What's on

Activism Past, Present and Future

Are you passionate about issues facing the world today? As part of Festival of Libraries week, we invite you to explore Activism past, present and future, as captured in Manchester’s Archives, and to share your own experiences. An artist will be on hand to help you get creative and add your views to our Wall […]

Inspired By Libraries with Lemn Sissay

Performance Space

As part of the Festival of Libraries, join poet Lemn Sissay OBE for an exciting talk for young people on how libraries have inspired him in his life. Lemn says: “A library is the loudest place on the high street, because books are bursting with very loud ideas! Yet it is where you can go […]

£2 – £10

Art Assembly: City as Art School Exhibition

Wolfson Reading Room

Foundation Art and Design Students from The Manchester College have brought the Art School’s ethos of research to the iconic circular reading room with a series of stunning works. Each exhibited board is an insight in to personal research and subject matter, produced in traditional messy art school rooms where students become inspired and have […]

Trailblazers! Women of Manchester and the North West

Performance Space

This Festival of Libraries event celebrates pioneering women throughout Manchester’s history. Come and join us for family-friendly activities, including badge-making, memorial walks, and an archive-handling workshop. There will be short talks on influential women, including Louise Da-Cocodia and Ellen Wilkinson. Kate Green MP will give the Margaret Ashton Memorial Lecture on ‘Women and Politics', and […]

Sunday Funday – See Myself in Books

Performance Space

Join in a range of family-friendly activities celebrating the joy of books and stories celebrating diversity. Relax in the story tent with our storyteller sharing stories with characters and authors/illustrators of colour. Listen to music from a range of cultures and spend some time getting creative with a selection of craft activities for families. Free – […]

The Darker Side of Pink

A Breast Cancer Awareness Exhibition Tour Patient advocacy group METUPUK, is hosting a pop-up exhibition throughout the venue to highlight the need to improve care and research around secondary (metastatic) breast cancer. The exhibition aims to highlight the seriousness of Metastatic Breast Cancer (MBC) the biggest killer of women under the age of 50 here […]

Armed Forces Day

Join the Archives+ team as we honour the outstanding contribution of the nation's armed forces at a special celebration for all the family. Pop along to our stall just outside Central Library Free – drop in – please consider making a donation if you can either online or at one of our cash or contactless donation boxes […]

Crime Central with Russ Thomas, Lesley Kara and Stephanie Sowden!

Performance Space

Joining Rob Parker this month is Lesley Kara, Sunday Times Top Ten author of ‘The Rumour’, Stephanie Sowden, Manchester based debut author of ‘After Everything You Did’ and Russ Thomas, Sunday Times bestselling author of the DS Adam Tyler series. Lesley Kara’s debut ‘The Rumour’ was a Sunday Times bestseller and has been published in 18 […]

£2 – £8

‘Musick’ in Manchester 1744/45

Henry Watson Music Library

Musick in Manchester 1744/45 recreates the first ever public concert series known to have been given in Manchester, prefiguring the remarkable musical tradition that accompanied Manchester’s development into one of Europe’s leading industrial cities. Remarkable, and until now underrepresented, the series includes sixteen concert programmes, which survive in a literary transcript by John Harland written […]

Word Central – Now We Are Six! Birthday Special!

Performance Space

Word Central Open Mic Night Hosted by Tony Curry Presented by Manchester Libraries & Flapjack Press Join us at Manchester Central Library on Tues 26th July for our Now We Are Six Birthday Special 6.00pm - 7.45pm (doors open 5.30pm) Free entry Book your open mic slot from noon on Tues 12th July via mail@flapjackpress.co.uk NB […]

Suhaiymah Manzoor-Khan – Workshop and Book Launch

Performance Space

Suhaiymah Manzoor-Khan is a writer, poet, educator and activist, disrupting ideas of history, race, knowledge and violence, co-author of A Fly Girl’s Guide to University  (Verve Poetry Press, 2019) and author of Postcolonial Banter (Verve Poetry Press, 2019). In the afternoon from 2pm she will be leading a workshop for young people aged 16+ centred […]

Holiday Activities for 11-16 years

Join us at Central Library for free summer holidays activities for 11-16 year olds at Manchester Central Library - including a free lunch! 1/8/22 - Media Cubs pop-up TV studio and newsroom, 12-4pm 4/8/22 - Media Cubs pop-up TV studio and newsroom, 12-4pm 8/8/22 - Media Cubs pop-up TV studio and newsroom, 12-4pm 11/8/22 - […]