Those Who Hold Up The Sky at Aviva Studios

Kristy Stott, Theatre Editor

Visit now

BRiGHTBLACK X FUSION FACTORY present Those Who Hold Up The Sky

Aviva Studios, Manchester
28 February-2 March 2025

Always double check opening hours with the venue before making a special visit.

Those Who Hold Up the Sky
Image courtesy of BRiGHTBLACK X FUSION FACTORY.
Book now

Gaming meets live performance in Those Who Hold Up The Sky, a playable art installation by artists BRiGHTBLACK and Fusion Factory – a creative collective of Greater Manchester residents.

Receiving its world premiere in Aviva Studios’ North Warehouse, this free installation – for all ages – invites ‘players’ to build their own future city. Unique and wonderfully interactive, it’s time to get creative and become part of the revolution. Seize the opportunity to remix Manchester through this immersive city-building experience.

A world of physical and virtual play awaits in an alternative and futuristic Manchester setting. Imagine a world where an underground movement has managed to access the city’s network – changing everything from adverts and murals to monuments and street names. Imaginative and innovative, it’s time to remodel Manchester and you’re invited to join the movement.

Offering a blend of interactive digital and physical activity, Those Who Hold Up The Sky features an evocative soundscape, gaming stations and hands-on making stations, where players can design their own ideas for the city. Plus, everything created – whether digital or hand-made – will make its way into the game for future players to interact with.

With Greater Manchester at its heart, we love that this installation is completely free to experience and that it has been co-created by Fusion Factory, a diverse group of proud Greater Manchester residents – some working in the creative industry and others from non-arts backgrounds. Together with Simon Wilkinson and Myra Appannah of BRiGHTBLACK, Fusion Factory have come together to build this new artwork for the people and communities of Manchester.

So whether you want to unleash your imagination through adventure and play, or just explore creative ideas and hang out, there are plenty of ways to experience Those Who Hold Up The Sky at Aviva Studios.

Accessibility

  • British Sign Language
  • Captioned
  • Relaxed

What's on at Aviva Studios

Until
MusicCity Centre
The Hallé 2025-26 Season

The Hallé invites audiences to a year of classical masterpieces, world premieres and appearances by some electrifying artists and composers.

From £17

Where to go near Those Who Hold Up The Sky at Aviva Studios

Castlefield
Event venue
Old Granada Studios

Manchester’s old Granada Studios is an iconic piece of the city’s history and home to Sidney Bernstein’s television empire.

Manchester Opera House by Phil Tragen
City Centre
Theatre
Manchester Opera House

A commercial touring theatre, the Manchester Opera House is reopening in August 2021, all set to host the city’s finest mainstream theatrical productions, music gigs, opera and ballet.

City Centre
Music venue
Low Four Studio

Old Granada Studios has announced Low Four: a new studio and music project that will stream and archive live music performance as part of a new generation of music TV programming. The inclusion of a viewing balcony also means that these recordings, along with special events and concerts, will be made open to a few […]

Manchester
Restaurant
20 Stories

High-end restaurant and cocktail bar, with stunning views of the Manchester skyline.

Manchester
Gallery
Smolensky Gallery

This appointment-only gallery is a hidden gem in Manchester. Art lovers and collectors can browse many high quality pieces.

What's on: Activity

Manchester Jewish Museum
TourManchester
Strangeways & Cheetham Hill

A real city centre hinterland, Cheetham Hill comes loaded with incredible stories and heritage. This tour places you at the heart of it all.

From £20.00

Culture Guides

Food and Drink in the North

Spring is here, so sign yourself up for some much-missed al fresco dining at these highly recommended (and mostly new) Manchester restaurants.

Emily Lloyd-Saini as Grace in Space and Harrie Hayes as Lieutenant Strong in Horrible Science
Family things to do in the North

Whether you’re after storybook theatre, museum wanderings or illusion-bending play spaces, there’s plenty to keep curiosity ticking through winter and beyond.

A busy image created using generative AI. The image depicts a man at the centre with grey hair and rosy cheeks, surrounding him are fairies that appear to be created in his own image with multiple limbs and unique bodily proportions. Around them are hundreds of vials, microscopes and dated scientific equipment.
Exhibitions

Spring has sprung a wealth of great exhibitions in the North West, from intimate photographic shows to huge installations.

Theatre

Closer, riskier, more immediate. Our small-scale theatre picks stretch from unsettling fables about nationhood to the inner workings of a mind trying to hold itself together.

A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night
Cinema in the North

There's no shortage of great films out at the moment, whether you're looking for the latest blockbuster, that hot arthouse flick fresh from Cannes or a cosy classic.

Fatoumata Diawara by Alun Be.
Music

This month’s live music picks move between ambitious new work, grassroots celebrations and a few memorable settings.