What's on

Retro Silent Disco

Hurrah. The next Retro Silent Disco is on Friday 8th November. The day the Christmas Markets open in Manchester! Spend the early evening soaking up the festive atmosphere in Albert Square, then dance the night away in the fabulous Central Library. Don't worry, we won't be overdoing the Christmas songs that early in November. We're […]

£7

Reading faces and hands: The science of speechreading and sign language

Archives+ Ground Floor

Join us for a free event exploring how language is more than just what we hear. Seeing the face of someone talking helps us understand what they are saying. Signed languages, such as British Sign Language (BSL), use hand and body movements to ‘say’ anything that can be expressed in spoken language. Take part in […]

M123 meet-up

Media Lounge

Are you a resident in the city centre? If you have a M1, M2 or M3 postcode, come along to our new monthly meet-up in the Media Lounge. Be the envy of your friends by creating bags using mixed media. Pop along and meet your neighbours, chatting is encouraged and little ones can come along […]

Made In Manchester: In Conversation with Malcolm Garrett

Seminar Suite, Floor Two

As a graphic designer, Malcolm Garrett’s work for bands such as Buzzcocks and Duran Duran established him as one of the most influential figures of the 80s. He was one of the first graphic designers to recognise the potential of digital media and he has been at the forefront of exploring its frontiers ever since. […]

Janine Booth Book Launch: The Big J vs The Big C

Meeting Room 1

The Big J vs The Big C: Issues, Experiences and Poems in the Battle Against Breast Cancer With special guest poet Laura Taylor. Poet, author and activist Janine Booth was part of the ranting poetry movement of the ‘80s, performing as ‘The Big J’. In late 2016, she discovered a strange indentation in her right […]

Best of Manchester Animation Festival

Performance Space

Celebrate 5 years of UK's biggest animation festival as they showcase the winners of past years editions in two specially curated screenings. Introduced by the festival team, these two shows give you the chance to see something different! 10-11am - Programme 1 (cert. 18); 11.30am-12.30pm - Programme 2 (cert. 15) Free - please drop in

Tom Moore & Archie Moss

Performance Space

Accordion/Viola/Electronics duo debuting brand new material from their upcoming album to be released in 2020. Widely regarded as two of the best players, innovators and performers in traditional folk amongst a precociously gifted generation, their finely-crafted arrangements wield a rare potency. Now, having toured with with some of the biggest and brightest acts in the […]

£10

Capturing the Crescents

Performance Space

A Photographic Journey through Hulme in the 1980's - 90's, and how I survived and thrived by Richard Davis A talk and book signing by photographer Richard Davis.... 'I arrived in Hulme in 1988, having left behind Birmingham so I could study Photography at Manchester Polytechnic. For the next five years Hulme was Home and […]

Story Selector

Jewish Museum Pop-up Space

Children’s storyteller Robin Simpson will be performing the exciting, curious and fascinating stories behind objects in Manchester Jewish Museum’s story selector machine. Come along and help him decide the direction the stories go and see the objects behind the stories. Suitable for families Free - please drop in

2084 – An Immersive Experience

SORRY, DUE TO HIGH DEMAND ALL PERFORMANCES HAVE NOW SOLD OUT AN IMMERSIVE PERFORMANCE INSPIRED BY ORWELL'S CLASSIC The Ministry of Truth is recruiting... ​Enter the dramatic world of Manchester Central Library after hours and embark on an immersive journey inspired by George Orwell's dystopian novel. This new immersive theatre production takes the audience inside […]

£15 – £20

Roving Robots Coding Workshop

Media Lounge

Do you want to learn how to code? Come along to our new series of coding workshops for all. Families, adults, grandparents, in fact anyone aged 8 years and above is welcome to join us in learning how to code these cute and friendly robots. Free - please drop-in

Listening Lunch

Performance Space

Grab a sandwich and head to the Performance Space for a relaxing lunchtime listening to clips from Central Library's sound archives. Unlocking Our Sound Heritage is a new audio preservation project supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund. Tapes the project has recently digitised include classical music, radio drama, life stories, folk music, celebrity interviews […]