We have great news to share today – Manchester City Council has granted planning permission for Factory, an exceptional new arts and culture centre for Manchester.

MIF will be the operator for Factory, creating a year-round programme of work and running the building, which is due to open 2020. Factory will give audiences the opportunity to enjoy the broadest range of art forms and cultural experiences – including dance, theatre, music, opera, visual arts, spoken word, popular culture and innovative contemporary work incorporating multiple media and technologies. Artists from across the world will be invited to create new work in the building’s extraordinary spaces.

The building is designed by Rem Koolhaas’ Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA), their first major public building in the UK. Factory will form part of the new St. John’s neighbourhood, which is being developed by Allied London, in partnership with Manchester City Council, on the site of the former Granada TV Studios.