Presented with Factory International

Ai Weiwei: Sewing a Button

Unclassified (15+)

When

Sat 4 Jul 2026

10am - 9pm

Join us in the cinema for a live global simulcast as Ai Weiwei re-enacts his secret detention in his long-form performance work Sewing a Button.

Fifteen years ago, Ai Weiwei was secretly detained without any formal charges by Public Security in China. For 81 days, he lived in a single cell, eating his meals, washing and exercising between interrogations. Now Ai Weiwei presents Sewing a Button – a day-long live performance work re-enacting this brutal, life-changing experience.

Sewing a Button condenses the artist's detention into 24 hours, inviting audiences to bear witness to his experience live at Manchester's Aviva Studios. In a re-creation of his cell, he will sleep, eat, write and wash – sometimes, he will be interrogated.

Unsettling and provocative, Sewing a Button exposes the fragility of personal freedoms in today’s uncertain world.

This live simulcast event is presented with Factory International in Manchester as a companion piece to their exhibition Ai Weiwei: Button Up! The full performance will run for 24 hours, and the section being simulcast at ACMI will run from 10am to 9pm AEST.

Credits
Co-created by Ai Weiwei and Low Kee Hong
Performed by Ai Weiwei
Commissioned and produced by Factory International
Set Design by Hawkins\Brown
Costumes Ai Weiwei Studio

When

Sat 4 Jul 2026

10am - 9pm

Event duration

660 mins

Rating

Unclassified (15+)

Viewers under the age of 15 must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian. Contains nudity and mature themes including political imprisonment, interrogation and loss of personal dignity.

Admission

Free (drop in).

Please note that the capacity for this screening is limited. Audience members will be admitted up to the seated capacity of the cinema, and new audience members will be admitted as seats become available.