Manchester International Festival 2019

Manchester International Festival has today announced an important series of new commissions to leading international artists Yoko Ono, David Lynch, Tania Bruguera, Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, Ibrahim Mahama, Hans Ulrich Obrist, Adam Thirlwell and Rem Koolhaas for the 2019 Festival. 

This year’s programme includes Yoko Ono’s mass bell-ringing event, BELLS FOR PEACE, to open the Festival, David Lynch’s first major UK exhibition, an open school by artist Tania Bruguera to be led by migrants, an immersive exhibition by artist Rafael Lozano-Hemmer combining state-of-the-art technology, live performance and public participation, a re-enactment of Ghana’s first parliamentary debates in a seven-channel installation by artist Ibrahim Mahama, and a unique performance of seven stories by seven international writers co-curated by Adam Thirlwell and Hans Ulrich Obrist in a new set designed by Rem Koolhaas. 

MIF Artistic Director and CEO John McGrath said: “For MIF19, we’re bringing leading visualartists from across the globe to Manchester, to create an extraordinary range of new work. These artists are asking important questions about the world today, and offering fresh perspectives, which will, I believe, excite, intrigue and stimulate debate.

At MIF19 we see a whole host of artists looking to the future – some with hope, some with imagination and some with concern. We never impose themes on the artists we work with, but it’s striking how this year’s programme reflects our complicated times in often surprisingly joyous and unexpected ways. Featuring artists from more than 20 countries, the Festival also has strong local roots, with several commissions featuring the people of Manchester as participants. MIF19 will be a feast of energy, which I hope will inspire debate and delight for the festival’s 18 days and far beyond.”

BELLS FOR PEACE
Yoko Ono invites members of the public to gather in Cathedral Gardens on 4 July 2019 to open Manchester International Festival 2019 with BELLS FOR PEACE, to send a message of peace to the world. Thousands of celebratory voices and a people’s orchestra of bells from the UK and abroad will ring and sing out for peace and welcome the world to Manchester. Yoko Ono has been among the world’s leading artists for more than 50 years. This new commission is the first major work she has created for the city of Manchester.

Thursday 4 July, 6pm
Cathedral Gardens, Corporation St, Manchester M4 3BG
Admission Free, no ticket required

David Lynch at HOME
Legendary film director David Lynch will take over HOME for a special season of art, film screenings and live concerts, offering a rare and fascinating insight into his mind and work. The season includes My Head is Disconnected – the first major UK exhibition of the visual art of David Lynch, featuring large-scale paintings, sculptures and drawings – and is the first time the gallery, theatre and cinema at HOME have been dedicated to the work of a single artist.

HOME, 2 Tony Wilson Place, First Street, M15 4FN
Saturday 6 – Sunday 21 July, 
Mon – Sat 12pm – 8pm, Sun 12pm – 6pm
Admission Free
My Head is Disconnected continues until 29 September 2019.

The School of Integration
Cuban installation and performance artist Tania Bruguera opens a free school in Manchester Art Gallery led by long-term and recent migrants. Local people originally from countries around the world will give free classes on a curriculum that includes languages, culture, ethics, politics, economics and many other forms of knowledge. Every teacher will pass on their own experiences to anyone interested in developing new skills, resulting in a new kind of shared learning experience. Tania Bruguera's work explores issues of power and control and examines the current political climate.

Friday 5 – Saturday 20 July 2019
10am–5pm daily, except 11am–5pm Monday
Manchester Art Gallery, Mosley Street, M2 3JL
Admission Free. Some events will require a ticket, see mif.co.uk/integration

Atmospheric Memory
This major immersive installation by Mexican-Canadian artist Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, will premiere at the Science and Industry Museum on 6 July. Taking place within a specially designed chamber in the museum, the exhibition will feature a series of immersive “atmospheric machines” that transform visitors’ voices into something that can been seen and touched, combining state-of-the-art technology, live performance and public participation. 

Saturday 6 – Sunday 21 July 2019
10am – 5pm daily, except 10am – 9pm Thursday
Science and Industry Museum, Liverpool Road, M3 4FP
Tickets £8, concessions £5, £1 under-18s
Age 8+
Under-16s must be accompanied by an adult
mif.co.uk / +44 (0) 333 320 2890

Parliament of Ghosts
For his first major UK show, Ghanaian artist Ibrahim Mahama presents a monumental Parliament built using old school cabinets, worn train seats, and other scrapped objects in the Whitworth Art Gallery, alongside a seven-channel film installation and exhibition of large-scale installations and paintings. This commission will follow Ibrahim Mahama’s large-scale installation for Ghana’s first National Pavilion at the Venice Biennale this year.

Friday 5 – Sunday 21 July 2019
10am – 5pm daily, except 10am – 9pm Thursday
AD tours: Tuesday 9 & Tuesday 16 July, 2pm
CAP tour: Tuesday 16 July, 4pm
The Whitworth, The University of Manchester, Oxford Road, M15 6ER
Admission Free

Parliament of Ghosts continues after MIF19 until 29 September 2019

Studio Créole
Leading authors from seven countries (Chile, Croatia, Iceland, Japan, Kenya, Martinique and Palestine) will perform new works for Studio Créole, a new performance work curated by award-winning author Adam Thirlwell with Hans Ulrich Obrist, taking place in a specially designed structure by Rem Koolhaas. As the stories are read aloud by the authors in their original language they will be simultaneously translated into English, resulting in a unique live performance exploring language, interpretation and globalisation.

Manchester Academy 1, Oxford Road, M13 9PR
Friday 12 – Sunday 14 July, 7.30pm
Tickets £25, £20 concessions / £10 for Greater Manchester residents on a lower wage
mif.co.uk / +44 (0) 333 320 2890

Animals of Manchester (including HUMANZ)
On the Festival’s final weekend, this live art project imagines a world where animals and humans live together as equals. Visitors are invited to trace a trail through the Whitworth’s galleries and Whitworth Park where they will encounter works including Joshua Sofaer’s ‘Mouse Palace,’ a reconstruction of a popular Bangkok tourist attraction in mouse and child-sized forms; a Conference of Animals for different species, including a cow, foxes and pigeons created by Theatre of Research & Ansuman Biswas, Andy Field, and Random People; a living memorial for extinct species by Marcus Coates; a film studio run by beetles with Tim Spooner; and a Life Art Library where we explore the history of animals in performance art, animals are honoured as performers and Katharina Duve invites humans to signify their animal being.

The Whitworth & Whitworth Park, The University of Manchester,
Oxford Road, M15 4FN
Sat 20 - Sun 21 July, 10am–5pm
Admission free
mif.co.uk

MIF19 runs from 4–21 July 2019 with artists from across the globe premiering a variety of new work in spaces throughout the city. For more details about this year’s programme, please visit mif.co.uk.