Many years ago, I started a book club with some friends, but finding a book that we could all enjoy and commit to wasn’t proving easy. We wanted a good excuse to get together regularly and do different things – and so Culture Club was born! We try and visit as many places as we can and then chat about it afterwards.

We all live in Manchester, where Factory International, a new cultural venue, has opened. This multifunctional space hosts installations, art exhibitions, performances, concerts, and more.

We were keen to visit You, Me and the Balloons, created by polka dot-loving Yayoi Kusama, a contemporary Japanese artist known for her unique and mesmerizing installations exploring infinity, repetition, and patterns. In the late 1990s, Yayoi Kusama started to create inflatable structures (which she called her balloons).

The space is impressive. There are 11 pieces of work to stand near, under, inside, and around, and names include Dots Obsession to Ring-Ring. You are surrounded by huge, brightly coloured pumpkins, infinity mirrors, and polka dots, as Yayoi delivers her message via a big screen. That message is to reflect, imagine, create, enjoy and love. Each piece has a carefully written synopsis as to how it came about through imagination and life experiences.

It’s a magical environment with plenty of opportunity to simply stand still in this wondrous and imaginative environment!