A local artist with bipolar disorder and autism has given a makeover to a dull passageway at Manchester Victoria station.
Huge artworks of the city’s skyline have been installed on the footbridge at the train station, where it will be seen by thousands of commuters every day.
The public art installation and colourful tribute to our city has been created by self-taught Mancunian artist Dez, or Loveartpix, and is his biggest piece to date.
The windows along the bridge have been covered in 11 bold coloured pieces of art from his Iconic Manchester collection as part of Victoria’s makeover.
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Dez at Victoria after its makeover. Credit: Loveartpix
They show some of Manchester’s most recognisable buildings, including the National Football Museum, Hotel Gotham, the Central Library, Printworks, and Manchester Victoria itself.
Dez was diagnosed with bipolar in his 20s, then autism later in life, and campaigns to break the stigma around mental illness and autism.
He said he uses art as his own personal therapy and coping strategy, saying: “I’m a strong advocate for neurodiverse and mental health conditions and promote art therapy – as it’s what I do to help me cope.”
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He hopes that his work will ‘project a positive mood on the people commuting and using the station’.
Dez’s ‘Iconic Manchester’ series has been installed at Victoria. Credit: Loveartpix
Dez has been working as Loveartpix for three years, regularly donating to local charities.
Chris Jackson, regional director for Northern, who manage the station on behalf of Network Rail, said: “This amazing piece of art is a great addition to the station interior and something I know our passengers will enjoy admiring as they travel through the station every day.
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“Dez has really captured the featured buildings well. They’re as Manchester as you get.”
The Iconic Manchester murals were unveiled at Victoria with a small ceremony that included The Queens High Sheriff of Manchester.
Dez said: “Yesterday’s launch was very nerve wrecking and involved a lot of medication to get through it (and a few Irish coffees) but I was very pleased and proud I made it there.
“This was a very moving life experience and something I will never forget.
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“I want to thank everyone who came and showed support and let you know how important it was to me.
“I also want to thank all the staff at Northern who have supported me with this project and for once again trusting me to bring my artistic vision to yet another station.”
Featured image: Network Rail
Art & Culture
A sneak peak into Factory International, Manchester’s enormous new £186m arts space
Daisy Jackson
The looming grey structure of Factory International, Manchester’s £186m new cultural space, has taken shape, with its opening plans announced today.
The acclaimed Danny Boyle will direct the venue’s opening production, a performance inspired by The Matrix films.
5000 tickets for Free Your Mind, which will be presented across the flexible spaces in the building, will be sold for £10 or less, to give everyone in the community a chance to experience the huge site.
Factory International is set to open its doors in June 2023, programmed and operated by the team behind Manchester International Festival.
The enormous 13,350 sq metre space inside utilises supersized moveable walls, which can reconfigure the space for different performances.
This will be the view from the bar areaInside the enormous space
With its location on the banks of the River Irwell, floor-to-ceiling windows will be installed in the bar area, giving views of the Ordsall Chord and the river itself.
Factory International will welcome artists from across the globe with its year-round programme of arts, music and culture.
It’s the largest investment in a national cultural project since the opening of the Tate Modern in 2000, thanks to almost £100 million of Government funding and further backing from Manchester City Council and Arts Council England.
The Danny Boyle-directed Free Your Mind, also created with choreographer Kenrick ‘H2O’ Sandy MBE, composer Michael ‘Mikey J’ Asante MBE, world-leading designer Es Devlin and acclaimed writer Sabrina Mahfouz, will officially launch Factory International between 18 October and 5 November 2023.
CGIs of inside Factory International. Credit: OMA 10
But the space will come to life much earlier than that, with Manchester International Festival making use of the space for its biennial event and filling it with inflatable sculptures between 29 June and 28 August 2023.
The major exhibition comes from Yayoi Kusama and will be called You, Me and the Balloons, featuring 10-metre tall inflatable structures in the shape of giant dolls, tendrilled landscapes, and polka-dot spheres.
There’ll be a nine-day programme called The Welcome next autumn, with everything from circus to music to fashion filling the building.
Artist Luke Jerram will also be celebrating the births of hundreds of babies born locally, casting beams of light into the sky to represent the new arrivals – and each of the families with babies born in January will receive a lifetime membership to Factory International.
The new cultural venue is located in the St John’s neighbourhood, on the site of the former Granada Studios.
Factory International. Image by OMA 24
John McGrath, Artistic Director & Chief Executive of Factory International, said: “We’re delighted to be able to share our opening plans for Factory International. At every stage in imagining and building this extraordinary space we have focussed on creating new possibilities – for artists to let their imaginations fly, for citizens of Manchester and the world to meet and dream, and for people of all ages and backgrounds to build skills and gain experience. Factory International is truly a place where we can invent tomorrow together.”
Stuart Andrew, Arts Minister said: “Thanks to almost £100 million of Government funding, Factory International will further increase access to world-class arts and culture in Manchester when it opens its doors for the first time in summer 2023. This represents a great example of the Government’s commitment to distribute arts funding right across the country.
“It is fantastic to see such an exciting programme of events being put together for its opening and I look forward to seeing the positive impact the venue has on the city.”
