The mathematician and codebreaker Alan Turing is more widely known and admired today than he ever was during his lifetime. In February 2019 BBC viewers voted him the most important person of the 20th century; he was certainly a man who changed the world. Today, his iconography greets Mancunians in Sackville Park Gardens, across the University campus and on the way to the Manchester Velodrome. Even The Portico played a small part in his story.

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In 1836 newspapers across Britain reported a “Grand Fancy Ball” held at The Portico Library. Now all you fancy people are invited to create and wear your own wild and wonderful costumes to the closing party of the Portico’s current exhibition Fancy Pants. There will be a dance performance in exhibitor Ruby Kirby’s wearable artworks and a prize for the best dressed guest will be judged and presented by the artists. Drinks will be on sale, with proceeds contributing to the Library’s charitable programme.

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Anne Hornsby of Mind's Eye Description Services will deliver an audio-described tour for blind and partially sighted visitors. She will introduce the building and collection, and Fancy Pants, an exhibition that explores dress and costume’s historic and contemporary relationships with ritual, play, morality and resistance. Please note that the library is accessed via a staircase. There is no lift but a stair lift is available via the rear entrance.

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Come and create exciting wearable art pieces using your pre-loved items. Artist Ruby Kirby will help you to re-invent them into new wild creations using a variety of other recycled odds and ends. The more bonkers the better! This event accompanies The Portico’s latest exhibition Fancy Pants looking at dress and costume’s historic and contemporary relationships with ritual, play, morality and resistance.

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March 14, 2019, 7:00pm - 9:00pm

Performed by stand-up poet and Radio 4 regular Kate Fox; a comic and thought-provoking show about the real Northern Powerhouse, Northern Women – the sung and the unsung!

This funny, gently subversive performance/lecture uncovers the hidden history of the writers, scientists, sportswomen, politicians, protesters, musicians and other heroines who represent the grit, determination and spirit of the North’s women.

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Jennifer Little will conduct a tour in British Sign Language (with no spoken English). She will introduce The Portico Library’s building and collection, and give insights to the present exhibition, Fancy Pants.

Four visual artists present radical, expressive works that look at dress and costume’s historic and contemporary relationships with ritual, play, morality and resistance. These pieces invite us to think about celebration and wellbeing, mind and body, and the idea of ‘high’ vs ‘low’ culture.

New artworks by Leonce Raphael Agbodjelou, Ruby Kirby, Lindsey Mendick & Camille Smithwick, with books from the library’s collection including Joseph Strutt’s Sports and Pastimes of the People of England and John Northbrooke’s Treatise Against Dicing, Dancing, Plays and Interludes: with Other Idle Pastimes.

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The political and social struggles that surrounded the Peterloo Massacre in 1819 and were nothing new. Those holding power sought to keep it, use it and would, on occasion, abuse it. Their opponents demanded a say in government, in the way their lives were organised, and how they might improve their lot in life by political action.

Peterloo was one tragic episode in that eternal struggle: reflecting a world of political hopes and ideas and it would, consciously or not, shape the political thoughts of generations to come.

Some of these ideas are the themes of a series of talks focusing on Machiavelli, Thomas Hobbes and John Stewart Mill.

The format is a 1 hour lecture followed by tea, cake and casual discussion.

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*who just happen to be women!

This series is back due to popular demand.

This series will present seventeen artistic personalities, selecting some examples from different centuries: we will look at their lives and their art, put them into context, and as a result of the analysis of their biographies, we will acknowledge how their identity as female artists affected their careers, their work and their role for the following generations. These four sessions can be joined as stand-alone events or attended as a course to receive the full benefit of Sara’s inspiring teaching style. These sessions are perfect for anyone who wishes to strengthen their knowledge of the History of Art.

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6pm - 8pm, Thursday 31st January 2019

Four visual artists present radical, expressive works that look at dress and costume’s historic and contemporary relationships with ritual, play, morality and resistance.

New artworks by Leonce Raphael Agbodjelou, Ruby Kirby, Lindsey Mendick & Camille Smithwick, with books from the library’s collection including Joseph Strutt’s Sports and Pastimes of the People of England and John Northbrooke’s Treatise Against Dicing, Dancing, Plays and Interludes: with Other Idle Pastimes.

(In partnership with the Society of Bookbinders, North West and North Wales Region)

In this one day workshop you will work with an experienced local bookbinder, Barry Clark, to create three finished books: a sewn pamphlet with a decorative dust-wrapper, a Japanese stab binding, and a multi-section notebook with exposed decorative sewing. These three projects will introduce you to the essentials of all bookbinding: grain direction, folding and cutting paper, creating book sections, setting out sewing stations and different ways of sewing books. All materials and tools will be provided, but feel free to bring your own favourite craft tools if you have them. We will not be using glue so no protective apron is required. The fee includes the cost of materials, tea/coffee on arrival and a light buffet lunch. This workshop is limited to 12 participants so early booking is advised.

Tea/coffee on arrival from 10am for a prompt start at 10.30am

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Following the fantastic success of last year’s Christmas dinner, The Portico brings you another delicious feast set in the sumptuous library surroundings. This event is popular and seating is limited so don’t delay in booking!

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Manchester: Mapping the City is new book looking at the history of Manchester using a rich array of more than 100 street maps, land surveys, engineering plans and promotional birds-eye views. It features original maps from the eighteenth to the twenty-first century, drawing on local archives and libraries. It also illustrates and discusses the significant events and places that have featured in Manchester’s history, such as Peterloo, the Ship Canal, Town Hall, Belle Vue, Victoria Station and the football grounds.

The authors will deliver a talk on the subject and discuss new ways to access historic cartography. There will be a chance to look at sample of our book and view poster reproductions of some of best historic maps of Manchester. The Portico Library will also display some of its own relevant maps and plans from the archive.

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In the second half of the 19th century a group of educated, passionate, complex and multi-faced English women played a leading role in developing the study of Ancient Egypt. These women supported, participated in, and led the excavations and academic research that were bringing the ancient world to life. Many were enabled by the industrial wealth of the North West, which is why the our museums have more Ancient Egyptian artefacts than anywhere else in the United Kingdom outside London.

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Nov 9, 2018, 3:00pm - 5:00pm

The Portico Library and the Greater Manchester Combined Authority welcome you to an event looking at nature, resilience and young people, and how culture can be used to address some of the most pressing problems we face as a city-region.

This event will be a chance for members of the public to engage with academics, practitioners, policy makers and cultural representatives on issues of resilience, ecology and the role of the arts in a changing climate and will be opened by the Greater Manchester Mayor, Andy Burnham, and the Greater Manchester Chief Resilience Officer, Dr Kathy Oldham.

In addition, two local school groups will present the outcomes of workshops conducted with local artist Oliver East using the power of image and text to explore themes of nature, urban life, and resilience…

Join the waiting list for free tickets here.