In collaboration with partners across the city and the globe, Manchester International Festival (MIF) invites an extraordinary range of artists, from a huge range of art forms and backgrounds to create brand-new work for Manchester. MIF23 runs from 29 June – 16 July 2023 and takes place in venues across the city.  

The University of Manchester is a proud Silver Supporter of the Manchester International Festival, as such we have been working collaboratively on a number of flagship events as part of MIF23. These have included ‘They’, an adaptation of Kay Dick’s dystopian novel, starring Maxine Peake, which was performed at The John Rylands Research Institute and Library between 5–9 July. The MIF line-up also includes ‘Economics the Blockbuster – It’s not Business as Usual’ – an exhibition held at the Whitworth, which is available to visit until 16 July.  

Economics the Blockbuster– It’s not Business as Usual 

This exhibition by the Whitworth, The University of Manchester is a group exhibition about art, economy and community action. It brings together 10 extraordinary art projects by artists, collectives and art organisations that demonstrate art as real-world economic systems. Together they propose new ways of ‘doing business’, driven by the needs and concerns of the communities in which they are created. 

Economy is an everyday activity. It includes many things, from the exchange of gifts, money and finance, to caring for others, building trust and sustaining the environment. It happens not only in factories, shops, or offices but in parks, on the streets, and in museums. 

From a community-led drinks company to an art collective reclaiming plantation land, the exhibition includes new artist commissions, merchandise with a purpose, business collaborations and a live programme of events. 

The exhibition presents work by: Association de Arte Útil, Cercle d’Art des Travailleurs de Plantation Congolaise (CATPC) and Renzo Martens, Company Drinks, Goldin+Senneby, Kathrin Böhm and Kuba Szreder (Centre for Plausible Economies), lumbung Kios, Owen Griffiths and Alessandra Saviotti, Rosalie Schweiker, The Alternative School of Economics (Ruth Beale and Amy Feneck) and Tŷ Pawb.  

• To find out more about the Festival, visit  factoryinternational.org