
Events and exhibitions
Find out what events are taking place and what’s coming up.
Workers' Playtime exhibition
Community and culture in industrial Lancashire (29 March 2023 to 9 September 2023)
A Living Library exhibition
Explore new ideas, discoveries and arrivals. Until 11 November 2023.
Regular activities
Find out more about our drop-in activities.
Manchester Digital Exhibitions
Browse online exhibitions to explore our collections and curated research from anywhere in the world.
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Workers' Playtime: Curator Tour
6 April 2023, 2pm-2.30pm
Did industrial workers in Victorian Lancashire have time to participate in literary culture and leisure pursuits? From the Factory Acts to the First World War, this tour will expl.. -
Glass & Colour in the History of Alchemy
18 April 2023, 4pm-5.30pm
A talk on Symbolism, Transformation, Imitation: Glass & Colour in the History of Alchemy delivered by Umberto Veronesi (Lisbon). This event is part of Affective Artefacts, a serie.. -
In-Between Textiles, 1400–1800: Online Book Launch
20 April 2023, 3pm-4pm
Join us online for a book launch organised in collaboration with Amsterdam University Press to celebrate the publication of In-Between Textiles, 1400-1800: Weaving Subjectivities a.. -
Global Shakespeare in Manchester
22 April 2023, 11am-4pm
Join us at the John Rylands Research Institute and Library to mark the anniversary of the publication of the first edition of William Shakespeare’s plays 400 years ago. Meet cura.. -
Jessica Rawson - Ancient Chinese Tombs, Their Treasures, and China Today
25 April 2023, 4.30pm-6pm
[In-Person] Drawing from Professor Jessica Rawson's new book Life and Afterlife in Ancient China, Professor Rawson will discuss the significance of China's ancient early tombs whic.. -
The Birth of International Law Out of the Spirit of Political Theology
27 April 2023, 5pm-7.15pm
The Birth of International Law Out of the Spirit of Political Theology In times of experiencing an unpredicted war in Europe it is necessary to rethink political and legal theorie.. -
Workers' Playtime: Curator Tour
4 May 2023, 2pm-2.30pm
Did industrial workers in Victorian Lancashire have time to participate in literary culture and leisure pursuits? From the Factory Acts to the First World War, this tour will expl.. -
Gardens in the Mughal and Ottoman Empire
23 May 2023, 4pm-5.30pm
An evening with guest speakers Asli Niyazioglu (Oxford) and Neha Vermani (Sheffield) will be speaking on the following topics: Asli Niyazioglu (Oxford): Why did 16th-Century Ottoma.. -
Smelling the Past: An Archaeology of the “Vast Structure of Recollection”
30 May 2023, 4pm-5.30pm
A talk on Smelling the Past: An Archaeology of the “Vast Structure of Recollection” delivered by William Tullett (Anglia Ruskin). This event is part of Affective Artefacts, a.. -
The Affective Value of the Last Will & Testament in Early Modern Studies
13 June 2023, 4pm-5.30pm
A talk on Final Words: The Affective Value of the Last Will & Testament in Early Modern Studies presented by Erica Fudge (Strathclyde). This event is part of Affective Artefacts,..