Councillor Bev Craig, Leader of Manchester City Council, said: “This remarkable new space, rooted in Manchester, will be a significant addition to the national and international arts landscape and a major visitor destination. Factory International will further strengthen the city’s role as a centre for culture, creativity and innovation. It is already creating jobs and apprenticeships for people who live here and will be an important training centre for an array of creative careers. As well as changing lives directly, Factory International will provide a huge economic boost to Manchester, creating or supporting up to 1,500 jobs and adding £1.1 billion to the city’s economy over a decade. This is, in more ways than one, a landmark moment.”
Ellen van Loon, OMA Partner and Lead Architect, said: “Factory International will be a new type of performance space – a unique crossover between a fixed theatre and flexible warehouse. Super-sized moveable walls enable endless configurations within a large space, allowing audiences unexpected vistas of performers. I hope that whenever people come to Factory International they always experience something different, as if with each visit they encounter a different building.”
Danny Boyle, director, said: “I’m delighted to be part of Factory International as a starting point for a kind of identity that this extraordinary new building is going to have. It’s a space that gives you an enormous amount of potential. It’s wildly ambitious in terms of its scale. In my lifetime, to see a new space like this open is hugely empowering, and I hope the new generation of artists feel that power.”
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Factory International 2022. Credit: Pawel Paniczko
Es Devlin, artist and designer, said: “Since its inception in 2007 Manchester International Festival has produced some of the most innovative and urgent works I’ve been fortunate enough to witness, which have had an immense impact on my practice including such pioneers as Steve McQueen, Adam Curtis, Marina Abramović, Björk, Akram Khan, Yoko Ono and more. Factory International will continue to cultivate these world-class collaborations, with each project rooted on this specific site and within the community in Manchester. It’s a profound privilege to be invited to take part in its inception. Like a new musical instrument, a new building needs to be ‘tuned in,’ and it’s immensely energising to be present when it starts to sing.”
Michael ‘Mikey J’ Asante MBE, producer, composer and DJ, said: “The uniqueness and versatility of Factory International allows us to really create something different and be magical, to play with different concepts and open up a whole new way of trying to interact with our creativity. With our production we want to show people what they could possibly do in this space, that they have the opportunity to create something different and get them to envisage how they would use it.”
Kenrick ‘H2O’ Sandy MBE, choreographer and performer, said: “What excites me is the flexibility of Factory International, exploring how versatile the building can be, how to take the venue to another level. I want us as artistic collaborators to be challenged within the space.”
Featured image: Pawel Paniczko
Art & Culture
INNSiDE North UK launch new intimate gig and event series — from inside a bedroom
Danny Jones
INNSiDE North UK is launching an new series of intimate gigs hosted from a rather unorthodox location: inside a bedroom.
‘INNSiDE The Bedroom’ is the hotel chain’s first exclusive event series and will take place from within the confines of their hotel rooms located in Manchester, Liverpool and Newcastle.
Hosted on select nights throughout the coming months, the series kicks off with a performance by Newcastle-based songwriter, Andrew Cushin, who has just come off a number of shows supporting the likes of Noel Gallagher and The Libertines.
Andrew will be taking over Gorilla on Whitworth Street for the second night of his upcoming UK tour and will be playing the first of these unique experiences at just before taking to the stage on 6 October.
Credit: Andrew Cushin
Better still, 10 people will have the chance to get tickets to watch this intimate gig first-hand, complete with full lighting and sound systems, at the four-star INNSiDE Manchester on First Street. Oh yeah, and The Manc will be filming the whole thing.
Not only will the Geordie be entertaining fans in the afternoon with an acoustic set, but the show will be followed by a meet and greet, with welcome drinks will also be offered to guests on arrival. What more could you ask for from a concert inside a bedroom?
Scott Brown, Director of Sales for the UK North arm, said: “We’re so excited to welcome Andrew Cushin to INNSiDE Manchester to kick off this fantastic new series.
He said INNSiDE, operated by Spanish hotel group Meliá, is all about “creating special experiences for our guests, from hosting wellness days to filling our bedrooms with flourishing houseplants, and now touring musicians!”
He added that the team “can’t wait to see Andrew in action and look forward to announcing further acts across [their] hotels” and neither can we, to be honest.
First Street has seen more events than ever following HOME cinema, theatre and gallery’s inaugural Festival this year, with live music playing a key part of the outdoor vibes throughout this summer.
While INNSiDE regularly has live music and DJs in the Open Living Lounge and downstairs lobby areas, this will be the first time the hotel has hosted an event like this in one of its bedrooms. It’s like a throwback to those lockdown livestream loads of musicians did during quarantine only with people in the room!
The ‘INNSiDE The Bedroom’ series is designed to stay in keeping with INNSiDE by Meliá’s philosophy, ‘Stay Curious’, which promises to accommodate guests’ every need with considered comforts and inspiring experiences enriched with music, art and wellness.
As mentioned, the 10 lucky music fans will be able to win the chance to attend the exclusive gig at INNSiDE Manchester via a competition on Instagram, which will also include tickets to the Gorilla gig with Andrew Cushin later that evening, so keep an eye out!
Daisy Jackson -
28th February 2022 
