Brighter Sounds Live Night
We held our first U/18 Live Night on the 22nd of March which was a roaring success. I will be writing a full piece to describe the night full of young talent and vibrancy. Our friends over at Media Cubs have produced a video of the night which I will embed in the write up, watch this space!
Ceol, Craic, agus Canadh (Music, Fun, and Singing)
We partnered with One Education to celebrate St. Patricks day by running three half day workshops as part of the Manchester Irish Festival. Local primary school children had the opportunity to learn and sing many Irish traditional songs with plenty of dancing thrown in too for good measure. We were lucky enough to have the award-winning Irish artist Ríoghnach Connolly who recently won the BBC Folk Singer of the Year, running the three-day workshops. As they explored the lyrics together, Rioghnach explained the histories and stories that underpinned the songs. Children discovered the meanings behind Irish words whilst also learning sign language to accompany the lyrics, creating a truly inclusive experience. It was a heart warming experience to see and hear primary schools students belting out Molly Malone.
Beatification Poetry Workshop and Open Mic
Over the course of the New Year, we have looked at new ways of diversifying our cultural offer. John G Hall a Wythenshawe based poet well established in Manchester’s spoken word scene, approached me about using our Creative Space. Since that meeting John has already run a poetry workshop which was followed up by a spoken word/open mic event. It was great to see on the open mic night, spoken word enthusiasts given the opportunity to elucidate experiences encapsulated by working class voices. Classical poetry or rather the Petrarchan or Shakespearean sonnets can often be seen as elitist and inaccessible art forms, hence why we are champion the spoken word and therefore breaking down those barriers.We will be hosting workshops and open mics monthly with plans to add a recording session to the Beatification offer, which will make use of our podcast studio.
See Myself in Books
We were lucky enough to be chosen as one of the venues for See Myself in Books(SMIB) project which was hosted throughout Manchester Libraries. We want to give a massive thank you to Helen, Cheryl, Tom, and Zoe from the Children’s Team and Read Manchester for all the hard work they put into making SMIB such a success. Please see here a full write up- See Myself in Books Festival 17-30 March – manclibraries blog.
EDGE Awards Edinburgh
We were nominated for our first award, which I think is a big achievement as we have only been open since October. The Creative Space was nominated in the Best Physical category at the EDGE 2025 Awards. While we may not have won, the true value of EDGE was the connections made with librarians not just from Scotland, but from Scarborough, Northern Ireland and even America. It was invaluable in terms of hearing and sharing best practice and more importantly making meaningful connections with library colleagues. We did receive kind words from the judges:
At the heart of the project lies a strong youth focus, with free programs like Wythenshawe Youth Theatre — engaging 50 weekly participants — and Music Evermore Rock School — welcoming 21 young musicians each week. These initiatives break down financial barriers, nurturing local talent and empowering the next generation of artists and performers.