MIF25

Venture Arts: Experiments in the Lab

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Artwork by Michael Beard showing lies on a white background, which are different shades of green and yellow Artwork by Michael Beard showing lies on a white background, which are different shades of green and yellow
Date
6 - 15 Jul 2025
Venue
The Lab, Aviva Studios, Water Street, Manchester, M3 4JQ
Tickets
Free tickets, pre-booking required

Sunday 6 July: 4–5pm

Tuesday 8 July: 7–8pm

Tuesday 15 July: 7–8pm

We have free Essential Companion tickets available for wheelchair users and disabled visitors. We do not require proof to book an Essential Companion ticket with your access ticket.

Essential Companion tickets are free with a wheelchair, disabled, BSL, captioned or audio description ticket at any price point, including £10 and concession price tickets. Essential Companion tickets are intended for people for whom it would be significantly difficult to access our venue without support from another person.

To book access tickets please call 0161 817 4531 (Monday to Saturday, 10am to 6pm) or email access@factoryinternational.org or book online. For more instructions, please visit How To Book Access Tickets.

We’re putting art in the heart of Manchester, within reach of everyone; and have affordable ticket options including £10 tickets on most shows for those who need them.

For information about Aviva £10 Tickets and concessions visit our Affordable Ticketing FAQs page.

Book tickets - members only Become a member for priority booking

Suitable for all ages - Under 14s with an adult 18+
Running time: 1 hour

Accessibility features available for this event: Relaxed Performance Wheelchair Access

Artist-in-residence Michael Beard joins Company Chameleon and Manchester Camerata for a live collaborative performance

Venture Arts set up shop at MIF25 with a pop-up open studio – featuring artist-in-residence Michael Beard. Join Michael for a live painting session with dance from Company Chameleon and music from Manchester Camerata. How might their work change with collaboration?

Michael Beard is an artist from Venture Arts – an award-winning organisation that works with neurodivergent and learning disabled artists in Manchester. His work covers painting, illustration and ceramic sculpture, and often features handwriting, letters and references to his immense passion for travel.

Manchester Camerata is the UK's most relentlessly pioneering orchestra, who are on a mission to redefine what an orchestra can be. Company Chameleon makes original, inspiring dance theatre in Manchester, and returns to Aviva Studios after their mass group performance Deep Flow in 2023.

Venture Arts: Michael Beard

A painting by Michael Beard showing yellow, red and blue lines on a black background. There is a red image of a dancer upside down overlayed on the painting.
Venture Arts: Michael Beard is a pop-up open studio and relaxed space for creativity – spotlighting artist-in-residence Michael Beard.

Manchester International Festival 2025

A bold, artistic graphic with the words "DREAM Differently" in yellow text against a red and pink gradient background with a grainy texture.
MIF is back – inviting you to leap into the unknown with some of the most exciting creative minds of our generation.

Tickets

Factory International members on sale: Tuesday 11 March, 12.30pm

General tickets on sale: Wednesday 19 March, 10am

For ticketing and box office related enquiries, please contact tickets@factoryinternational.org or call 0333 322 8679 (phone lines are open Monday to Saturday, 10am to 6pm).

For more information please visit Ticketing and Sale of Goods Terms & Conditions – Factory International

Credits

Commissioned by Factory International and Venture Arts.

Produced by Factory International.

Image: Courtesy of artist

Access information

Our full address is Aviva Studios, Water Street, Manchester M3 4JQ and the what3words is chop.feeds.chase.

You can approach Aviva Studios along Water Street (coming from Quay Street) or along Liverpool Road (coming from Deansgate or Castlefield). Both entrances to the building have double sets of glass doors.

Once inside Aviva Studios, there is step-free access to all areas of the venue. The flooring throughout the building is smooth concrete.

The entrance to the Warehouse is by lift or stairs from the Social. Two lifts and a staircase to the Warehouse are located in the Social opposite the bar.

The entrance to the Law Family Hall is by lift, escalator or stairs from one side of the Social beside the brick arches. There is only one escalator, and this will take you up to the Law Family Hall before the show, and will be reversed so that you can travel down at the end of the performance.

The Social has a range of seating, including those with arms and backs.

The bars in the Social and Hall Foyer have lowered accessible service points.

Our building is large. We have portable stools available to borrow if you would benefit from resting along the way during your visit.

We have wheelchair spaces and seats at standing events for all events.

There are accessible toilets on all public levels of our building.

Accessible toilets are located inside the main toilets space in the brick arches of the Social.

Here you’ll find a mixture of accessible cubicles with left- or right-hand transfer, towards the back of the space, as well as ambulant accessible cubicles with grab rails, as well as a Changing Places facility.

