4 family-friendly highlights at Manchester International Festival 2025

Joining forces especially for MIF25, artists and footballers unite to showcase 11 new collaborative works in an ambitious, playful exhibition.

Inspired by the innovation and elegance of the trequartista role, Football City, Art United sees World Cup and Champions League-winner Juan Mata collude with renowned curator and Serpentine Galleries Artistic Director Hans Ulrich Obrist, alongside curator, writer and filmmaker Josh Willdigg, as they explore one another’s creative fields to learn one another’s craft.

Each work offers something different for visitors of all ages and tastes to enjoy across the full spectrum of artistry, from sound installations, play arenas, paintings and animation to sculpture, film and brand new genre-blending creations.

The exhibition is accompanied by eleven video screens, each displaying the unique journey undertaken by the participating footballers and artists in a celebration of the global footprint of the game and the passion, inclusivity and international reach of the project.

Find out more and book your tickets below.

Bringing urgent, thought-provoking questions about the climate crisis to the streets in a region-wide call to arms, THE HERDS reimagines animal migration through mesmerising puppetry which transports the public on a 20,000km journey from the Congo Basin to the Arctic Circle.

In the opening event of MIF25, THE HERDS presents a visual dramatisation of the climate emergency and issues a stark warning of a dark, desolate future in which animals are forced to flee their natural habitats.

The displaced ‘herd’ arrives first in Manchester City Centre, disrupting a breathtaking orchestral performance by Manchester Camerata as they take over the town, infusing music with mayhem from Cathedral Gardens to Market Street.

Then, seeking solace in nature, the creatures move onto the suburban climes of Heywood on Fri 4 Jul before venturing further into the wild in Pennington Flash Country Park on Sat 5 Jul.

Billed as a public art project on an unprecedented scale, THE HERDS features 70 life-sized puppets operated by local participants and rendered in stunning detail by the international team behind Little Amal, created by The Walk Productions and led by Artistic Director Amir Nizar Zuabi.

Find out more below.

Over at Manchester Art Gallery, An Inheritance welcomes visitors to join local young people in developing an original, audacious and inter-generational tribute that stretches across the coming century.

Working with artists Andy Field, Beckie Darlington and Rosabel Tan, over 500 primary school children from Greater Manchester have gathered their wisdom, jokes and advice alongside an array of modern objects to create a time capsule that will be left to the youth of 2125.

An Inheritance asks visitors to contemplate the world we live in now, the legacy we leave behind and the foundations of being a good ancestor, and invites participants to explore the collection while contributing advice of their own.

Throughout the festival, Manchester’s Venture Arts host a relaxed pop-up studio filled with art, movement, music, live performances and interactive workshops with local artist Michael Beard.

Between Fri 4 and Sun 20 Jul, the Aviva Studios Lab opens as a unique window into the creative process, where visitors can discover how working environments impact creativity as Michael produces large-scale artworks in real time.

On Sun 6, Tue 8 and Tue 15 Jul, Michael joins a troupe of talented dancers from Company Chameleon and a chamber musician from Manchester Camerata, the city’s most devotedly pioneering orchestra, for a captivating performance in which the trio respond to each other’s work and embrace the boundless potential of collaboration across disciplines.

When Michael is not at work, the Lab welcomes a range of Venture Arts creators who exhibit a diverse array of art and creative projects.