Manchester International Festival

Manchester International Festival
Status Active
Genre Festival
Dates July (dates vary)
Frequency Biennial
Venue Multiple across Manchester
Location(s) Manchester, UK
Country United Kingdom
Years active 8
Inaugurated 2007
Founder Alex Poots (Manchester City Council)
Previous event 2–19 July 2015[1]
Next event 2017 (dates to be arranged)
Attendance 259,648 (2015)
Area International
Budget £12 m for 2015 festival
* £2.5 m Manchester City Council
* £1.4 m Arts Council England
Leader John McGrath
(Artistic Director)
Filing status Registered charity
People Tom Bloxham
(Board Chairman)
Christine Cort
(Managing Director)
Fiona Gasper
(Executive Director)
Matthias von Hartz (Artistic Advisor: AA)
Mary Anne Hobbs (AA)
Michael Morris (AA)
Hans Ulrich Obrist (AA)
Peter Saville (AA)
Member Rosa Battle (Board Member:BM)
Keith Black (BM)
Jeremy Deller (BM)
Steve Downes (BM)
Joyce Hytner (BM)
Brian McMaster (BM)
Chris Oglesby (BM)
Richard Paver (BM)
Nancy Rothwell (BM)
Peter Salmon (BM)
Andrew Stokes (BM)
Kully Thiarai (BM)
Sponsor Various
Website
mif.co.uk

The Manchester International Festival is a biennial international arts festival, with a specific focus on original new work, held in the English city of Manchester. The festival is a biennial event, first taking place in June–July 2007, and subsequently recurring in the summers of 2009, 2011 and 2013. MIF 15 took place between 2–19 July 2015. The organisation is based in Blackfriars House, adjacent to Blackfriars Bridge

Pre-festival commissions

The Festival was promoted and initiated with three pre-festival commissions. The first of these took place in November 2005, when Gorillaz performed live at the Manchester Opera House. Recordings of these performances were later released as the Demon Days Live DVD. The second was The Schools Festival Song, a new piece by Ennio Morricone and Nicholas Royle sung by an 8,000-strong schools' choir, organised by Young Voices, which took place on 4 December 2006.

The third was an art installation, in conjunction with the Imperial War Museum, by Turner Prize-winning artist Steve McQueen, as a response to the 2003 Iraq war and as a tribute to British service personnel killed in that conflict. It was exhibited in the Great Hall of Manchester Central Library from 28 February to 15 July 2007.

MIF 07

The first edition of the Festival ran from 28 June - 15 July 2007. The Festival's showpiece production was Monkey: Journey To The West, a re-working of the ancient Chinese legend Journey to the West by Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett, collaborating on their first major project since Gorillaz. Albarn wrote the score while Hewlett designed the set and costumes.[2] Adapted and directed by Chen Shi-Zheng, whose credits range from classical Chinese opera to the Meryl Streep movie Dark Matter, the show also featured 45 Chinese circus acrobats, Shaolin monks and Chinese vocalists. The production was designed and created by Théâtre du Châtelet in co-operation with the Manchester International Festival and the Berlin State Opera, and performed at the Palace Theatre.

As well as Monkey, the Festival showcased two other events. The first was Il Tempo del Postino, a visual arts show curated by Hans Ulrich Obrist and Philippe Parreno and produced in conjunction with the Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris, performed at the Manchester Opera House. The other was a new stage adaptation of The Pianist, combining the original words of Władysław Szpilman spoken by actor Peter Guinness, with the music of Frédéric Chopin performed by leading pianist Mikhail Rudy, and directed by Neil Bartlett at the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester.[3]

The 2007 festival made a £0.2m loss (£8.8m worth of funding minus £9.0m expenditure), which was made up by the council's contingency and made up in the 2009 festival.[4]

The economic impact to the region was £28.8m.[5]

MIF 09

Kraftwerk with special guest Steve Reich playing at Manchester Velodrome

The 2009 Manchester International Festival took place between 2–19 July 2009; in October 2008, a press release announced the first three commissions for 2009.[6] These werePrima Donna, Rufus Wainwright's debut opera, Everybody Loves a Winner, a "new theatrical experience" by director Neil Bartlett, and a "unique environment within Manchester Art Gallery" for solo piano, violin and cello JS Bach works called the JS Bach Chamber Music Hall, created by Zaha Hadid Architects.

The entire festival programme featuring more than 20 commissions was announced in March 2009. It included a Kraftwerk and Steve Reich commission performed at the Manchester Velodrome, performance art by Marina Abramović at the Whitworth Art Gallery, a procession along Deansgate organised by Jeremy Deller and a collaboration between Elbow and The Hallé orchestra.[7] Manchester alternative rock band Epiphany are also appearing as part of the procession. The festival also featured It Felt Like A Kiss, a multimedia production created by documentary-maker Adam Curtis, Damon Albarn and Punchdrunk theatre company.

