Manchester UNESCO City of Literature’s Festival of Libraries, the county-wide celebration of Greater Manchester’s 133 public libraries, plus heritage and independent libraries returns, after a successful debut last year, with a full live programme of events running from Wednesday 15th to Sunday 19th June, 2022.

The festival, which is supported by Arts Council England, once again features a varied and vibrant programme that highlights the library network’s full offer, with events taking in wellbeing, culture and creativity, digital and information, and reading.

Manchester changed the game in 2021 by investing in libraries as an essential service, and the, now annual, Festival of Libraries aims to build upon this commitment with a yearly celebration showcasing digital art commissions, exhibitions, dance, performance, panel talks and walking tours.

This year ‘Inspired By Libraries’ will feature talks by well known library-lovers and creatives such as ambassador Lemn Sissay OBE, much-loved actress and activist Julie Hesmondhalgh (Coronation Street, Dr Who), modern furniture restorer, eco-designer and TV presenter, Jay Blades (The Repair Shop, Money For Nothing), broadcaster Mike Sweeney (BBC Radio Manchester), public historian, broadcaster, and author Greg Jenner (Horrible Histories, You’re Dead to Me), plus poet Jackie Kay and artist Abigail Reynolds.

Storytime in Mother Languages and Hawk Dance with Inside The Igloo will provide fun for all the family, while Print Me a Poem will give everyone the chance to print their own poster of Lemn Sissay’s poem at Chetham’s Library, and tours of the Manchester University and Bolton NHS Libraries, will allow visitors to take a look around Libraries that are not normally open to the public who have book collections and more.

Festival highlights also include Happy, Safe and Free, an art trail in the wake of Refugee Week 2022 that recognises the hardships refugees endure, and Shared Reading Group will highlight the positive impact of Shared Reading on mental health and wellbeing. Guests are also invited to immerse themselves in the stories and work of celebrated musicians from local communities at The Migrant Voices Takeover, Little Libraries with Malandra Jacks or explore the remarkable lives of pioneering women in Manchester’s history at mini-festival Trailblazer! Women of Manchester and North West.

Sir Lenny Henry and his book The Boy With Wings also came to Manchester in May to front the festival’s Look for a Book campaign, sponsored by Weightmans Law Firm, engaging the whole of Greater Manchester to take part in a borough-wide book hunt. The lucky winners who found the books have been entered into a prize draw with the chance of attending a special event with Sir Lenny at a showcase author event on 18th June in Manchester City Centre.

Don’t forget you can become an official Friend of the Festival of Libraries by making a donation, no matter how big or small, to support those who benefit from literature and libraries the most.

This Year’s Highlights:

Inspired By Libraries

Wednesday 15 June – Saturday 19 June

Various Locations

Join a series of authors, poets, broadcasters, activists and creatives for an intimate conversation on the importance of libraries. Inspired By Libraries will host talks by well-known library-lovers and creatives such as ambassador Lemn Sissay OBE, much-loved actress and activist Julie Hesmondhalgh (Coronation Street, Dr Who), modern furniture restorer, eco-designer and TV presenter, Jay Blades (The Repair Shop, Money For Nothing), broadcaster Mike Sweeney (BBC Radio Manchester), public historian, broadcaster, and author Greg Jenner (Horrible Histories, You’re Dead to Me), plus poets Jackie Kay and Abigail Reynolds.

 

Wednesday 15 June: With Julie Hesmondhalgh

Wednesday 15 June: With Greg Jenner 

Thursday 16 June: With Jackie Kay and Abigail Reynolds

Thursday 16 June: With Lemn Sissay OBE sponsored by Autotrader UK

Friday 17 June: With Mike Sweeney 

Sunday 19 June: With Jay Blades 

‘Have You Seen My Duckling?’ – Storytime In Mother Languages

Wednesday 15 June

1.30pm – 2.30pm

Pendleton Library and Leigh Library

 

The joys and benefits of sharing books with babies and young children are wide ranging but for families from minority language backgrounds in the UK finding the right kinds of books can be challenging. 

