Aviva Studios artist development

While cash-strapped Aviva Studios is having to raid its ring-fenced reserve fund as it seeks to establish itself, the £240m landmark Manchester arts venue has announced a series of opportunities for Northern creatives, musicians and more.

Applications are open for the Factory International Fellowship 2025, a nine-month scheme that invites six artists to go behind the scenes during the creation of some of the large-scale productions taking place at Aviva Studios and Manchester International Festival.

The fellowship is open to independent artists and creative practitioners based in the North to develop new knowledge, experience, skills and networks.

Previous beneficiaries, who now work as comedians, theatre-makers, dancers, musicians, photographers and more, have gone on to exhibit and perform across the UK and overseas, and have received artistic commissions from the likes of Sky Arts, BBC Arts, the BFI, Arts Council England, the British Council and the Princes’ Trust.  

Artist Takeover applications are now open, for groups of South Asian artists from any discipline based in the North of England with a minimum of five years of professional practice.

In May next year, Factory International will hand over the keys to the vast Warehouse space at Aviva Studios for use by a South Asian artist group or collective that wants to experiment and create work at a scale not possible elsewhere. Artists will be offered up to £10,000 support to explore their idea, as well as dedicated guidance from within the Factory International team.

Factory International’s first Artist Takeover at Aviva Studios invited 100 professional and non-professional performers including babies, a brass band and a local cheerleading group into the space to experiment and play with malleable materials.

Following this, 54: Manchester used archive film materials, sound and material design to turn the South Warehouse into an immersive audio-visual installation, investigating the Black British experience in the North West. The third takeover, led by Liverpool’s Studio Tonto, used a combination of tactile interfaces, projections and sound to create an enchanted garden.

Factory Sounds is a development programme for those involved in Manchester’s music scene. Applications for the 2025 group open on November 4. Successful applicants will be offered £1,000 towards the creation of a new project, peer-to-peer support, networking opportunities and a series of regular masterclasses in artist management, promotion, and fundraising.

Factory International also hosts monthly meetings for local creatives. The next Artist Drop-In will be on October 30. Artists from outside the UK are also invited to the Social for Global Creatives on November 2.