What's on

Manchester Voices – Interactive Exhibition

Archives+ Ground Floor

Manchester Voices is an ongoing project investigating and celebrating the accents, dialects, and people of Greater Manchester. It looks at the ways in which our use of language makes us who we are and explores perceptions of the way we speak across the region. Following a successful tour of the ten boroughs in our Accent […]

Chameleon Youth FREE Taster Session

We’ll provide the spark - You create the movement. Chameleon Youth is looking for raw dance talent. Chameleon Youth, Manchester’s youth dance company based at Central Library, is calling out for young people with raw dance talent and a big desire to dance and be creative. If you’re age 11 to 18, this is an […]

Wizard Academy: Celebrate 20 years of Harry Potter

Calling all Witches, Wizards and Muggles! It’s time to sign up to our spellbinding school of sorcery as you take a wacky and wonderful whistle stop tour of the Wizard Academy and learn to become an expert in mystery and magic. During this interactive experience you’ll take lessons in the basics of broomsticks, practice your […]

ME – Portrait Exhibition

First Floor Display Cases

This special exhibition features work from artists taking part in creative workshops at the Booth Centre, which aims to bring about positive change in the lives of people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, and help them plan for and realise a better future. The Booth Centre runs creative workshops every day for […]

Word Central: Open Mic Night

WORD CENTRAL a semaphore-exploding mind-flow open mic poetry & spoken word hosted by Tony Curry Wednesday 5th July Manchester Central Library 6pm - 8pm Free entry All of July's open mic slots are now filled To get your name on the reserve list please email mail@flapjackpress.co.uk

Piccadilly Gardens Exhibition: How Did Your Garden Grow?

Lower Ground Floor Exhibition Space

The Architecture School for Children have worked with 4 local schools from the Moss Side and Hulme area of Manchester, St Marys C of E Primary, Claremont Road Primary, Webster Primary and Martenscroft Nursery School, to help them learn about Piccadilly Gardens in the past and re-imagine a Piccadilly Gardens of the future. This exhibition […]

Freelance Giggle-oh: The 2nd Thingy from Daniel Hutchings

Performance Space

In 2014 Daniel Hutchings made Django Away! (the j is silent). Now he’s back and he’s on the brink of success beyond his wildest dreams. Daniel Hutchings is the self-proclaimed Freelance Giggle-oh and he’s got his big break on Gemma Wilde’s show. Hutchings is introduced to the world with such fascinating facts as his favourite […]

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every thing every time

Lwr Ground floor - City Library

What stories can be uncovered from a city? every thing every time, a new flip-dot artwork by Naho Matsuda, takes information from our interactions within the city to tell a new story about the people and the places of Manchester. With the rise of the ‘Smart City’ asking important questions of what we want from […]

Saturday Spectacular – Animal Prints and Book Making Fun!

Performance Space

  Join us for a fun afternoon of free family activities. Have a go at letterpress printing with images from the archives. Create your own wonderful prints to take home. The Architectural School for Children will be visiting to deliver a book-making workshop. Free - no need to book - just drop in

Royal Society Science Book Prize

Seminar Suite, Floor Two

Join us at Manchester Central Library for a live screening from the British Library celebrating science writing past, present and future. There will be a panel discussion beamed from the British Library chaired by Dara O'Briain and including Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell, Vivienne Parry and Professor Mark Miodownik - with your chance to put questions […]

Manchester Pride Presents…The Mancunian Gay magazine revisited

Performance Space

Hear the stories behind some of the magazine's featured headlines; “Anderton on the rampage” “Poppers the price you pay" “Gay sauna raid” “Job security for lesbian and gay workers" “New gay bar in Bolton" Amateur yet unashamed, over its lifespan (1978- 1986) The Mancunian Gay magazine documented the evolution of the LGBT rights movement in […]

Jazz North northern line: Archipelago

Performance Space

Faye MacCalman (clarinet, tenor saxophone)/John Pope (electric bass)/Christian Alderson (drums) Faye MacCalman fronts Newcastle sax-bass-drums trio, Archipelago, drawing on garage rock, minimalism and free improvisation: riffs, silence, noise and grooves create a collage of hard-edged blocks of sound that evolve over the performance. A Manchester Jazz Festival event  Free - please drop in (subject to availability)