Other artists included De La Soul, Lou Reed and Laurie Anderson, Antony and the Johnsons with the Manchester Camerata, Carlos Acosta and The Durutti Column, performing a tribute to the late Tony Wilson.

The 2009 festival made a £0.2m profit (£9.5m worth of funding minus £9.3m expenditure), which made up the £0.2m deficit incurred by the 2007 festival.[4]

The economic impact to the region was £35.9m.[8]

MIF 11

The 2011 edition of the Festival ran from 30 June to 17 July 2011 and staged 27 original projects,[9] featuring artists and performers such as Björk, Damon Albarn, Snoop Dogg, Marina Abramović, Victoria Wood, WU LYF, D/R/U/G/S and Air Cav,[10][11] along with the Punchdrunk's Doctor Who production The Crash of the Elysium.[12] Manchester International Festival's director Alex Poots stated that "the most important thing for us to do is make an artistically and culturally important festival that is of the highest quality".[13] The abolition of the Northwest Regional Development Agency, which contributed £900,000 to the 2009 festival, resulted in a loss of funding for 2011's Manchester International Festival.[13]

Björk began the MIF11, with the live debut of her new album Biophilia,[14] with Dave Simpson of The Guardian stating that she "provided a stunning visual display", adding that "the Icelandic singer made a typically eye-popping entrance on huge platform shoes and sporting blue and white facepaint".[15] Sinéad O'Connor also performed at the festival, earning favourable reviews; Pamela Owen of the Daily Mail, whilst acknowledging that "she clearly wowed the audience", however, criticised her "dowdy" appearance and described her as wearing a "mumsy trouser-suit".[16]

Damon Albarn debuted his opera Doctor Dee, based on the life of Elizabethan scientist and philosopher John Dee, at the Palace Theatre. Directed by Rufus Norris, the production was described as "by no means an opera in the conventional sense" by The Guardian's Alfred Hickling, who described Dr Dee as "an erudite affair", giving it four stars.[17]

The 2011 festival made a £0.1m profit (£11.3m worth of funding minus £11.2m expenditure).[18]

The economic impact to the region was £37.6m.[19]

MIF 13

The Old Woman at the Palace Theatre, Manchester

The festival returned in 2013 and ran from 4 to 21 July [20] attracting an estimated quarter of a million attendees, generating £40 million for the city of Manchester.[21] The 18-day Festival included over 300 performances of more than 30 new commissions and special events which included collaborations with artists such as Maxine Peake, Kenneth Branagh, The xx, Massive Attack and Tino Sehgal.[22]

The 2013 Manchester International Festival pavilion at night in Albert Square

Rob Ashford and Kenneth Branagh directed a new adaptation of Macbeth at the Church of St Peter in Ancoats. Branagh starred as Macbeth alongside Alex Kingston as Lady Macbeth in a performance which The Daily Telegraph's Dominic Cavendish described as "a thrilling and cinematically fluid production" in his five star review.[23] The production was co-commissioned with New York's Park Avenue Armory where it played to rave reviews in May and June 2014.[24] During the shows run at MIF13, Macbeth was broadcast to cinemas around the world by National Theatre Live.[25]

One of the main events was Massive Attack vs Adam Curtis, a collaborative performance from Massive Attack's Robert Del Naja and Bafta-winning filmmaker Adam Curtis which took place in the Mayfield Depot. Robert Wilson directed Mikhail Baryshnikov and William Dafoe in a surrealist adaptation of Daniil Kharms' short story The Old Woman at the Palace Theatre.[26]

MIF13 introduced a members scheme which granted people access to priority booking for the most highly anticipated events. Also new was a £12 ticket scheme, allowing Greater Manchester residents on lower incomes access to more events after festival organisers acknowledged some tickets were out of the reach of local residents on lower wages.[27] Manchester City Council provided £2 million in funding and the festival boosted the local economy by £38 million.[28]

The 2013 festival broke even (£11.9m worth of funding minus £11.9m expenditure).[29]

The economic impact to the region was £38m.[30]

MIF 15

Manchester International Festival returned in 2015 and ran from 2 to 19 July.[1]

