The £210m new arts venue in Manchester will now be called Aviva Studios following a £35m cash injection from the insurance company. The original name of Factory International had been chosen in a nod to the local Factory Records music label behind such bands as Joy Division and the Hacienda.
Naming rights were put up for sale by Manchester City Council in response to rising costs following the pandemic, with the budget spiralling from its original £110m. The corporate sponsorship deal is one of the largest of its kind in the UK.
The venue has been designed by Ellen van Loon of OMA, the Dutch practice’s first major public building in the UK. It represents one of the largest investments by the British government in a national cultural project since Tate Modern opened in 2000, with £78m pledged towards its initial costs.
Aviva Studios will first open this July, when it plays host to a Yayoi Kusama exhibition as part of the Manchester International Festival. The official opening in October will feature a dance, music and visual effects ‘experience’ directed by Danny Boyle.