 

This interactive session aimed at parents/caregivers and their young children will introduce ways of helping parents of minority languages make the most of their local libraries. Explore the benefits of shared book reading with young children and take part in building a multilingual narrative based on the popular children’s book ‘Have you seen my duckling?’ by Nancy Tafuri. 

Print Me a Poem

Thursday 16 – Friday 17 June

11.00am – 3.30pm 

Chetham’s Library

Print your own poster of Festival Ambassador Lemn Sissay’s poem on the ancient wooden printing press at Chetham Library. 

People will also be able to hear about Manchester’s Tuppenny Weddings and the ‘staring lies’ told to visitors by the Bluecoat Scholars in the 1830s, while exploring what’s left of what working class visitors were shown in the early days of industrial Manchester in the comic verse ‘Johnny Green’s Wedding’. 

Migrant Voices Takeover

Stockport Central Library (Thursday 16th June), Bolton Central Library (Friday 17th June), The John Rylands Research Institute and Library(Saturday 18th June)

 

Experience live musical performances from across the globe in this Manchester Festival of Libraries takeover. Meet with musicians from Olympias Music Foundation’s Migrant Voices and learn about their migration stories, hear them perform their music, while you explore all areas of the library during this unique musical event. 

 

Festival goers can also learn about the many migration stories documented at the Ahmed Iqbal Ullah RACE Centre and how they support Olympia’s Music Foundation. 

Shared Reading Group 

Thursday 16 June

10.30am – 12pm 

Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS

With growing evidence to suggest Shared Reading can have a positive impact on mental health, Greater Manchester Mental Health Library is hosting shared reading group sessions, encouraging participants to share great literature in a supportive environment. 

The group facilitator will start the session by reading aloud a short story, taking breaks, allowing group members to discuss and share their thoughts on the story. Members can also read aloud parts of the story, however, the group aims to create a relaxed space where people feel comfortable to contribute, without feeling pressured to read aloud or discuss.

Hawk Dance with Inside The Igloo 

Friday 17 June 

Rochdale Central Library and Wigan 

Using projection, dance and storytelling, this exciting, interactive family performance created especially for libraries by Josh Hawkins and Natalie Morrell is ideal for children 3+ and their grownups.

Children can join in with the story of three little penguins discovering fun and adventure inside their igloo, interacting with the performers as well as participating in a fun, engaging workshop that focuses on how to look after ourselves, each other and the world around us.

Manchester University and Bolton NHS Libraries Tour

Manchester (Friday 17 June) and Bolton (Wednesday 15 June – Saturday 18 June)

Manchester University and Bolton NHS Libraries support the day to day work of all Trust staff and students, while showcasing the positive contribution that health libraries make to the wellbeing of communities. Service elements on display at Manchester University NHS Library will range from variety of medical models to the only hospital based copy of the entire human printed genome in the UK, while Bolton NHS Library will offer a site tour and interactive information relating to finding trustworthy health information online, doing your research and how to manage specific conditions such as heart disease and cancer.

Happy, Safe and Free

Saturday 18 June 

10am – 5pm

 

Happy, Safe and Free is a year-long, city-wide art project, exploring empathy and understanding for refugees through creativity. To mark the beginning of Refugee Week 2022, people are encouraged to follow the trail of artworks installed in 10 city-centre locations.

 

Since the beginning of 2022, over 10,000 school students across our city have been making artworks expressing what makes them ‘happy, safe and free’. They then destroyed their artworks, shedding each piece to illustrate the loss of the basic human needs of happiness, safety, and freedom. The shredded artworks will be on display as ‘seas’ with origami boats floating on top to symbolise the dangerous journeys migrants and refugees are forced to make to find a place of sanctuary. Later in the year, the young-artists work will be recycled to create a further exhibition exploring the vast contribution migrants have made to the City

 

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