On the 19th of November 2014 Manchester International Festival announced the first three new commissions for MIF15. Tree of Codes is a new contemporary ballet directed and choreographed by Wayne McGregor with music composed by Jamie xx and visual concept by Olafur Eliasson. The performance, took place 2–10 July 2015 at Manchester Opera House, was inspired by the book Tree of Codes by Jonathan Safran Foer and featured soloists and dancers from The Paris Opera Ballet. The Tale of Mr Tumble a new theatre show for young children and families; Justin Fletcher invited audiences to step inside the colourful world of one of the most cherished TV characters, the show took place at Manchester Opera House from the 11–19 July. Manchester International Festival announced their full line-up in Spring 2015.[1]

On the 21st of January 2015, it was announced that the next MIF15 commission would be Wonder.land, a new musical with music by Damon Albarn, book and lyrics by Moira Buffini and that it would be directed by Rufus Norris. Wonder.land is inspired by Alice In Wonderland by Lewis Carroll and is a co-production with The National Theatre. It was performed at the Palace Theatre, Manchester from the 29th of June to 12 of July 2015.[1] Wonder.land will tour to the The National Theatre opening on Monday 23 November 2015 and running into 2016.

The 2015 festival was expected to attract 250,000 visitors,[31] however it exceeded this figure by attracting 259,648.[32]

The 2015 festival broke even (£12m worth of funding minus £12m expenditure).[32]

The economic impact to the region was £38.8m.[33]

MIF 17

In November 2014 it was announced that Alex Poots, Manchester International Festival's founding director, would be stepping down from his role after MIF 15.[34] Poots is leaving his position to take on the role of chief executive of the Culture Shed in New York.[34][35] In May 2015 it was announced that Poots will be succeeded by John McGrath, the Artistic Director of National Theatre Wales.[36]

The Factory

Granada Studios entrance on Water Street.

The Factory is a £110 million theatre and arts venue to be built on the former site of Granada Studios, in the St John's Quarter of Manchester (currently the Starlight Theatre),[37] being developed by Manchester Quays Ltd, a development partnership between Allied London and Manchester City Council,[38] and is to be the permanent home of the Manchester International Festival. Its name comes from Factory Records, the independent record label founded by the late Tony Wilson. The flexible space will hold up to 5,000 people and will be capable of transforming from a seated theatre to a standing environment.[39][40]

Initially the Chancellor, George Osborne, announced that the venue would cost £78 million,[41] but the council have since managed to secure a further £32 million from "a variety of sources" but added that no public money would be used.[42] The council said that the venue would "play an integral part in helping Manchester and the north of England provide a genuine cultural counterbalance to London".[41]

The design and development process will be overseen by a Project Board set up by Manchester City Council with Maria Balshaw appointed the Single Responsible Owner for the project. Funding and project monitoring is the responsibility of Arts Council England (ACE) who have agreed to second Simon Mellor, ACE's Executive Director, Arts and Culture,[43] for up to two days a week (to be based in the Manchester project office in Manchester Town Hall). His role will be to support the further development of the business case and to work up the technical brief for the design team.[44] Mellor was previously a General Director at MIF.[45]

The timeframe established by the Project Board contains the following key milestones:

When the procurement process has been completed there will be a detailed design and delivery strategy as well as a detailed business case for presentation to Manchester City Council's Executive Committee.[44]

Design team appointments

The £9.5m design contracts were put out to tender.[47] The design team are being procured through the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) procurement process via seven lots, each with an estimated duration of 45 months (3 years, 9 months i.e. the summer of 2019) from the award of the contract in mid-November 2015:

Successful bidder: (see "Architectural design team" below)[48]
Successful bidder: Charcoalblue[48]
Successful bidder: Buro Happold[48][49]
The five shortlisted firms: Buro Happold[48][49]
Successful bidder: Gardiner and Theobald[48]
Successful bidder: WSP UK (Trading as WSP Parsons Brinckerhoff)[48]
Successful bidder: Ove Arup & Partners[48]
Architectural design team
Rem Koolhaas of OMA pictured in 1987.

On 23 September 2015, the Architects' Journal announced the shortlisted design teams,[50] however the former president of the Royal Institute of British Architects, Angela Brady, was amongst a number of architects who expressed their concern that there are no architects amongst the jury that would name the successful bidding firm. The jury comprised: Richard Leese, (leader of Manchester City Council), Tom Bloxham, (chairman of the festival and Urban Splash), and Michael Ingall, (chief executive of Allied London). The jury were assisted by a technical panel: Maria Balshaw, (director of the Whitworth, University of Manchester and Manchester City Galleries - comprising Manchester Art Gallery and Gallery of Costume), Pat Bartoli, (head of the council’s City Centre Regeneration Team), John McGrath, (artistic director and chief executive of the festival), Greg Attwood, (development director at Allied London), and Dave Carty, (development manager of the council’s City Centre Regeneration).[51]

