Front Row

With her new sound and light installation, Arcadia, Theatre and Opera director Deborah Warner has brought the feel of the field into The Factory – the new home for MIF. The Factory is still very much a building site open to the elements, but for one weekend only the festival is providing an opportunity for visitors, to see the new construction from the inside. And once inside the concrete shell, they will enter Arcadia, Deborah’s subversive and challenging artwork to Manchester’s spirit of progress. Deborah talks to Nick about the appeal of making an installation in an unfinished venue.One of Pakistan’s most celebrated artists has used his MIF commission to explore his concept of Eart - his term to describe ways of thinking, being and acting creatively in real life. Under the title, A Manifesto of Possibilities, Rana presents an exhibition which interrogates new ways of living, and he makes real one of his ideas with the creation of his version of the essential corner shop. Nick Ahad pops in to the pop-up