The Portico Library

A mini festival exploring politeness, mental health and customs through discussion and art as part of the 'Sit Down and Get Out . the Trouble with polite society exhibition', 9-12 March 2022.

Dining In: Exploring Manchester’s histories through our stomachs is an exhibition about the history of dining and food in the Northwest of England, how that’s changed over time, and the future of food and dining through interactive events.

Echoes invites audiences to engage with the Portico Library's collection & the communities who are reclaiming the colonial narrative written & illustrated in the Library's books. It navigates Britain’s complex colonial relations with China & Hong Kong.

For In the Margins, a group of artists, writers, students, and Manchester residents have come together to challenge the traditionally ‘male, stale, and pale’ reputation of historic libraries by asking: Whose voice is loud enough to be heard?

From descriptions of botany, the stealing of plant samples and trade secrets in silk manufacture to descriptions of China and people in East Asia, Infamous explores a key and difficult period in the relationship between the two nations.