Yayoi Kusama’s inflatable sculptures – a hall of tentacles, a towering pumpkin and a gigantic kawaii objects, all covered in polka dots, christened the new 150,000 square foot Aviva Studios, an arts center in Manchester that has been the UK’s biggest cultural investment for more than two decades.
Open to the public today, the friendly, playful, and highly Instagrammable exhibit, titled “You, Me, and the Balloons,” is billed as Kusama’s largest inflatable sculpture exhibit. It also serves as a ‘preview’ of the building which is now the permanent headquarters of Factory International, which stages the acclaimed biennial Manchester International Festival extravaganza. Kusama’s opening coincides with the start of the 2023 edition of the festival, which runs through the city until July 16.
The obsession with points (2013). Installation view of the Manchester International Festival 2023 exhibition ‘Yayoi Kusama: You, Me and the Balloons’ at Aviva Studios. Images © David Levene.
Aviva Studios was named after an insurance company that injected £35 million ($45 million) cash sponsorshipone of the largest such deals in the UK. It is also the country’s largest national cultural investment since the opening of the Tate Modern in 2000. It is led by Manchester City Council, with support from the UK government and Arts Council of England.
The £210 million ($267 million) site has taken nearly 10 years to complete since it was first announced in 2014, a four-year delay from its original schedule, according to the BBC. (It is also over budget by £100m.) Work on the building, which was designed by Ellen van Loon of OMA Architects, is still underway and is expected to be fully completed by October for its official opening.
Pumpkin life recites, all about the greatest love for the people (2019). Installation view of the 2023 Manchester International Festival ‘Yayoi Kusama – You, Me and the Balloons’ exhibition at Aviva Studios. Images © David Levene.jpg
Kusama’s show, with a total of 11 works, includes fan favorites like a polka dot pumpkin and tentacles, as well as a version of the artist’s Mirror Rooms. While it’s sure to draw crowds, critics at Thursday’s media preview had mixed opinions. Some have wondered if a popular artist’s inflatable sculpture show, many of which have already been seen widely around the world, including recently at M+ in Hong Kongwas the right artistic choice to open an ambitious new arts center.
Yayoi-chan (2012/2012). Installation view of the Manchester International Festival 2023 exhibition ‘Yayoi Kusama: You, Me and the Balloons’ at Aviva Studios. Images © David Levene. Photograph taken on June 28, 2023
“In order to initiate the new space, we thought it would be great to have an artist known to a wide range of people. And while it’s been seen around the world, it certainly hasn’t been seen on a large scale in Manchester,” Factory International art director and managing director John McGrath told Artnet News.
He also hopes the elaborate display of inflatable sculptures will showcase the scale and possibilities of this versatile space, with 70-foot-high ceilings that can be reconfigured to suit art projects. “We want the community to know the building and the hands. Seeing how it can be used on a large scale will hopefully inspire other artists to use it in very different ways,” he said.
Clouds (2023). Installation view of the Manchester International Festival 2023 exhibition ‘Yayoi Kusama: You, Me and the Balloons’ at Aviva Studios. Images © David Levene. Photograph taken on June 28, 2023
There is also great hope that the center will offer more than art. With half of the building’s investment costs coming from Manchester City Council, Aviva Studios is expected to bring 1,500 direct and indirect jobs and an economic value of £1.4 billion ($1.8 billion) to the city. city’s economy, council leader Bev Craig said at Thursday’s conference. press briefing.
Manchester has seen a cultural rejuvenation in recent months. In February, the Manchester Museum reopened with a new South Asian gallery, while the rebranding of Esea Contemporarythe new name of the former Center for Contemporary Chinese Art, aims to focus on a wider region of East and Southeast Asia and their diaspora.
Darren Henley, chief executive of Arts Council England, said the £106million funding from the UK government and the National Lottery player’s money was “an investment well done”. The council is also injecting nearly £30m into Factory International over three years.
Alongside the opening of the Kusama show, the space presented a star-studded lineup of new commissions for the Manchester International Festival. Committed work in the community Discovery by Ryan Gander asks people to challenge the concept of value by taking the public on a scavenger hunt of collectables scattered across Manchester.
Ryan Gander, collectables found in public spaces in Manchester featured in artwork Discovery, presented in the 2023 edition of the Manchester International Festival MIF23. Photo: Vivienne Chow.
Tino Sehgal’s performance This entry, a collaboration with former Manchester United football star Juan Mata, occupies the entrance hall of the National Football Museum and later the Whitworth. Featuring the performances of musicians, singers, footballers and cyclists, the piece is the first of the project The Trequartista—Art and Football United, co-organized by Hans Ulrich Obrist and Mata.
Factory International, which is expected to operate on an annual budget of £30million, funded by government funding, sponsorships, partnerships and ticket sales, has already planned some 20 major shows for its new permanent home over the next two coming years. The festival team is already preparing its 2025 and 2027 editions
“Yayoi Kusama – You, Me, and Balloons” runs until August 28.
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