Jack Arts

Factory International: Ai Weiwei

The world-renowned artist and activist Ai Weiwei is working with Manchester’s Factory International to present a powerful new body of work that confronts freedom, authority, and the individual’s place within society. Ai Weiwei: Button Up ! brings together art, architecture, and activism, challenging audiences to reflect on systems of power, truth, and resistance in the modern world.

JACK ARTS partnered with Factory International to take this urgent conversation beyond the gallery walls, inviting the public to encounter Ai Weiwei’s ideas through a large-scale billboard campaign across Manchester. Carefully selected sites frame and amplify the artist’s visual language without softening its political force, presenting striking black-and-white imagery and quotations at a monumental scale. Through this series of artworks embedded within the everyday fabric of the city, the first instalment of the campaign asks all who encounter it to pause and consider: how do the systems built in the past continue to shape today’s injustices?

The second instalment of this campaign took over the streets of London and Manchester, showcasing a selection of Ai Weiwei’s sculptures enhanced with striking red elements. This bold visual approach contrasts with the project’s first instalment, which featured black-and-white imagery, creating a distinct shift in tone and aesthetic. The introduction of colour heightens the emotional impact of the works, drawing renewed attention to the exhibition’s exploration of power, resistance, and social change.