The toilets in the brick arches of the Social are split into male, female and gender neutral – all of which contain accessible cubicles. There are shared handwashing facilities in each arch – they have soap dispensers under the mirrors to your left and dryers to the right. There are separate handwashing facilities inside the accessible cubicles.

There are additional single-room accessible toilets located in both Hall Foyers, at stalls and circle level.

There are additional single-room accessible toilets located in the Warehouse Foyer.

You do not need a key to use the accessible toilets at Aviva Studios.

Assistance dogs are welcome in our building, and we can provide mats and water bowls on request, just ask a host when you arrive. We can also take care of your assistance dog if you do not want to take your dog into the performance space. Please also refer to our assistance dogs policy.

If you are bringing an assistance dog to a ticketed event, please let us know in advance by contacting access@factoryinternational.org or calling our access phone number: 0161 817 4531 (phone lines are open 10am to 6pm, Monday to Saturday).

To book access tickets and personal assistant tickets please call 0161 817 4531 (Monday-Saturday, 10am-6pm) or email access@factoryinternational.org.

Access bookings can be made by email, phone or online. They are also available in person at Aviva Studios.

There is step-free access to all areas of the venue. This event takes place in the Lab, which is on the ground floor.

All performances will be Relaxed. The house lights will be on, and the overall capacity will not be high.

There will be a chill out space available in the Lab for this event.

We will be producing a What To Expect Guide for this event. It will be available from 5 June.

Travel information

There are a number of rail and tram stations within the city centre which are just a short distance from Aviva Studios. The closest stations are:

By Bike

There are 40 bike parking spaces at Aviva Studios including space for two accessible bikes.

National Cycling Route 6 passes close to the venue and this TfGM webpage can help with route planning.

You can also hire bikes from on-street docking stations across the city centre. The closest docking stations to our venue are currently on Deansgate by Liverpool Road and (400m from the building) and by King Street (500m from the building). Take a look at Transport for Greater Manchester’s webpage for advice on cycle hire.

By Walking and Other Active Means

Aviva Studios can be approached along Water Street via Liverpool Road (coming from Deansgate or Castlefield).

If you're coming from Quay Street, the safest route to avoid construction works is via the cut-through opposite Gartside Street and past Booking.com.

All footways in the surrounding area are well lit and there are appropriate crossings across all main roads.

Pedestrians with visual impairment are recommended to approach the building via Water Street, from Liverpool Road. This route has traditional carriageway and footway design with fixed street furniture which should help with navigation to the entrance.

A footbridge at Left Bank in Spinningfields provides an accessible link across the River Irwell to Salford Central station, and a further footbridge also links Aviva Studios with the Salford area of Middlewood Locks.

Free bus

The free bus 1 service connects Piccadilly Station, Oxford Road and Deansgate rail stations, as well as other areas of the city centre to Aviva Studios.

The service stops on both Liverpool Road and Quay Street, close to the venue. Buses operate every 10 minutes during the day from Monday to Sunday and they are wheelchair accessible. For full details of the free bus 1 route and timetable, please visit the Bee Network website.

Bee Network services

Piccadilly Gardens is situated in the heart of Manchester and there are a number of bus services that will take you on to Aviva Studios. The 33 bus which starts at Shudehill, calls at Piccadilly Gardens and will take you straight to Liverpool Road. Services operate every 30 minutes Monday to Saturday and every hour on Sunday.

Alternatively, you can board either a 35, 36 or 38 bus to Bridge Street bus stop which is a seven-minute walk via Left Bank and Water Street to the venue.

Coming into Manchester Victoria rail station? Head on over to Shudehill Interchange (which is a seven-minute walk via Hanover Street) where you can catch the 33 bus to Liverpool Road.

Alternatively, you can board either an 8, 67 or 100 bus from Manchester Victoria to Bridge Street bus stop, which is a seven-minute walk via Left Bank and Water Street to the venue.

There is a car park approximately 0.2 miles (350m) from Aviva Studios at Water Street Car Park, New Elm Rd, Manchester, M3 4JH.

There is also a NCP car park (Manchester Spinningfields) approximately 0.25 miles (400m) away from Aviva Studios at Spinningfields, New Quay Street, Manchester, M3 3BE. It has 35 accessible bays.

There are a small number of Blue Badge spaces along Water St and Quay St. Otherwise head towards Liverpool Road, Great John St and Lower Byrom St – close to our neighbours, the Science and Industry Museum where there are a small number of additional Blue Badge spaces.

For a list of other parking bays available in the area, visit Manchester City Council website.

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