'Manchester is brighter, better and bolder now - this is a beacon of hope'

Just a few months ago, Benji Reid wasn’t quite sure what his upcoming show at Manchester International Festival (MIF) would look like. A pioneer of hip hop theatre turned award-winning photographer, the Manchester-born artist and creative is now just weeks away from unveiling one of his most daring projects to date - and he’s inviting you to see it through his eyes.

The self-described choreo-photolist and I first met back in March at New Century Hall for the programme launch for MIF, the biennial arts and culture festival, which showcases original work here in Manchester from international artists and homegrown talent. For Benji, who now sits in front of me in a studio space on the edge of the Northern Quarter, the show, entitled ‘Find Your Eyes’, has come a long way since then.

“I’ve been working on this piece for about six years and it’s been so long because I wanted to work out how to combine my photography with live performance, dance and music,” explains Benji. “I had to work out where they all sit as one language.

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If it sounds like he’s spinning a lot of plates, it’s because he is. While in recent years he’s become known for his defiantly original and thought-provoking images - a talent that landed him the Wellcome Photography Prize in 2020 - his career has spanned several disciplines - from popping with Broken Glass, one of the UK’s pre-eminent breakdance crews, to securing a place at the Northern School of Contemporary Dance, and introducing British audiences to hip-hop theatre through his company Broken Cycles.

His challenge with his latest show is revisiting those chapters and interviewing them with his most