Factory International

MIF21

Deborah Warner's Arcadia at The Factory site at MIF21 image

About MIF21

Despite the challenges of the pandemic, MIF returned to the city centre on schedule in July 2021 with a Festival like no other: 18 much-needed days of culture, creativity and connection after months of lockdown.

From Boris Charmatz's opening Sea Change on Deansgate to the 20,000-book giveaway from Marta Minujín's Big Ben Lying Down, MIF21 had the people of Manchester at its heart. The city came alive with public art: Cephas Williams' timely Portrait of Black Britain at Manchester Arndale, Christine Sun Kim's Captioning the City and the Poet Slash Artist group show across the city – and our biggest ever line-up in Festival Square.

Manchester Central's music programme ranged from Abi Sampa to Arlo Parks, and from Manchester Camerata to Manchester hip hop. Manchester Jewish Museum reopened with Turner Prize-winner Laure Prouvost, while Rashid Rana brought a manifesto of possibilities to the city centre and Forensic Architecture taught Cloud Studies at the Whitworth. And there was our largest ever online programme, including on-demand streams of All of This Unreal Time, Notes on Grief and Theatre-Rites' The Global Playground.

Last but by no means least, MIF21 offered a glimpse of the future with Deborah Warner's Arcadia – the very first work created for and presented at The Factory, MIF's new home. The shape of things to come?

MIF21 Highlights

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