Artists in Times of Upheaval: Yael Bartana

Artists in Times of Upheaval returns to The Social, Aviva Studios this autumn, with the latest talk on Saturday 21 November. It's part of a series Factory International has been running since spring 2024, and it asks a question that's hard to answer: what space is there for artists when life 'as normal' no longer seems possible? The whole thing is about the experience of making work against the backdrop of a world in flux.

It started with conversations with Amir Nizar Zuabi, director of The Walk: Little Amal, and Oleksiy Radynski, co-creator of Intervention — two Factory International co-productions that responded to major world events. Since then, the series has brought in artists from different places and communities to talk about what it's like to create in today's world, and it's back for autumn 2026.

On 21 November, the speaker is Berlin-based visual artist Yael Bartana, who re-imagined Kubrick's Dr Strangelove for the Manchester International Festival. She's the only one on the bill for this particular date, so it's a single talk rather than a full day of sessions. If you've followed the series before, you'll know it's about the process and the context as much as the work itself.

For a bit of context on where this sits, the series has also featured London-based Malaysian Chinese artist Lawrence Lek, whose science-fiction installations place AI within a longer history of automation, and artists with roots in Iran currently working in Manchester. Bartana's talk is the one to catch this time around.

It's at The Social, Aviva Studios on Water Street in St John's, M3 4JQ. Tickets are free, but you'll need to pre-book, and any access tickets have to be sorted directly through Factory International. Bartana speaks at 3pm on Saturday 21 November.