What's on

Discovering Manchester: Wildlife & Nature 

First Floor Display Cases

Wildlife is always just a walk away wherever you are in Manchester and the beautiful countryside that surrounds it. This exhibition showcases the creative talents and passions of our Central […]

Manchester College Students: Responses

Wolfson Reading Room

Foundation Art and Design Students from The Manchester College have brought the Art School’s ethos of research to the heart of our iconic Wolfson Reading Room. Each student has developed […]

Curry Mile – A Changing Neighbourhood

First Floor Exhibition Hall

A documentary photography project spanning 7 years (2016-2023). Photographers Michael Baker & Phil Portus explore ‘present day’ Wilmslow Road, Rusholme, and challenge perceptions of what ‘Curry Mile’ now represents, as […]

Paper Piano Exhibition

Henry Watson Music Library

Paper Piano – A Retrospective For the last 10 years, Paper Piano have been creating music related artwork and packaging. More recently they have focused on hand-made books; this combination […]

Marketing the Manchester Ship Canal 1919-1939

Archives+ Ground Floor

This new exhibition showcases a range of original publicity material and print adverts created as marketing for the Port of Manchester. This saw a revolution in publicity with modern ideas […]

Futures for All

City Library

GMCA: Futures for All is an employability skills programme for young people across Greater Manchester with SEN, that empowers employers to recognise and celebrate the value of a diverse workforce […]

Heritage Open Days: Family Event

Ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes at Central Library and Archives+? Join us on this fun, fact-filled library trail as we take you into the depths of our […]

Black British Book Festival on Tour

“Manchester has been unveiled as one of cities taking centre stage in a summer tour to celebrate the Black British Book Festival this year. In its third year the Black […]

Sikh Community Book Launch

Performance Space

Join Sarup Singh Landa, whose father was the first Sikh High Priest of the Sikh Temple in Moss Side, for the book launch of the history of Sikh communities' achievements […]

Morning Music Performances

Henry Watson Music Library

We will be joined by two very different local artists for some short musical performances. One is a young acoustic guitar student working toward grade exams, who will give her […]

European Day of Languages Storytime

Hello! Ciao! Hola! Bonjour! Celebrate European languages and learn some new vocabulary with a very special storytime, as we share stories in Spanish, Italian, French and English, with craft activities. The […]