Factory International

Factory+

From video series and podcasts to editorial takeovers, artist experiments and virtual worlds - it’s all here at Factory+.

Series

In the Studio

Artists and collectives show us the space where their ideas come to life.

Dream Space

What does art have the power or potential to do, when we allow ourselves to dream? We explore this in our new podcast, hosted by Gemma Cairney.

Factory Talks

A series of talks where the brightest minds in art, culture, and innovation come together to share their insights and creative journeys.

Factory Sessions

Discover live performances from the best in the business and Manchester’s next gen of musicians.

Editor in Residence

  • Food and culture writer Ruby Tandoh

    Ruby Tandoh

    Ruby Tandoh takes over Factory+ to uncover the alternate realities of food, inspired by our blockbuster summer show Sweet Dreams.

    Bridging the past, present, future and virtual worlds, the celebrated food and culture writer asks what if we thought about our food systems in a different way?

    From encountering food in video games to uncovering how chicken came to be Britain's favourite meat, each essay scratches beneath the surface of what we think we know about food. Featuring contributions from artist Alice Bucknell, historian Diane Purkiss, author Olivia Sudjic and more.

    Photo:Eva Pentel

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Meara Sharma | How food travels across cultures

How do dishes travel and evolve through space and time – and where might they be headed next? Meara Sharma traces one home comfort across the world

Ruby Tandoh | Elixirs

From the psychoactive colas of old to the ancient-but-modern tonics of today, Ruby Tandoh dives into the murky waters of the health drink

Juliet Jacques | On Pizza

Move over chicken. Writer and filmmaker Juliet Jacques muses on the proliferation of pizza in all its glorious forms

Olivia Sudjic | Influencing Food

Novelist Olivia Sudjic considers how social media and influencers impact our food culture while hiding the economic realities of the industry

Alice Bucknell | Playing with Food

From Mario’s mushrooms to cozy cooking in Animal Crossing, what does the food at our fingertips in gaming reveal about our food systems?

Diane Purkiss | On Chicken

Historian Diane Purkiss tells the history of Britain's favourite meat – from Ancient Roman worship to the industrially raised chickens we eat today.

Ruby Tandoh | Editor's Letter

Ruby Tandoh takes over Factory+ as Editor in Residence to explore our food ecosystems – covering the past, present, future and virtual world.

Past Editors

  • Editor in Residence | McKenzie Wark

    Author McKenzie Wark took up residence on Factory+ to muse on the question: where do you go to free your body? Read the full collection of essays here.

  • Editor in Residence | Kemi Alemoru

    Our first Editor in Residence was Gal-dem Editor Kemi Alemoru who commissioned a collection contemporary UK writing to explore the theme of space.

Read

An Introduction to...

Get to know our diverse alumni of artists and their work.

New Writers

New Writers brings you flash fiction from emerging writers based in the North of England.

Games

I CAN'T FOLLOW YOU ANYMORE

I CAN'T FOLLOW YOU ANYMORE
This new browser-based video game from artist and world builder Danielle Brathwaite-Shirley explores Black trans identity, spirituality and resistance through vampires – all wrapped up in a 90s horror aesthetic.
Discover more and play →

  • We Dwell in Possibility

    The latest digital work in our Virtual Factory series is a queer gardening simulation by Robert Yang and Eleanor Davis.

  • Your Progress Will Be Saved

    LaTurbo Avedon journeys inside Fortnite Creative for the first work in our Virtual Factory series

  • Songs of the Lost

    Paloma Dawkins' magic-realist game odyssey through a surreal and absurd digital landscape.

  • Lost Memories Dot Net

    MIF’s first ever game commission, courtesy of one of the most innovative and individual video game designers working today - Nina Freeman.

Art

  • Factory Works

    A new audio artwork and accompanying film by Neville Gabie – created with Nabihah Iqbal, Mark Thomas and the construction workers who built Aviva Studios.

  • Postcards From Now

    Postcards from Now presents five distinct films from leading international artists that responded to the Global Pandemic.

  • To the Moon

    In this interactive essay, Laurie Anderson shares how she drew inspiration from constellations to create a new work in VR for MIF19, To the Moon.

  • Big Ben Lying Down With Political Books

    Explore Argentinian art pioneer Marta Minujín’s participatory artwork alongside comprehensive archives of her work.

  • Portrait Of Black Britain Online

    This online gallery profiles a range of Black people living in the UK today, the contributions they make and the roles they play in society

  • The Story of Aviva Studios

    Explore the journey from ambitious idea to landmark cultural venue through four commissioned projects.

Experiments

Immersive Tech In Performance

In 2019, we began a major piece of research and development exploring how audiences of the future will experience live performance. Fifteen specialist organisations, including MIF brought together their expertise in theatre and performance, the music industry, video production, gaming and the research sector to explore what it means to perform live using technologies such as virtual reality, augmented reality and mixed reality.

To celebrate the completion of this research many of the findings have been published at Findings In The Future, a collection of panel discussions and technical documents that share insights into the making of DYSTOPIA987, Dream and more.

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Adapting Story, Character & Performance for XR

00:58:10

Performance, Puppetry and XR Stages

01:05:37

Cross Sector R&D

00:44:10

Physical and Virtual Counterparts: Blending Real and Virtual Worlds

00:52:49

Behind the Scenes

Building Worlds

Building Worlds takes you behind the scenes of our productions to meet the teams and people that create a show.

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