Tens of thousands of people made their way down to the groundbreaking new £210 million Factory International theatre and arts venue – to be officially known as Aviva Studios – last month ahead of its official opening in October to see the major new installation by celebrated Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama, and it’s fair to say they were left mesmerised by the jaw-dropping spectacle.
New late-night tickets added for Yayoi Kusama’s giant polka-dot inflatables exhibition / Credit: David Levine (via Factory International)
Once you walk through the doors of the brand-new warehouse space, the first room is a sea of black and yellow spotted tentacles covering the walls and floor, and towering way overhead.
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From here, you then head into the hangar-like main hall, where you can first view the full exhibition from a balcony, before having the chance to get in amongst the other-worldly selection of Yayoi Kusama’s creations for yourself – from a massive pumpkin, to inflatable clouds you can lie on.
You can also wander through a forest of glowing pink tentacles, gawp up at colourful dogs called Ring-Ring and Toko-Ton, and peer into a room of polka-dot mirrors.
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Some of the artworks are more than a whopping 10-metres tall.
If you haven’t yet been able to marvel at the spectacular installation with your own eyes, there’s now the the chance to see it after hours, as from this week (4 August), visitors will be able to experience the ambitious immersive environment on Friday and Saturday evenings – with tickets up for grabs from 7:30pm and last entry at 9:45pm.
The new late-night tickets will set you back £15 each, with a range of concessions available.
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Tens of thousands of visitors got the experience the new installation at MIF23 / Credit: The Manc Group
As well as the new late-night opening hours, there’s also a free programme of family-friendly activities inspired by the installation running throughout the school summer holidays – with everything from dance workshops, upcycling, and craftmaking, to other self-led learning activities led by local artists, makers, and creators on the lineup.
Then, on Saturday 5 August, audiences can get a curator’s insight into both the exhibition and Kusama’s life and work, with an illustrated talk by Factory International’s Phoebe Greenwood, the Tate Modern’s Katy Wan – who also curated Kusama’s ‘Infinity Mirror Rooms’.
You, Me and the Balloons is on view in Manchester until 28 August, and you can grab tickets from the Factory International website here.
Featured Image – The Manc Group
What's On
Embrace announce intimate live show in beloved Bury music venue
Danny Jones
British alternative veterans Embrace have announced another intimate show here in Greater Manchester, only this time it’s over in Bury at a stunning small-cap arts venue.
It’s not often you get to see such a long-standing band play outside of the city centre so far into their career, especially in gorgeous grassroots spaces like this one.
A fellow Northern outfit, they’ve often been lumped in with that ‘post-Britpop’ era of music, and plenty throw around the so-called ‘dad rock’ label, but honestly, we couldn’t care either way: they remain among the UK’s perennially underappreciated underdogs that never get old, as far as we’re concerned.
Revealing a handful of new live dates for their album launch this summer, they’ll be making just two appearances in the North West on the run.
Writing in the post, the group said: “We’ve lined up a run of exclusive UK dates in venues that are some of the smallest we’ve played in years. It’s going to be special, but capacity is extremely limited.”
As you can see, besides the Jacaranda Baltic in Liverpool, the only other place in this region where they’re set to play for this mini tour is The Met over in Bury.
One of the most beautiful gig spots, not just in the town but in all the 10 boroughs, for our money, the room only holds around 400 standing and roughly 250 seats.
For seasoned artists like this lot, who are more used to playing big festival stages and big domestic headline tours – which they’re also doing later this year – it’s sure to be a special night.
Toasting the release of their ninth studio LP, Avalanche, this spin-off on the tried and tested in-store format wouldn’t be possible without the help of local record store, Wax and Beans, who are promoting and hosting the show.
But we can’t lie, there’s something about the idea of seeing them decades on from when they first tightly-packed out crowds of this size.
If you want to be part of the Embrace album launch tour, you can get ready to grab your tickets at 10am this Friday, 27 March, right HERE. And speaking of great record shops…
Yard Act announce handful of new headline shows ahead of 6Music gig in Manchester
Clementine Hall
Yard Act are back as they announce first round of UK headline dates since 2024, including a show right here in Manchester – but not before their BBC 6Music Festival gig later this week.
We are so, SO back.
It’s been a few years, but Yard Act have just announced a limited run of domestic shows for later in the year including their homecoming gig at the O2 Academy in Leeds on Friday, 6 November.
But after playing over in Yorkshire, the lads will be performing shows at the O2 Victoria Warehouse on the following Friday (13 Nov).
Yard Act completed the touring for their critically acclaimed second album, Where’s My Utopia?, with a victory lap back home at the 5000 capacity Millennium Square in Leeds in August ’24.
It was a record that brought a stark change of pace to the acerbic, post-punk of their debut, embracing something altogether more playful and bringing a different energy.
It shifted the dynamic on stage too, with the addition of dancing backing singers and additional musicians and openly challenged listeners to reconsider who they thought Yard Act were.
Since then, the band have been keeping busy writing and recording their third studio LP, as well as heading out across the UK and Europe with The Hives – oh, and that intimate one-off show at Blackpool Tower last May.
Following a lengthy stint in the studio, the band now look to this coming autumn for three big UK dates and we cannot wait. We spoke to them a little while back and know how much big stuff they’ve got further pipeline; you can see the interview HERE.
Booking just three headline slots, the handful of tour dates are as follows:
06 Nov – Leeds
13 Nov – Manchester
26 Nov – London
Tickets go on artist presale from 10am on Wednesday, 25 March before hitting general sale at 10am on Friday, 27 March. Sign up to grab yours right HERE.
As for those wanting to find out more about this year’s 6Music Fest, you find the full lineup and more down below.
Emily Sergeant -
3rd August 2023 
