As part of his major new exhibition, Button Up!, world-leading artist and activist Ai Weiwei presents Sewing a Button, an unflinching 24-hour live performance piece marking the 15th anniversary of his secret detention in 2011.
Sewing a Button is being presented at Aviva Studios in Manchester until 5pm on 4 July 2026, and available to watch live on the Factory International website.
This is the first time Ai Weiwei has reenacted his brutal, life-changing experience live, and marks the artist’s first durational performance work.
A recreation of the cell in which the artist was detained will sit in The Hall at Aviva Studios, measuring 7.2m by 3.6m.
Audiences are invited to bear witness to the artist’s experience across a single night and day and are able to watch Ai Weiwei sleep, eat, exercise, write, wash and be interrogated by a series of experienced journalists and broadcasters.
Audiences are also to observe Ai Weiwei, like the guards could, through footage from six CCTV cameras set up in the Hall.
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.
Sewing a Button reflects the fearless interplay between the personal and political in Weiwei’s work. Button Up! confronts 200 years of power, trade, war, culture and Empire that have shaped relations between Britain and China; Sewing a Button distils these forces into a frighteningly intimate human story.
Marking roughly 15 years since Ai Weiwei’s release, the piece takes its title from a poignant moment from his detention: after two months of living without a button to hold his trousers up, a guard finally brought needle and thread to mend them.
Unsettling and provocative, Sewing a Button exposes the fragility of personal freedoms in today’s uncertain world.
Discover the best in Arts, Culture, Travel, Leisure, and Lifestyle news and reviews at The Arts Shelf. Enjoy reading about your favourite topics? Whether you love Movies, Theatre, Opera, Books, Travel, Video Games, Art and Exhibitions, Music, Ballet and Dance, Days Out, Events, Competitions, Gadgets or Collectibles, we have something for you. Make sure to follow us on TikTok, Facebook, X, Instagram, YouTube, and Sign Up to the Mailing List. You can also follow The Arts Shelf Travel on TikTok for dedicated Travel and Lifestyle coverage. That way, you’ll never miss the latest updates, reviews, and exclusive content.
