From Thursday 2 July Manchester will be alive with music, dance, theatre – and visual art as Manchester International Festival (2 to 19 July) celebrates a decade as the world’s only Festival of original new work. The programme includes world premieres, unique concerts and one-off events, including a number of free events across the Festival.
Richter / Pärt is a remarkable project, several years in the making, and both Gerhard Richter and Arvo Pärt will be in Manchester for the premiere. These two great artists have made work inspired by and dedicated to each other after being introduced by Hans Ulrich Obrist and Alex Poots in 2013. These works will be united for the first time at the recently re-opened Whitworth art gallery. To accompany the show at the Whitworth the Manchester Camerata will perform an evening of Pärt’s music at the Bridgewater Hall conducted by Gábor Takács-Nagy.
Neck of the Woods sees Turner Prize-winning artist Douglas Gordon and celebrated pianist Hélène Grimaud create a portrait of the wolf in a collision of visual art, music and theatre, with Charlotte Rampling as the raconteur. Artist Ed Atkins is lifting the veil on the production of digital art with Performance Capture at Manchester Art Gallery; this installation will provide a unique and reflexive insight into the production of a computer-generated moving image work.
Interdependence is a two-day event of discussion, debate and inspiring thinking, a chance to join some of the world’s leading artists, performers, scientists, writers and technologists in Manchester. The event takes place at a pivotal moment for Manchester, with a record amount of investment flowing into the city to support innovation across artistic and scientific endeavours. Participants will include Olafur Eliasson, Douglas Gordon, Veronica Gonzalez Pena, Benjamin Millepied, Peter Strickland, Arca & Jesse Kanda, Professor Sir Konstantin Novoselov, Azu Nwagbogu and Jeremy Deller.
Participants: Gerhard Richter, Arvo Pärt, Björk, Ed Atkins, FKA twigs, Douglas Gordon, Hélène Grimaud, Charlotte Rampling, Nico Muhly, Paris Opera Ballet, Wayne McGregor, Olafur Eliasson, Jamie xx, Maxine Peake, Antony, Justin Fletcher, Arca, Invisible Dot Ltd, Damon Albarn, Rufus Norris, Moira Buffini
Manchester International Festival – from 2 to 19 July 2015