No one ever says a city has too much culture – Randel Bryan fires up our summer BBQ

Manchester is well and truly on the cultural world map, said Factory International’s executive director Randel Bryan at TheBusinessDesk.com summer barbecue at Manchester Hall today.

Talking guests through the highlights of the recent Manchester International Festival and signposting the scale of the physical space Factory now has to work with, Bryan said the city isn’t just attracting tourists to events, but people want to live in a vibrant and culturally rich city.

In conversation with TheBusinessDesk.com editor Michael Taylor, he said: “No one ever complains about a city having too much culture, do they?”

Asked about the record breaking £35m sponsorship deal with insurance giant Aviva, he said the scale of the partnership to name the venue Aviva Studios should serve to set a new benchmark for arts and cultural sponsorship in a city like Manchester.

It was also pointed out that the best known cultural venues in the UK are the Tate Gallery and the Sage Gateshead. Both are literally named after corporations.

The former television industry executive said the city has a permanent home for the Manchester International Festival, but it should also be seen as a blank canvas for the city’s business community to use it as an event space and somewhere they can come to and be comfortable, in the emerging area of St John’s Quarter.