The Great Hall Exhibition
2025-11-26 08:00 - 2026-05-30 17:00 UTC | Lower Ground Floor Exhibition Space
Manchester Town Hall closed in January 2018 and work then began on a labour of love: a once-in-a-lifetime chance to repair, protect and update this architectural masterpiece for future generations. The Great Hall is the Town Hall’s centrepiece. It includes a huge variety of conservation and restoration projects and is a great example of the work we’re doing throughout the building. Our approach to the unique elements of this space reflects the level of care needed for the whole project. This exhibition looks at just three details of the Great Hall to tell some of the story of the Our Town Hall project.

Free – just drop in
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Shakespeare and Manchester: A Victorian Powerhouse Exhibition
2026-02-12 08:00 - 2026-05-30 17:00 | First Floor Display Cases
For the first time, this exhibition tells the story of how seven personalities transformed Manchester into a global centre of Shakespearean theatre in the Victorian era and reveals present day evidence of the city’s innovative engagement with the works of Shakespeare.
Free – please drop in
Please make a donation to support our Library Live cultural programme at one of our cash or contactless donation boxes or online

Building China: People’s Infrastructure
2026-03-01 08:00 - 2026-05-30 17:00 | Lower Ground Floor Link
“Building China: People’s Infrastructure” invites audiences to encounter China from the kitchen table and the street corner rather than the skyline. Bringing together photographs and prints from the 1950s to the 1980s with field images from the early 2000s and contemporary works, the exhibition traces urban change through the ordinary spaces where life unfolds.
Across work unit housing, factory yards, courtyards, pavements, parks and markets, the exhibition foregrounds infrastructure as lived experience. Socialist era photographs reveal campaigns that sought to educate as they built, capturing moments of collective labour and care. Reform era scenes register development in motion, with unfinished structures and provisional arrangements shaping everyday routines. Contemporary contributions attend to elevated roads, pavements and public spaces as shared infrastructures, animated through drawing, film and photography that remain attentive to movement and sound.
“Building China: People’s Infrastructure” offers a portrait of continuous infrastructuring, understood as the ongoing adaptation of spaces, rules and materials to meet everyday needs. By bringing the intimacy of routine practices into focus, the exhibition reframes one of the world’s most discussed urban transformations through the ordinary scenes that sustain it.
This exhibition is supported by The Confucius Institute at The University of Manchester. CI is celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2026 and this exhibition forms part of our celebrations. Exhibition launch details will be announced shortly.
Lead curator: Prof Deljana Iossifova (Architecture & Urban Studies), University of Manchester
With contributions from Deljana Iossifova, Xin Li, Qiwei Peng, Ziqiu Ren, Rujin Wang and photographs by the late David Lea.
More information: Building China: People’s Infrastructure | Events at The University of Manchester
Free – please drop in
Please make a donation to support our Library Live cultural programme at one of our cash or contactless donation boxes or online

Heritage Meets Heritage - Echoes of Sahyadri
2026-03-02 08:00 - 2026-05-30 17:00 | First Floor
Exhibition featuring 12 UNESCO Heritage Forts.
Organised by Leena Desshmukh, Founder of Sahyadri CIC UK, in collaboration with Sahyadri Pratishtan India.
This exhibition honours the extraordinary hill forts of the Sahyadri mountain range, recognised as UNESCO World Heritage Sites for their outstanding universal value. These formidable structures stand as enduring symbols of architectural innovation, strategic brilliance and cultural legacy.
Carved into rugged landscapes and rising majestically above valleys and coastlines, the forts represent centuries of vision, resilience and statecraft. Their sophisticated defence systems, water management engineering and harmonious integration with natural terrain reflect a remarkable synthesis of art, science and military intelligence.
Through meticulously crafted fort models, curated historical narratives and immersive visual presentation, the exhibition offers a rare opportunity to engage with this monumental chapter of global heritage. Visitors are invited to experience the spirit, strength and enduring legacy of the Sahyadri forts in an educational and culturally enriching environment.
Free – please drop in
Please make a donation to support our Library Live cultural programme at one of our cash or contactless donation boxes or online

The Long Road South to find True North
2026-03-09 08:00 - 2026-05-29 17:00 | Archives+ Ground Floor
Take a poetry journey from loss to hope, from home to infinity, to find your own personal True North.
80 people from Cornerstone Day Centre in Hulme, many affected by homelessness and other issues, have made poetic paths for all to follow, opening eyes to a wider world.
These restless poems leap from the page into 3-dimensions. Intriguing, bright and curious poetic paper sculptures, filled with intense life experience. Navigation tools for the journey – “wish frogs”, folded globes, infinity poems. And songs for the journey…
Echoing the footsteps of the footloose Japanese haiku poet Basho, our word-magicians lead us onward to help each of us find our own inner Northstar.
This year-long project at Caritas Cornerstone Day Centre was co-created by the makers with poet Philip Davenport, artists Christine Johnson and Darren Marsh.
Funded by Arts Council England
Free please drop in
Please make a donation to support our Library Live cultural programme at one of our cash or contactless donation boxes or online

Exiles and Descendants
2026-03-09 08:00 - 2026-06-30 17:00 | Archives+ Ground Floor
This exhibition from Polonia Northern England uncovers the remarkable history of a Polish community (Polonia) deported and displaced during WWII. Through photographs, letters, and personal documents, it showcases experiences of forced deportation, war crimes, refuge, and significant contributions to Britain’s freedom. The exhibition also explores post-war resettlement in exile in Northern England and community efforts to maintain cultural identity whilst Poland was under communist rule. PNE safeguards and shares this history to strengthen collective memory and fill the gaps in historical records.
Free – please drop in
Please make a donation to support our Library Live cultural programme at one of our cash or contactless donation boxes or online
