What's on

Frog and Bucket Comedy Night

Performance Space

Welcome to a very special FROG AND BUCKET comedy night at Central Library! 10 new comedy acts will compete to last 5 minutes on stage without being carded off by the 3 chosen card holders in the audience. If they last the full 5 minutes – they have “BEAT THE FROG”. At the end of the […]

£2.99 – £5.00

Jesmyn Ward in Conversation

Performance Space

‘Jesmyn Ward digs deep into the not-buried heart of the American nightmare. A must read.’ Margaret Atwood Manchester Literature Festival are thrilled to present a rare UK event with acclaimed American author Jesmyn Ward. Based in Mississippi, Jesmyn is the author of the memoir Men We Reaped and the novels Salvage the Bones, Where the […]

£7

Our Manchester: A Creative Hackathon

Performance Space

During April we're asking people to send us their photos, videos, stories, sounds and audio about life in Manchester so we can create a record of the month of April across the whole city. At this event we’ll use the information we’ve collected to create the record. You'll be able to see the results on […]

Polish Heritage Day – Kresy Forever

Performance Space

Kresy Family Polish WWII History Group presents an exhibition by Krzysztof Hoffmann from Warsaw comprising a unique collection of over 400 personal photographs and documents from the families who came from the Eastern borderlands of Poland (Kresy) and settled in Manchester and the UK after WWII. The exhibition provides an insight into Poland’s history, how […]

Saturday Spectacular

Performance Space

Join us and ‘Afflecks Creatives Unleashed’ for an afternoon of family activities. Be inspired by some of the creative challenges from the Afflecks team. There will be a variety of activities including green screen, performances and more throughout the afternoon. Suitable for all ages Free – please drop in

Another England: Mapping 100 Years of Our Black and Asian Heritage

AIU Race Relations Centre

Join us for a special drop-in session to find out about and share information on the buildings, places and spaces that have had the greatest impact to people of Black & Asian Heritage in Manchester and Greater Manchester. Experience an engaging day of music, art and discussions. Ideal for families, budding cultural historians, community groups […]

The Smiths 1984-1986

First Floor Display Cases

An exhibition of images from the golden age of The Smiths, by photographer Stephen Wright. 'A sweeter set of pictures were never taken’   Morrissey, Boxing Day, 1985 Free – please drop in   **To compliment this fabulous exhibition, the library shop on the ground floor will be selling a range of exclusive Smiths related goodies!**

Meet Giovanna and Tom Fletcher

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2DAa-ezYy4   THIS EVENT IS NOW SOLD OUT Come and meet Tom & Giovanna Fletcher at Manchester Central Library. Purchase price includes one copy of Eve of Man. ABOUT THE AUTHORS: Giovanna and Tom Fletcher are two of the UK's most successful authors. Tom is the creator of The Christmasaurus, which was the biggest debut […]

£11.20

Word Central: Open Mic

Word Central open mic poetry & spoken word hosted by Tony Curry With special guest Thick Richard! Thick Richard has been pedalling his potty-mouthed poems at festivals and clubs up and down the land for the last 16 years. His cynical, lyrical, jet-black humour, intelligent wordplay, well-crafted verse, and occasionally acerbic, well-targeted comic attacks have […]

150 years of the TUC

Performance Space

Marking the 150th Anniversary of the formation of the TUC (Trades Union Congress) in Manchester and Salford in 1868, DJ and writer, Dave Haslam curates a whole day of events, including a short lunchtime lecture Dr Jo Grady (1:15pm-1:50pm) and screenings of films from the North West Film Archive here at Central Library. Free event - booking […]

Not the Factory: Manchester’s other electronic music histories

Performance Space

Curated by Annex Agency and hosted by writer, curator and journalist Jennifer Lucy Allan, Manchester Histories presents a day of panel discussions, screenings and music exploring the often-hidden stories of Manchester’s electronic music history. Free event - booking recommended:

Manchester Histories Celebration Day

The magnificent Manchester Histories Celebration Day comes to Manchester Central Library with over 60 exhibition stands, craft activities for all the family, performances, music, and talks by histories and heritage organisations from across Greater Manchester. Free - please drop in