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

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.

Castlefield
Restaurant
The Loft Manchester

Smart event space in the building previously occupied by Walkabout, and now host to all manner of exciting one-off happenings

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

Salford Lads Club Exterior
TourManchester
Salford Lads Club Tour

Salford Lads Club shot to global fame as the iconic backdrop on The Smiths’ album The Queen is Dead, but its significance goes far beyond its musical ties.

From £20.00
Horse and Jockey Chorlton
Walking TourManchester
The Secrets of Chorlton

From a hamlet on a road to nowhere to one of Manchester’s most desirable suburbs. What’s the story behind Chorlton-cum-Hardy?

From £20.00
Aisla dancing and Dj'ing
ActivityAncoats
Become A Superstar DJ

Get hands on with the decks in this funk and soul superstar DJ workshop from BBC Radio 6’s Ailsa.

Free entry
Four young female dancers in folk costumes, one looking at the camera
ActivityCathedral Quarter
Góbéfest

Góbéfest, Manchester’s original international urban folk music and dance festival, is back with a killer line up and the best of Central Europe.

Free entry
Bumps and Brushes
TourCumbria
Bumps and Brushes at Abbot Hall

Meet other expecting parents and connect with yourself artistically in Bumps and Brushes a relaxed artistic workshop at Abbot Hall.

Free entry

Culture Guides

Cloudwater Production One
Tours and Activities in the North

Go forth with wild abandon to dance the pavements, dabble with the paint and down the pints in this month's tours and activities guide.

A young boy with a white sash around his left arm cries.
Cinema in the North

Outdoor cinema announcements, a major retrospective at HOME, and the best of indie cinema.

Theatre in Manchester and the North
Theatre in the North

Experimental performance, thought-provoking new writing and our picks of Manchester International Festival - here’s what’s taking centre stage this summer.

Music in the North

Gigs are coming in hot this spring – from long-awaited returns to one-off happenings you’ll blink and miss if you're not careful.

Harry Baker
Literature Events in the North

From environmental to experimental, our poetry and prose picks from around the North are focused on the unusual and the fun.

Experience a unique deep listening art installation inviting audiences to lay down and be bathed in sound and light.
Exhibitions in the North

From city-wide art festivals to open-air sculptural installations, we have exhibitions from all around the North, both indoors and out.