Out of the 48 architectural firms who expressed an interest, the following nine were invited to go forward by the council:

Rafael Viñoly Architects · Diller Scofidio + Renfro · Bennetts Associates · Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) · Zaha Hadid Architects · SimpsonHaugh and Partners · Grimshaw Architects · Mecanoo International · Haworth Tompkins Limited

The successful company chosen by the council was Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) with its lead designer Rem Koolhaas.[48][52][53]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Manchester International Festival site
  2. ↑ Ward, David (19 March 2007). "From Britpop to Britop". Guardian Unlimited (Guardian Media Group). Retrieved 12 September 2007.
  3. ↑ Billington, Michael (4 July 2007). "The Pianist". Guardian Unlimited (Guardian Media Group). Retrieved 12 September 2007.
  4. 1 2 Manchester City Council (13 January 2010). Executive meeting: Item 6 - The Manchester International Festival 2009 (Report). Manchester City Council. p. 13. Retrieved 15 July 2015. Pdf.
  5. ↑ Manchester City Council (13 February 2008). p. 7, point 10.
  6. ↑ Manchester City Council (11 November 2008). Communities and Neighbourhoods Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting: Item 7. Manchester International Festival (point 2.4) (Report). Manchester City Council. p. 4. Retrieved 31 July 2015. Pdf.
  7. ↑ Brown, Mark (20 March 2009). "Manchester festival makes room for Elbow, Hallé and Kraftwerk". The Guardian (Guardian Media Group). Retrieved 20 March 2009.
  8. ↑ Manchester City Council (13 January 2010). p. 6, point 21.
  9. ↑ Walters, Sarah (22 July 2011). "Manchester International Festival: First here... then the world". Manchester Evening News (Trinity Mirror). Retrieved 29 July 2012.
  10. ↑ "Wu Lyf top Manchester International Festival's new music". BBC News. 17 March 2011. Retrieved 4 May 2011.
  11. ↑ Singh, Anita (17 March 2011). "Damon Albarn and Björk at Manchester International Festival". The Telegraph (Telegraph Media Group). Retrieved 19 May 2011.
  12. ↑ Manchester International Festival site
  13. 1 2 "MIF director Alex Poots: "There's unfinished business"". Creative Times. 16 May 2011. Retrieved 29 July 2012.
  14. ↑ Needham, Alex (1 July 2007). "Manchester international festival is go". The Guardian (Guardian Media Group). Retrieved 3 July 2011.
  15. ↑ Simpson, Dave (1 July 2007). "Bjork - review". The Guardian (Guardian Media Group). Retrieved 3 July 2011.
  16. ↑ Owen, Pamela (2 July 2007). "What's happened 2 U? Rocking Sinead O'Connor is barely recognisable in long hair and mumsy trouser-suit". Daily Mail (Daily Mail and General Trust). Retrieved 4 July 2011.
  17. ↑ Hickling, Alfred (2 July 2007). "Dr Dee, Palace Theatre, Manchester". The Guardian (Guardian Media Group). Retrieved 3 July 2011.
  18. ↑ Manchester City Council (18 October 2011). Executive meeting: 5. Manchester International Festival (Report). Manchester City Council. p. 16. Retrieved 15 July 2015. point 3.2.4. Pdf.
  19. ↑ Manchester City Council (18 October 2011). p. 15, point 22.
  20. ↑ Higgins, Charlotte (14 November 2012). "Kenneth Branagh to play Macbeth among church-goers". The Guardian (Guardian Media Group). Retrieved 15 November 2012.
  21. ↑ Bourne, Dianne (24 July 2013). "£40m windfall for city as the curtain falls on festival bonanza". Manchester Evening News (Trinity Mirror). Retrieved 27 October 2014.
  22. ↑ "UK to the world: Culture boosts North of England". Creative Industries. Retrieved 15 November 2012.
  23. ↑ Cavendish, Dominic (6 June 2014). "Macbeth, Manchester International Festival, review". The Telegraph (Telegraph Media Group). Retrieved 28 October 2014.
  24. ↑ "Kenneth Branagh and Alex Kingston MACBETH Directed by Rob Ashford and Kenneth Branagh". mif.co.uk. Manchester International Festival. Retrieved 31 July 2015.
  25. ↑ "MACBETH Filmed by National Theatre Live". mif.co.uk. Manchester International Festival. Retrieved 31 July 2015.
  26. ↑ Vallely, Paul (5 July 2013). "Theatre review: The Old Woman, Manchester International Festival". The Independent (Independent Print Ltd). Retrieved 27 October 2014.
  27. ↑ Delamotta, Deanna (22 April 2013). "Can’t be Bard! Kenneth Branagh's Macbeth at MIF gets two extra performances". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 28 October 2014.
