Library Live

Heritage Meets Heritage - Echoes of Sahyadri
2026-03-02 08:00 - 2026-05-30 17:00 UTC | 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

Voices of the City
2026-04-08 08:00 - 2026-04-30 17:00 | Ground Floor (Oculus Area)
Voices of the City exhibition is a powerful and welcoming photography exhibition of a creative project which celebrated identity, belonging and community.
Created by Community Arts North West, the project brought together a group of diverse young people and adults to tell their stories by working with drama facilitator and physical theatre director, Julia Wilson of SmallActs theatre company, to explore character, costume and movement. Their journey was captured in striking photographs by Shirlaine Forrest (whose work includes photographing Taylor Swift, Stormzy and Billie Eilish).
Experience powerful photos, discover real stories, and enjoy the chance to see the city (and its young people) in a new way. The result is a unique, multi-generational exhibition full of energy, imagination and real voices from our city. You might recognise a face or even a bit of yourself.
Free – just drop in
Please make a donation to support our Library Live cultural programme at one of our cash or contactless donation boxes or online
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Plus, free launch event. Drop in to the Oculus Space on the ground floor on Wednesday 8 April, 1-3.30pm, for an informal launch with live music.
Stay for a relaxed Q&A (2 -3.30pm) in the Henry Watson Music Library on the first floor with young people, creative producer Michelle Udogu, and photographer Shirlaine Forrest.
Voices of the City is funded by BBC Children in Need and The Granada Foundation.
Photograph: Shirlaine Forrest

Cultural Masterplanning - How Manchester changed the way we make cities
2026-04-15 08:00 - 2026-09-26 17:00
A major new exhibition at Manchester Central Library explores the process of Cultural Masterplanning and how creative interventions in urban spaces undergoing redevelopment can reconnect fragmented places with their past and allow us to look to a dynamic shared future. These playful interactions change how transformation feels and help us involved and that change is happening with us, not to us.
Showcased across the Exhibition Hall and Wolfson Reading Room at Central Library from April to September 2026 are glimpses of buried histories of lives and industry which sparked curiosity and conversation about places in transition such as Ancoats, Central Library itself and Mayfield Depot, as well as examples from Glasgow and London.
Citizen Manchester takes a deep dive into the extraordinary transformation of Central Library and Town Hall Extension, Manchester’s historic twin treasures whose restoration began in 2014 and continues to lead the city’s rebirth as a global icon blending heritage and innovation. Citizen Manchester records and celebrates the creation of the first ever Modern City. From April to August 2026 Central Library’s Exhibition Hall and First Floor corridors of Central Library will feature photographs and artefacts from the transformation, allowing viewers a close-up look at the rich patina and textures captured within the walls of these beloved spaces.
The Lost World of Mayfield has returned to the First Floor Reading Room of Central Library, showcasing archival treasures from Mayfield, the area now transformed by a thriving green space including a brand-new public park and the transformed Mayfield Depot. This area behind Manchester’s Piccadilly Station was formerly a wasteland whose industrial heritage was largely forgotten so much that few locals knew its original name. Currently on show are artefacts and images from the Mayfield Pattern Book, Graham’s Dye Recipe Book and the Mayfield Grit Walk story cards which uncover the history of Thomas Hoyle and Sons Calico Printing Works and the dwellings and bathhouse which served the residents and workers following its demise.
The Cultural Masterplanning exhibition has been curated by Sam Hallas and produced by Dan Dubowitz of FLEX Manchester School of Architecture in collaboration with Manchester City Council, Archives+, and Manchester Art Gallery. It can be viewed in the Exhibition Hall at Central Library until the end of June 2026 and continues on the First Floor and Reading Room with Citizen Manchester, Grit Walks and the Lost World of Mayfield on display until the end of September 2026.
Free – just drop in
Please make a donation to support our Library Live cultural programme at one of our cash or contactless donation boxes or online

Manchester Bomb 1996: Commemorating the 30th anniversary of the Manchester IRA explosion
2026-06-04 08:00 - 2026-09-26 17:00 | Archives+ Ground Floor
Manchester Archives+ presents archive material, photographs and film footage from the Archives+ collections to remember the day when time stood still for the city. This exhibition captures Manchester’s drive to recover and rebuild, aided by the extraordinary wave of support from people, communities and institutions across the region and the world.
Free – just drop in
Please make a donation to support our Library Live cultural programme at one of our cash or contactless donation boxes or online
