Manifesto draws on the writings of Futurists, Dadaists, Fluxus artists, Suprematists, Situtationists, Dogma 95 and other artist groups, and the musings of individual artists, architects, dancers and filmmakers, editing and reassembling them as a collage of artists' manifestos, ultimately questioning the role of the artist in society today. Performing these 'new manifestos' while inhabiting thirteen different personas - among them a school teacher, a puppeteer, a newsreader, a factory worker and a homeless man - Cate Blanchett imbues new dramatic life into these famous words in unexpected contexts.