Manchester Int'l Festival announces world premieres at 2015 event

The biannual Manchester International Festival (MIF) on Thursday announced the program for its 2015 event.

The line-up includes a unique collaboration between German artist Gerhard Richter and Estonian artist Arvo Part, along with world premieres from hip-hop dancers, pop stars, and leading international figures in classical music, ballet, and film.

Alex Poots, founding CEO and festival director, told the media: "For our fifth festival, in our 10th year, we remain committed to working with some of the world's greatest artists, supporting them to make their most ambitious and best work."

He added: "We want those artists who have an ability to evolve at a very high level and to be part of that evolution."

The Richter/Part collaboration will see four new works by painter Richter displayed at Manchester's Whitworth Art Gallery along with a performance of Part's "Drei Hirtenkinder aus Fatima" performed by an Estonian choir.

Also featuring in the 18-day festival is a collaboration between Venezuelan record producer Arca and visual artist Jesse Kanda, performances by singer-songwriter FKA twigs who will make seven short films during the festival which will be shown at its conclusion.

MIF will also showcase the premier of the film the "Age of Starlight" directed by Oscar winner Kevin Macdonald, which explores existence and the universe. The film is a collaboration between hip-hop dancers from New York and Manchester.

Poots said: "The 'Age of Starlight' is easily the most ambitious project MIF has ever undertaken. This is a 21st century planetarium telling the story of where we come from and where we are going. It will also suggest that there may have never been a Big Bang, and that we live in a multiverse and that the universes have always existed."

Other events include a new musical inspired by Lewis Carroll's "Alice in Wonderland" story with music by pop star Damon Albarn.

The festival runs from July 2 to July 19. Endit