Chinese artist Ai Weiwei to hold first major show in the north of England

Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei will lead the spring exhibitions at Aviva Studios in Manchester this year, marking his first major show in the north of England.

Manchester arts organisation Factory International has revealed the upcoming season at the venue, with 68-year-old Weiwei among the artists to be showcased, along with a dance production dedicated to late Irish singer Sinead O’Connor.

Weiwei’s large-scale show will take over Aviva Studios’ Warehouse space as he explores 200 years of world history, focusing on British imperialism, Chinese and British relations and the rise of globalisation.

The world-renowned contemporary artist will showcase two new commissions, including his largest 2D artwork to date, made from over a million toy bricks, and a piece made from hundreds of thousands of buttons.

The exhibition will incorporate materials such as antique timber, porcelain, cotton, glass and bronze, and will bring new and existing large scale work together, on display in the UK for the first time.

Weiwei said: “I’m not interested in making very big things just for the sake of it. But in Manchester, that wonderful Warehouse space calls for monumental work.

“Visiting the city for this exhibition – the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution – and reflecting on Britain’s global territorial expansion made me realise I had to explore that history and understand how it connects to the forces driving today’s wars and global crises.

“The world today is deeply divided, with tragedy all around. Understanding history goes hand in hand with standing up for truth and justice.”

Weiwei is a dissident artist and activist, who is best known for working on the design of Beijing’s Olympic stadium and filling the Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall with hand-crafted porcelain sunflower seeds in 2010.

Ai Weiwei: Button Up! will run from July 2 to September 6 at Aviva Studios in Manchester.

Also due to showcase at the Aviva Studios this season is a dance production based around the works of Grammy-winning singer O’Connor, who died in 2023.

The Irish star was acclaimed for her musical talent, however over the years she became well-known for being outspoken about her social and political views.

The new exhibition, created by award-winning choreographer and director Sonya Tayeh, is a dance work set to the music of O’Connor, and has been described as “a mediation on voice, protest and the courage to live a life that defies the norm”.

Tayeh, 49, said: “To me, Sinead O’Connor’s music is rooted in a sense of a desire for freedom, an unrelenting righteousness and a quest for a spiritual awakening.

“The depth of emotion in her music is unmatched and vibrates through the dance space with such electric inspiration for me and has for decades now.”

The Surge: An Ode To Sinead O’Connor will be performed by 10 women, and will make its world premiere at the venue on June 25.

Other exhibitions announced by Factory International include puppetry and dance show Return To The Forest, and experimental musical performance Angel’s Bone – which will be the English National Opera’s first production in Manchester.

John McGrath, artistic director and chief executive at Factory International, said: “This season we have a collection of firsts.

“Factory International is collaborating with pioneering, fearless artists this spring, inviting them to use the flexibility and versatility of our extraordinary home Aviva Studios as their playground, to create work they could not make anywhere else.”

Aviva Studios will also host a number of concerts this year, with pop star Lily Allen, US singer Halsey and DJ Fatboy Slim among the stars slated to perform at the venue.