  28. ↑ Brooks-Pollock, Tom (12 October 2013). "Manchester International Festival created hundreds of new jobs in £38m boost for city, report says". Manchester Evening News (Trinity Mirror). Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  29. ↑ Manchester City Council (15 October 2013). Executive meeting: 6. Manchester International Festival (Report). Manchester City Council. p. 10. Retrieved 15 July 2015. point 3.5. Pdf.
  30. ↑ Manchester City Council (15 October 2013). p. 17, point 14.
  31. ↑ Eruotour, Eno (12 June 2015). "Manchester International Festival - how does it benefit the city?". BBC North West. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  32. 1 2 Manchester City Council (7 October 2015). Executive meeting: 4. Manchester International Festival 2015 (Report). Manchester City Council. p. 19. Retrieved 1 October 2015. Appendix 1 Pdf.
  33. ↑ Manchester City Council (7 October 2015). p. 17, point 7(a).
  34. 1 2 Ellis-Petersen, Hannah (25 November 2014). "Manchester international festival founding director off to New York". The Guardian (Guardian Media Group). Retrieved 27 November 2014.
  35. ↑ Blake, David (25 November 2014). "$400m New York Arts Centre Snaps Up MIF Director Poots". Manchester Confidential. Retrieved 27 November 2014.
  36. ↑ Mark, Brown (13 May 2015). "National Theatre Wales artistic director John McGrath departs for Manchester festival job". The Guardian (Guardian Media Group). Retrieved 23 May 2015.
  37. ↑ "Starlight Theatre". Old Granada Studios: St Johns. Retrieved 9 August 2015.
  38. ↑ Chapman, Stephen (27 September 2013). "Granada’s Quay Street complex bought by Allied London and Manchester City Council". Prolific North. Retrieved 17 August 2015.
  39. ↑ Sherwin, Adam (29 July 2015). "The Factory project: New £110m arts venue named after Tony Wilson's Factory Records to open in Manchester". The Independent. Retrieved 30 July 2015.
  40. ↑ Williams, Jennifer (22 July 2015). "Manchester's £110m Factory Theatre takes a big step forward with architects set to be appointed". Manchester Evening News (Trinity Mirror). Retrieved 30 July 2015.
  41. 1 2 "Manchester to get new £78m theatre named The Factory". BBC. 3 December 2014. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  42. ↑ Youngs, Ian (29 July 2015). "The Factory Manchester £110m arts venue approved". BBC. Retrieved 30 July 2015.
  43. ↑ Hutchison, David (20 July 2015). "Simon Mellor appointed project director for Manchester’s the Factory". The Stage (The Stage Media Company Limited). Retrieved 5 August 2015.
  44. 1 2 Manchester City Council (29 July 2015). Executive meeting: 16. The Factory Manchester: Project Delivery (Report). Manchester City Council. pp. 222–224. Retrieved 5 August 2015. point 5.0. Pdf.
  45. ↑ Woolman, Natalie (3 January 2012). "MIF general director Simon Mellor to join arts council". The Stage (The Stage Media Company Limited). Retrieved 5 August 2015.
  46. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Provision of design services lots 1-7 for the Factory Development, Manchester". UnitedKingdom-Tenders.co.uk. 24 July 2015. Retrieved 5 August 2015.
  47. ↑ Clark, Tim (27 July 2015). "Manchester seeks architect for £110m The Factory venue". Building.co.uk. Retrieved 30 July 2015.
  48. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 admin (26 November 2015). "The Factory Manchester arts building". e-architect (World Architecture). Retrieved 26 November 2015.
  49. 1 2 Barrett, Emma (23 March 2016). "BuroHappold part of the team appointed to design and deliver Manchester's newest flexible arts space, The Factory". burohappold.com. BuroHappold Engineering. Retrieved 8 April 2016.
  50. ↑ Fulcher, Merlin (23 September 2015). "Stellar shortlist revealed for Manchester's new £110m arts venue". Architects' Journal (Emap Ltd). Retrieved 1 October 2015.
  51. ↑ Marrs, Colin (1 October 2015). "No architects on Manchester’s Factory competition jury". Architects' Journal (Emap Ltd). Retrieved 1 October 2015.
  52. ↑ Brown, Mark (25 November 2015). "Rem Koolhaas wins Factory design project as Manchester goes Dutch". The Guardian (Guardian Media Group). Retrieved 26 November 2015.
  53. ↑ Staff writer (November 2015). "Images". boltonquinn.com (Bolton & Quinn). Retrieved 1 May 2016.

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