The exhibition ‘All Shall Be Afforded Dignity’ celebrates 30 years of democracy in South Africa and offers a chance to reflect on the enduring question of ‘dignity for all’ in South Africa and beyond.
This display of artwork marks 30 years since the first democratic elections in South Africa. Norman Kaplan’s linocuts and prints speak to what life was like under the apartheid regime and remind us of the enduring relationship between art and protest.
Tour of the Streets around the Portico Library and the library
How did Kate Greenway’s art reach and move generations of children? How do named literary prizes influence book sales and the publishing trade? Why does it seem that historical women are erased more often than men? This talk by historian and librarian, Dr Rose Roberto, will answer these questions.
Come join us at the Portico Library to participate in our Under Construction, the Portico Experiment pop up display. It’s a chance to find out where we have got to with our plans for Reuniting the Portico, find out about some of our history and collection.
HappeningInMCR and The Portico Library invites you to explore a Life Drawing class with a difference.
Stephe is a contemporary storyteller, creating and sharing intelligent, irreverent spoken-word with audiences across the UK, and beyond. Tangling together a new set of traditional tales, celebrating lives and loves transformed in northern lands, Northering Soul traces a twisting path through a mythic north that’s stranger than we think …
Come in. Sit down. Explore. The Unbuilt Room is part-performance, part-game... an interactive journey where the Portico creates memories.
Come in. Sit down. Explore. The Unbuilt Room is part-performance, part-game... an interactive journey where the Portico creates memories.
Come in. Sit down. Explore. The Unbuilt Room is part-performance, part-game... an interactive journey where the Portico creates memories.
Come in. Sit down. Explore. The Unbuilt Room is part-performance, part-game... an interactive journey where the Portico creates memories.
Come in. Sit down. Explore. The Unbuilt Room is part-performance, part-game... an interactive journey where the Portico creates memories.
Create a green eco friendly book from scratch.
Why do we have different accents and where do they come from? Why do you say ‘tomayto’ & I say ‘tomahto’? And is one way of speaking better?
HappeningInMCR and The Portico Library invites you to explore a Life Drawing class with a difference.
HappeningInMCR and The Portico Library invites you to explore a Life Drawing class with a difference.
Inspired by original research and filled with colour and drama, The Roads to Rome is an exploration of two thousand years of history as seen through one the greatest imperial networks ever built.
In this workshop, Vashti will transport you through her autobiographical writing, videos, poetry, and photography to Jos Plateau in Nigeria
Make your own journal for going away to keep tickets, postcards etc in through traditional techniques.
We will make an A6 crossed structure notebook - a non-adhesive binding developed by Carmencho Arregui.
We will make a proper hardback book with a difference!
On International Women's Day, come and find out about the women in the pages of the Portico's books - the women who are almost forgotten.
Drop in and find out more about some of the books in our collection on World Book Day. Just pop in and first editions of Victorian classics - some known, some not so known - will be on display as well as some notable works in our collection.
A talk on the Kindertransport by Lady Milena Grenfell-Baines.
To mark LGBTQ+ History Month, we’ll be bringing some books out from our collection to explore Oscar Wilde, Sappho, Chevalière d'Éon and Jeanette Winterson.
A screening of Mat Lingard’s Mother Tongues film (16 minutes) about the Chinese community in Manchester from 1986
Join the Portico Kitchen team for a series of unique dining experiences in one of the city’s most extraordinary settings.
Join Seleena Laverne Daye for all things zines. Hear a potted history of zines, how they can be a tool for art and activism as well as being a fun way to express yourself creatively.
Live music, visuals & talks for a sensory exploration of the Portico with John Haycock (Kora, Clarinet + electronics) DBH (Fiddle, guitar) with support from 'Magpahi' Alison Cooper (voice, electronics)
Join us for an early Valentine's treat with folklore and tradition expert Dr Ceri Houlbrook, who shares her research on love-locks.
An introductory workshop for beginners to bookbinding.
Celebrate the Lunar New Year in with a Lion Dance cavorting amongst the books.
Barry Clark explores William Morris's deep and long relationship with Manchester through Morris' art, commercial activity and politics.
Leading psychologist and wellbeing expert, Lee Chambers shares his thirteen essential tools to help you unlock your potential.
Echoes invites audiences to engage with the collection of the Portico Library and the communities who are reclaiming the colonial narrative written and illustrated in the Library's books.
Brown Wimpenny are an 11-piece experimental traditional folk band from South Manchester. who are going to weave their mix of traditional and experimental folk music under the dome of the Portico.
The Portico Library is delighted to welcome Jill Liddington to ask why was the Lancashire story for votes for women so well-known and the equally dramatic Yorkshire story neglected for so long?
A masterclass on Chinese calligraphy with an expert artist from China, presented in partnership with the Manchester Chinese Centre.
Folklore lecturer and creative writer Dr Ceri Houlbrook discusses the archival research that went into her debut novel Winter's Wishfall.
Join us for a festive folk sing around under the library dome with its magnificent acoustics.
Candlelit (style) carol concert of traditional favourites & unknown medieval gems from around Europe.
Join us for an evening of Gothic Reading with a Lancashire lens. All texts provided to read beforehand.
The Portico Christmas Feast returns!
Join us for our ever-popular yearly shindig of eating, entertainment, and merrymaking.
Oliver has written poetry for film and television and in 2019 released his first spoken word single described by Tom Robinson (BBC 6 Music) as ‘An unholy hybrid of John Cooper Clarke and Mark E Smith.’
Come in. Sit down. Explore.
The Unbuilt Room is part-performance, part-game... an interactive journey where places create memories — and memories create places.
Explore the Romans and Romanians on Hadrian's Wall in an interactive workshop with curator and writer Bronwen Riley.
A relaxed creative writing two-hour workshop, led by writer and producer of our new exhibition ‘Voices from the Wall’, Bronwen Riley.
The art of bookbinding and how it becomes an art of belonging through natural materials, the environment and symbols.
Get a taste of a brand new book on the University of Manchester and hear more about the interaction between the University and the city.
Join writer and manager of the Portico Kitchen, Joe Fenn, to explore the rich and expanding world of food writing.
Free, drop in. No need to book
Come join us at the Portico Library to participate in our latest exhibition and experiment Under Construction, the Portico Experiment.
This exhibition also features an interactive display Voices from the Wall, curated and created by Bronwen Riley, project curator/creator.
Voices from the Wall explores shared histories and experiences between Britain and Romania, which began nearly two millennia ago with the building of Hadrian’s Wall and continues today.
