Factory International

MIF25

FALE SĀ / SACRED HOUSE

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A member of FAFSWAG with glowing white eyes and red and black face paint stares intensely at the camera. They wear red beaded necklaces, and the image is flipped upside down.
Date
4 - 20 Jul 2025
Venue
HOME, Tony Wilson Place, First Street, Manchester M15 4FN
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Accessibility features available for this event: Wheelchair Access

Critically acclaimed Queer Indigenous collective FAFSWAG take over HOME – with stunning digital art, live cultural ceremony and a programme of films and talks grounded in Pacific identity and culture

A celebration of queer Indigenous culture, FALE SĀ / SACRED HOUSE is the outcome of a two-year artistic residency by artist collective FAFSWAG.

Founded in Auckland in 2013, FAFSWAG’s work centres Indigenous world views, drawing from a deep well of ancestral knowledge to imagine potential futures for Indigenous people beyond the colonial gaze.

Created for Manchester International Festival, FALE SĀ / SACRED HOUSE responds to the reality that home is a precarious notion for cultures in a constant state of motion and displacement. Over two years, artists from the FAFSWAG collective were invited to create a ceremonial house inhabited by ancestral stories from the Pacific Diaspora of Aotearoa New Zealand and the wider Moana.

Culminating at MIF25, FAFSWAG will welcome audiences on an immersive cultural journey into the realm of Pacific storytelling as they take over the Manchester city centre venue HOME for the duration of the festival.

Encompassing an always-on exhibition of digital art, moments of live cultural ceremony and a programme of indigenous cinema and public discussions, FALE SĀ / SACRED HOUSE explores themes like transformation and ritual, fantasy and futurism, the environment, cultural languages and spirituality.

A joyous and thought-provoking celebration of cultural exchange and storytelling, with FALE SĀ / SACRED HOUSE FAFSWAG ask for your participation, not your consumption.

Events

FALE SĀ / SACRED HOUSE is grounded in three distinct Samoan cultural practices – Sauniga, Fāgogo and Talanoa which come together to create a multi-layered experience. Discover more about each element below.

  • SAUNIGA

    SAUNIGA is a cultural ceremony that explores the majestic world of our earliest ancestors: the animals from the land, sky and ocean.

  • FĀGOGO

    FĀGOGO brings together an exhibition of striking digital art exploring some of the major issues impacting Pacific peoples

  • TALANOA

    Expanding on the world of cultural storytelling in the FALE SĀ / SACRED HOUSE, TALANOA presents a programme of discussions, workshop and cinema

Manchester International Festival 2025

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Credits

Commissioned by HOME and Factory International.

Produced by Factory International. SAUNIGA (cultural ceremony) was developed with support from Asia TOPA, Arts Centre Melbourne.

Image: FAFSWAG

Access information

Please see individual event pages above.

HOME Access Information →

Travel information

HOME is located between Oxford Road Train Station and Deansgate Train Station.

  • Deansgate train station is closest at 0.2 miles
  • Oxford Road train station is 0.3 miles
  • Piccadilly train station is located 0.7 miles away
  • Victoria train station is 1 mile away

Deansgate-Castlefield is the nearest Metrolink stop, a 5 min walk away, which is 0.2 miles or 320 metres from HOME.

The venue can be approached from Whitworth Street West, First Street or Medlock Street

Bike racks are situated between HOME and the INNSIDE by Meliá hotel. There are 20 bike stands available and additional racks are installed in the area surrounding First Street.

There is a cycle hire bank on at the corner of Medlock Street and City Road East.

Take a look at Transport for Greater Manchester’s webpage for advice on cycle hire.

The 256 bus from Piccadilly Gardens stops on Medlock Street. The bus stops are located 50 metres and 150 metres from HOME’s entrance. Get off the bus and walk towards HOME which is visible from the road.

Alternatively, you can use the Free Bus that links the main rail stations, shopping areas and businesses in the city centre. There are two circular routes covering the city centre. Free buses run from Piccadilly, Salford Central, Victoria, Oxford Road and Deansgate train stations.

Take a look at TFGM’s bus information for further details: https://tfgm.com/ways-to-travel/bus

Q-Park First Street multi-storey carpark has 28 accessible parking spaces. Blue Badges are not valid for free parking. You can find alternative Blue Badge parking on the Manchester City Council website here.

The nearest car park is Q-Park at First Street. The pedestrian car park entrance is approximately 30 metres from HOME’s main entrance. If you book online, you can receive a discount of 25% when you pre-book your car park ticket online, using the code: HOMEMCR25.

HOME is 0.8 miles from Aviva Studios, and the route is serviced by bus route 33.

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