Dear readers – today's edition takes you inside the bloody, frenetic, erotic world of Balkan folklore, as conceived in the mind of Marina Abramovic, the most famous artist alive. Abramovic has apparently been living in the city centre for the past couple of months preparing her headline show at Aviva Studios, for whom this is the biggest moment since the venue launched two years ago.
Why the biggest moment? Because Balkan Erotic Epic is the kind of show this venue was created to stage and that Factory International, the arts company that runs it, has always promised us: epic in scale; soaring in ambition; able to attract the world's greatest artists and performers because there are few other places on the planet where you can put on work like this.
Who could we send along to review this major moment in Mancunian cultural history? Surely it had to be Sophie Atkinson, the North's hardest-to-please critic, who long-time Millers might remember sounded a note of scepticism when Aviva Studios opened its doors in 2023.
It's a brilliant (members-only) piece, not just about the show but about the venue itself. As Sophie writes: “As the rain fell on the vagina-flashing women and they screamed and fell on each other for support and splashed us while whirling round and the sun came out and they stretched out in delight on the fake grass, I found tears were rolling down my face.”
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Meet the machines that powered Manchester and then the world
It's a huge day for Manchester - tomorrow (17th October) the Science and Industry Museum reopens its Power Hall: The Andrew Law Gallery after a major refurbishment, inviting visitors back into a multisensory gallery with new stories. The Grade II listed building, once a hub of trade and transport, today houses a series of incredible historic engines which were created in Manchester and went on to change the world. Despite their age, many of these machines are operational (recent work has restored some of them back into use) and visitors will be able to see them in action. The Museum has kept innovation at its heart with renewable energy powering the space and its machines. For more information, see below.
Your Mill briefing
🏗️ Henley Investment management, the developer behind a 3,000 apartment scheme — including the tallest building outside London — on the site of Regent Retail Park in Salford, have said they will include 660 affordable units as part of the development. They have faced fierce opposition, including from the local MP, and hope the move will win people over. But Salford City Council is expected to push Henley to make the units for social-rent, which it has already said the scheme would not be able to support, reports Place North West.
🚌 Bus strikes across Greater Manchester were called off this week after workers accepted what Unite the Union has called a “vastly improved pay deal”. Almost 2,000 workers were set to walk out on the 18, 23 and 24 of this month but instead accepted a 12% rise over the next two years, backdated to April 2025.
🍹 The Mill is in mourning for Sandinistas, our local on Old Bank Street, which has suddenly closed after 13 years. Sandy’s is where many of our biggest stories were conceived and celebrated and where we would convene to welcome new starters and say goodbye to those moving on. On that note: Don't forget to email us or comment with your nominations for Greater Manchester's best pubs.
🌈 And finally, we're hearing about issues with artists not being paid by Manchester Pride. Pride insiders and artists: please get in touch.
Marina Abramovic is the kind of show Aviva Studios was built for. Did it come off?
By Sophie Atkinson
In September last year, Factory International announced their line-up for 2025. There would be a fusion of Hamlet with the Radiohead album Hail to the Thief and the final instalment of an award-winning dance trilogy. Oh, and Marina Abramovic would be premiering a bold new performance work (albeit one based on a 2005 video work), Balkan Erotic Epic.
That this was the most enormous coup for Factory, the arts organisation that puts on the Manchester International Festival and programs work for Aviva Studios, was beyond question. Abramovic is arguably the world’s best-known performance artist: she’s mentored Lady Gaga, led crowds in a seven-minute silence at Glastonbury and even enjoyed a homage to her work in Sex and the City.
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