Kickstart funding from the Cultural Recovery Fund, £7m in National Lottery Funding from Arts Council England and £620,000 additional Arts Council England funding.

This funding represents an almost unprecedented national investment in the arts outside London and the South East and is the largest anywhere in the UK since the Tate Modern in 2000.

This underlines the national and international significance of Aviva Studios and is money which would not otherwise have been available to the city’s arts sector.

What else is on Time Magazine’s greatest places list?

Aviva Studios takes its place on the esteemed list that includes a wide variety of places – including:

CERN Science Gateway, Meyrin, Switzerland – A cutting-edge science centre connected to CERN, where visitors can explore the frontiers of particle physics and

Kamba African Rainforest Experiences, Odzala-Kokoua National Park, Republic of the Congo – A captivating eco-tourism destination that allows visitors to immerse themselves in the lush rainforests of Africa

Bab Al Salam Mosque, Muscat, Oman – A stunning mosque known for its architectural beauty and spiritual significance in Oman’s capital

wukalina Walk, Tasmania, Australia – An immersive cultural walk offering insights into Tasmania’s Indigenous heritage and natural beauty

What’s on at Factory International?

We can’t wait to see what Factory International puts on next.

You can see what’s on this summer at Factory International by clicking here