a conversation with festival director liam slevin
"The world is a cruel, hard place for some people by nothing more than mere chance. It's a dice roll - but people remain resilient, continue to seek out communities of solidarity, and find their own acts of daily resistance."
Just three weeks to go till this year’s edition of MAW. The festival unfolds under the banner In All Possible Worlds, a curatorial call to imagine alternative futures, collective resilience, and new ways of seeing through each other’s eyes.
We sat down with festival director Liam Slevin to talk about mushrooms growing on walls, roaming Marge Simpsons, reshaping how we use town centres, and why hope still matters.
MAW25’s theme is “In All Possible Worlds.” Where did that come from?
“I was reading On Extinction by Ben Ware the tagline is ‘Beginning Again at the End’ and it got me thinking about how we frame the times we’re living through. At one point, I had a terrible working title in my notes, something like It’s All Shit Now,” Liam laughs. “Didn’t have a great ring to it. We need hope, we need collectivity - so In All Possible Worlds felt right. It holds the dystopian and the utopian at once. We’ve all had enough of the dystopian hell we’ve been living in for the past 20 years. I wanted a theme that gestures towards what could be rebuilt.”
What moments from this year’s programme are going to stick with people?
“Honestly, I think the grand reopening of The Auxiliary will stay with people for a long time. It’s been years in the making. We’ve gone from a dilapidated (charmingly) dilapidated - building with leaks and mushrooms growing on walls to a purpose-built studio and gallery complex. I still can’t believe it sometimes. Seeing artists respond to this new space, and imagining what will be created here over the years to come, is huge.”
But MAW wouldn’t be MAW without its opening night trail:
“We’ve packed it with everything - immersive live video performances, bells, whistles, and, yes, a roaming Marge Simpson. That mix of thoughtful, intimate moments with flashes of absurdity and WTF surprises - that’s what people expect from us now.”
This year’s theme invites people to “see and feel through one another’s eyes.” What have you learned from others in shaping MAW25?
“That the world is a cruel, hard place for some people and not for others, by nothing more than chance. It’s a dice roll. But what’s been incredible is seeing the resilience in people: the way they continue to seek out communities of solidarity and find their own small acts of daily resistance.
“That’s what MAW is about for me - finding ways to stand together and create spaces where those connections, those shared acts of resistance, can exist.”
MAW has always reshaped Middlesbrough’s spaces. Why is that so central to the festival?
“The town itself is the material we’re working with. Cracking open old buildings, activating forgotten corners, occupying ex-retail units — that’s part of the DNA here. Our urban landscapes are increasingly policed, privatised, and locked down by POPS (privately owned public spaces). Creative interventions disrupt that narrative.
“We’re hardwired to expect shopping, consumption, and commercialisation when we enter a town centre. But that system is collapsing. And within that collapse, there’s opportunity: to mess with the fabric of the town, to create spaces owned by the people, for the people.”
This year, MAW25 brings together more collaborators than ever. How has that shaped the festival?
“We’ve widened the circle massively. We’re working with a bigger group of programme collaborators, each bringing their own flavour and vision. It’s definitely made this the broadest MAW yet, conceptually, geographically, artistically.
“We’ve also continued investing in local artists, supporting groups to secure funding, become self-directed, and use MAW as a platform. Earlier this year, we launched the Tees Valley Solo Show open call, the winning project will be presented at The Auxiliary during the festival.”
And what feels most urgent about MAW25 right now?
“Staying connected. The work this year carries a lot of vulnerability, a lot of anger, and a lot of lived experience - the good and the bad. It feels important to gather in real, tangible ways, shoulder to shoulder. To celebrate one another. To lift each other up.”
MAW25 launches on Thursday 25th September, in tandem with The Auxiliary’s newly renovated home. We’ll be spilling out into the streets and secret corners of Middlesbrough. Expect live video installations and performances, strange interventions, big conversations, and small acts of rebellion.
In all possible worlds, we get to imagine this one differently.
This year’s opening night trail launches with an exclusive performance from A Man Called Adam - The Power of Three (A Turbine Symphony) A Man Called Adam will debut an uplifting audio visual work and live performance at a gala concert at Middlesbrough Town Hall on the opening night of the festival 2025. Get your free tickets to the performance and join us for the opening night!