When people talk about landmark cultural buildings in the North, the conversation too often stops at the bricks, the steel, and the price tag. Yet anyone who has spent time around Manchester’s Water Street over the last couple of years knows that Aviva Studios was never meant to be a passive monument. The real measure of a venue of this scale is who gets to walk through its doors, who gets paid to make work inside it, and who gets to decide what goes on the walls and stages in the first place.
That question sits right at the heart of Factory International’s newly unveiled slate of opportunities for Winter 2026 and 2027. Spanning curation, grassroots music, visual arts, opera, and behind-the-scenes technical training, the programme is less a single open call and more an entire ecosystem designed to turn Northern ambition into sustainable, paid careers.
Since 2018, the organisation’s in-house training arm, Factory Academy, has supported more than 3,000 Greater Manchester residents - with nearly 700 graduates moving directly into paid work, including over 250 employed at Factory International itself. Meanwhile, more than 4,000 artists have developed and showcased work through its artist development streams.
"At Factory International we believe in championing the voices of tomorrow and supporting artists and creatives at each stage of their career," says Creative Director Kee Hong Low. "The talent development programmes and training schemes we run are a truly exciting part of what we do and are key to our commitment to nurturing the cultural ecosystem in the North."
For emerging creatives across Manchester and the wider North looking to take their next step, here is what is currently on the table - and what you need to know before the deadlines hit.
Following the breakout success of Trackie McLeod’s UTOPIA earlier this year - which famously transformed Aviva Studios’ cavernous Warehouse into a functioning pub - Factory International is bringing back its Young Curators scheme for a second year.
Designed for six young creatives, this 12-month programme goes far beyond shadowing from the sidelines. Participants work directly alongside leading industry professionals and artists to interrogate what a major cultural institution should actually be doing for younger audiences. Over the course of the year, the cohort will develop their curatorial practice while actively shaping future programming for young people at Factory International, working toward a future commission at Aviva Studios.
Manchester’s reputation as a global music city is built on its grassroots, and two returning schemes are putting tangible cash and industry access behind the people keeping that scene alive.
First up is Factory Sounds, supported by adidas Originals. Originally launched during the pandemic to keep local musicians afloat, the annual programme has already backed more than 60 alumni - including Loose Articles, OneDa, Balraj Singh Samrai, Mali Hayes, and STEAM Radio MCR. For 2027, Factory International is seeking 15 Greater Manchester-based performers, producers, or promoters. Each receives a £1,000 grant toward a new project, alongside masterclasses, live performance slots, styling, and sessions inside the Abbey Road-engineered adidas Originals Recording Studio.
For those more interested in putting the nights together than standing behind the mic, Promoter Academy returns for a six-month run in partnership with Salford’s From The Other and Manchester Music City. Covering branding, marketing, finance, and curation, the free course has a proven track record: last year’s participants Arif True and Nikki Milla went on to programme their own stage at Sounds From The Other City.
For visual artists, makers, and collectives across the North, The Archway Exhibition Programme offers a rare commodity: a paid, public-facing platform inside one of Europe’s most high-profile arts venues. Hosting up to six exhibitions a year, the scheme focuses on new work by emerging, underrepresented, and locally connected Northern creators, turning an intimate space at Aviva Studios into a showcase for homegrown talent.
Meanwhile, for those thinking on a monumental scale, Factory International has teamed up with English National Opera (ENO) for the next edition of Artist Takeover. Following past takeovers featuring Studio Tonto, choreographer Chad Taylor, and Jen Malarkey’s stunt-driver collaboration with Carl Harrison, the selected artist or collective will be given six days inside the vast North Warehouse in February 2027. With a dedicated production budget, artist fees, and specialist technical support from both Factory and ENO, the brief is pure R&D—testing radical new approaches to opera, musical theatre, and storytelling with zero pressure to deliver a finished public show.
A thriving cultural sector doesn't run on performers alone; it relies on skilled crew and financially resilient freelancers.
Through Factory Academy, aspiring venue and theatre technicians of any age or background can apply for Event Ready - a free, 15-day intensive covering lighting, sound, production fundamentals, and safety protocols, complete with shadowing and placements at partner events.
And because navigating self-employment in the arts shouldn't require a degree in accounting, Factory Academy has also teamed up with Money Ready and Aviva to launch Future Ready Finances. The free, self-guided online course is open immediately, offering practical tools for freelancers and early-career creatives looking to get on top of budgets, tax, and long-term financial planning.
Whether you are looking to curate a major commission, wire a lighting rig, or fund your next EP, full application details and guidance for all open programmes are available via factoryinternational.org.
All images: Factory International/Aviva Studios
