Even with the new lockdown restrictions now in place there are plenty of online resources which can be enjoyed. Here is a selection of what can be accessed, from joining an art club to taking a virtual tour of Manchester.

Chetham’s Library

If you are interested in the varied history of Manchester take a look at what the staff at Chetham’s Library have been busy doing during the time they have been working from home. They have brought items from the collections to be view online through the From Home heading on their website. These include The Manchester Scrapbook donated to the library in 1838 by its compiler, Francis Edgerton, 1st Earl of Ellesmere.

The library has been able to digitise a small number of their medieval manuscripts. You can read an introduction to the Flores Historiarum, The Flowers of History, which is a favourite of the library staff and the most significant medieval manuscript in the library’s possession.

Gaskell House

Online talk: Cranford for Beginners 27 January, 7pm-8pm.

Libby Tempest, Chair of the Gaskell Society, will be introducing this well-loved classic of Victorian literature which will be the perfect complement to the new Cranford exhibition at the house in 2021.

Tickets are £4 and can be booked on their website.

Manchester: A UNESCO City of Literature

Manchester is home to 4 historic libraries, 23 public libraries plus many more independent ones. There are 2 Universities in the City Centre, plus 2 writing schools. More than 40 arts and culture festivals take place, including Manchester Literature Festival. Manchester is the home of writers and radicals such as Anthony Burgess, Emmeline Pankhurst, Lemn Sissay, Carol Ann Duffy, John Cooper Clarke, Elizabeth Gaskell, Jeanette Winterson.

In January there are Online Events including Rosie Garland discussing and reading from her new collection of poetry, What Girls Do in the Dark, as well as taking questions about the writing process and how to get published.

These are free events, but you do need to register.

HOME

Renew
Renew is a new collaboration between HOME and Manchester Camerata, designed to calm, centre, refresh and renew. This specially-filmed concert turns the usually bustling surroundings of HOME’s restaurant into a place to focus on your breath, close your eyes and pay attention to your surroundings.

This show is available to watch on a pay-what-you-decide basis

Stoller Hall

Manchester Camerata have recorded a concert which will can be heard on BBC Radio 3 on Tuesday 19 January at 7.30pm. They will be performing

  • Dobrinka Tabakova’s Dawn,
  • Copland’s Appalachian Spring,
  • Michael Nyman’s Where the Bee Dances (with saxophonist and broadcaster Jess Gillam)
  • Daniel Kidane’s new work Be Still.

Tune your radio in to listen to the concert alternatively listen online or using the BBC Sounds App.

The Manchester Zoom Tour Series

Now you can enjoy the story of the city and its extraordinary characters and buildings without leaving your home. Or even your bed. 

Jonathan Schofield’s Zoom tours are a way to get under the skin of the city and really learn what makes it tick as image after image pops up on your screen. They are informative, funny and occasionally moving. Some of the images you will see have never been presented before in print or digitally.

Joining details can be found on Jonathan’s website, they are free but contributions are welcome. 

Manchester Art Gallery

Grayson’s Art Club: Curators Tour
Grayson Perry, one of Britain’s foremost artists, brought the nation together through art, helping them to unleash their collective creativity as part of his Channel 4 TV series. Whilst we can’t go and see the exhibition at the moment the exhibition curators Natasha Howes and Fiona Corridan livestreamed a tour of the show for everyone.

#MAGartclub
Photograph, draw, paint, or show any art form depicting Manchester style and post it to Instagram using #MAGartclub.

There is a monthly theme to prompt creativity with the #tagged works being displayed on screen in the exhibition and on the art gallery website too. The theme for January is: The World

For loads more information on where to visit contact the visitor information team at visitorinformation@manchester.gov.uk or check out visitmanchester.com.