Ai Weiwei Live Screening at the Cafesjian Center for the Arts

On July 3–4, 2026, one of the most influential artists of our time, Ai Weiwei, will present his 24-hour live performance Sewing a Button at Aviva Studios in Manchester. The work commemorates the artist's 81-day secret detention by Public Security in China in 2011.

In collaboration with Factory International, the Cafesjian Center for the Arts will present an exclusive public screening of selected segments from the 24-hour livestream at the Special Events Auditorium.

Admission is free with prior registration.

During the performance, Ai Weiwei for the first time reenacts his experience of detention by spending 24 hours inside a reconstructed prison cell, carrying out the routines of everyday life. Audiences will witness him sleeping, eating, writing, washing, and, at various points throughout the performance, undergoing interrogations. The interrogation scenes feature invited British writers and journalists acting as guest interrogators. In this way, the experience of 81 days in solitary detention is condensed into a 24-hour live performance, inviting audiences to engage with this extraordinary experience.

Prior to the livestream, on July 3 at 7:30 pm, Armen Yesayants, Director of Exhibitions at the Cafesjian Center for the Arts, will deliver a short introductory talk on the life, art, and career of Ai Weiwei.

The following segments of the performance will be screened in the Special Events Auditorium of the Cafesjian Center for the Arts:

July 3
8:00–11:00 pm — Opening and the first hours of the performance
July 4
12:00–2:30 pm — Interrogation segment

Sewing a Button is a performance in the scope of the exhibition, Ai Weiwei: Button Up!, the artist's largest site-specific exhibition, on view at Aviva Studios from July 2 to September 6, 2026.
Audiences will also be able to observe Ai Weiwei in the same way that guards observed him during his detention, through footage from three CCTV cameras installed in the Hall. The performance also features a cast of nine actors portraying military guards and doctors.

The Cafesjian Center for the Arts joins this unique international broadcast by presenting the exclusive public livestream of Sewing a Button in Armenia. At the same time, the performance will be broadcast by a number of leading cultural institutions around the world, including ACMI (Australia), MAXXI L'Aquila (Italy), ARTHAUS (Argentina), CIRCA (London), Dover Street Market (Paris), and other international venues.

Communication Partner: hosq Foundation