Conference News chats to Randel Bryan , executive director , Aviva Studios , about how the venue is contributing to the local economy

viva Studios , the home of Factory International , is a venue in Manchester that aims to be a landmark of culture and arts . The space also looks to service the business events sector by being a flexible and creative space for organisers . To find out more Conference News spoke to Randel Bryan , executive director , Aviva Studios , about the venue ’ s unique qualities and community aspirations .

Aviva Studios

“ We have this civic responsibility to make sure the building works for the people , communities and businesses in Manchester .”

Photo : Marco Cappelletti , courtesy of OMA and FactoryInternational

Randel Bryan

Flexibility Bryan focussed on how the venue is not just a home for arts events , it has the facilities to host world-class business events . He said : “ It ’ s important to get across this a mixed economy project . Whilst it ’ s there to pioneer great art , we know that it has been designed to cater for large scale , commercial and corporate hire .

“ I like to think that what we bring as a USP to the current sector is that creativity , that idea of creating really , truly unique experiences and moments delivered through either art , music or just the way that we host and greet .”

The venue itself has hosted a variety of arts events from pop-up galleries to concerts , it ’ s this experience in the sector that sets it apart from others in the region , according to Bryan .

He said : “ We have the transference of skills from the creative industries into hospitality . So we can create meaningful moments that are the same in terms of how we approach more cultural projects . We always focus on exceptional lighting , exceptional sound , we think about the welcome of clients and public . We really want to ensure that we have a world class welcome and a world class embrace to people that want to use the spaces in the venue .”

Community feel Aviva Studios itself is situated at the centre of a growing business community according to Bryan . It ’ s utilising this proximity to the local community to grow those businesses surrounding it .

Bryan said : “ The building feels really grand . What I ’ m trying to ensure is that smaller local businesses don ’ t feel put off from getting in touch and thinking about what they can do in this space . Whilst we have these big spaces , we also have board rooms , we have green rooms , we can partition the bars so they can become smaller , more intimate environments for kind of cater in smaller events . We have this civic responsibility to make sure the building works for the people , communities and businesses in Manchester .” CN