Sonic pioneers Space Afrika celebrate digital creativity with a live evening performance at the Science and Industry Museum

On Wed 21 Jun, the Science and Industry Museum invites visitors to celebrate digital innovation and creativity with an evening of art, gaming and technology set to live, experimental music from acclaimed sonic pioneers, Space Afrika.

Taking place 75 years to the day since the Manchester Small-Scale Experimental Machine – nicknamed Baby – officially became the first computer to store and run a program from memory, the one-off after-hours event offers the chance to watch volunteers operate a functional replica, exploring the evolution of computing since 1948.

Visitors can also enjoy an exclusive session with the Power UP exhibition, the ‘ultimate gaming experience’ in which parents and kids alike can try out iconic video games from over five decades of console development. From Pong to the PS4, as well as latest-gen virtual reality systems, the colossal installation features hundreds of platforms and all the classics, alongside inspiring stories from the Mancunian gaming companies who have transformed the city into a global nerve centre of the industry.

Commencing at 8pm, the captivating live stage show features Manchester-based DJ and broadcaster Lupini, who submerges the audience in a mesmerising electroacoustic environment, before ‘algorithmic musician’ Alex McLean and artist Antonio Roberts explore the creative potential of digital manipulation with live coding techniques. Headlining the evening, homegrown duo Space Afrika bring their ‘unique tapestry of innovative electronic music’ inspired by the industrial architecture of the North West, drawing on their northern, working-class Black British heritage to expand and enrich the sonic palette of ambient techno.

Tickets are £15 (£13 for concessions) and are available to book here.