PETERLoo PRoGRAMME – MANCHESTER CENTRAL LIBRARY

❝We were very proud that Manchester Central Library was the hub for Peterloo 2019. It was great to be the flagship venue for the commemorations. The library was full of high-quality display material and exhibitions, which drew in thousands of people from across the country to Central Library.

Philip Cooke

Citywide Services Manager (Reform) Libraries, Galleries and Culture Neighbourhoods Directorate Manchester City Council

Manchester’s flagship Central Library was the perfect location for the Peterloo Hub from June – August 2019. Since reopening in 2014 the library has become a key component part of all major events and festivals which take place in the city and is now firmly positioned as the heart of the cultural ecology.

The performance spaces, exhibitions spaces and Archives+ were used for a wide range of events attracting new audiences as well as bringing Peterloo to the attention of library customers and people visiting the library - engaging them in a number of ‘open’ activities on the ground floor of the library. The library and Archives+ contain numerous stories relating the history of the city, available in print, digital, film and sound.

The library provided a central and accessible space for people to put on their own events and activities supported by Manchester Histories ‘Open Call’ model of engagement. A host of different groups and organisations had the opportunity to use the performance spaces, often for the first time, to have their say, perform, debate, question, be more aware of, and acquire shared knowledge about the Peterloo Massacre and the world we live in today. Attendance figures suggest that the Petetoo events programme and exhibitions including the ‘The Hidden Project - Peterloo Massacre Tableaux’ by photographer Red Saunders helped to attract people to the Central Library over the summer 2019.

Manchester Central Library Visitor Figures

2019 2018 2017

June 155,192 120,893 130,766

July 185,113 138,400 124,327

August

September 172,923

171,462 195,409

161,937 121,514

123,560

Total 684,690 616,639 500,167

OTHER KEY ACTIVITY PUT ON BY PARTNERS

People’s History Museum

Disrupt? Peterloo and Protest exhibition was part of the national commemorations marking 200 years since the Peterloo Massacre. The headline exhibition told the story of Peterloo and highlighted its relevance today, examining democratic issues that people are campaigning for 200 years on. The exhibition featured objects, including original Peterloo artefacts, brought together for the very first time, alongside pieces telling more recent stories of protest. Protest Lab was also an experimental gallery for individuals, communities and organisations to use to share and develop their views and ideas for collective action. RISE! workshops and pop up installation with artist Emma Martin also featured at the People's History Museum. A mass of rsising hands created by people flooded the museum, giving voice to contemporary social issues.

Manchester Cathedral Service

Manchester Cathedral held a service to commemorate the Peterloo Massacre on Sunday 7th July. The multi faith service included Christian, Jewish, Hindu, Muslim and Sikh readings and prayers and readings from the Peterloo Ambassadors of Eyewitness Accounts of the terrible events of 16th August 1819.

Rise Like Lions

Manchester International Festival, and The Guardian marked 200 years since the Peterloo Massacre with a special commission: a visual celebration of the rallying cries from a history of unrest and commemorating how Peterloo led to the founding of The Manchester Guardian. The film by ‘Greenaway & Greenaway’ was premiered to a packed audience at Festival Square with other readings and performances from a host of local talent and also at the anniversary event, From the Crowd, outside Manchester Central on 16th August.

The Anvil

Manchester International Festival marked the 200th anniversary of Peterloo with an extraordinary day of performance, poetry and music on 7th July. Theatre company ANU created a series of 15 artistic interventions in Manchester city centre. THE ANVIL: An elegy for Peterloo with Emily Howard, Michael Symmons Roberts and BBC Philharmonic was premiered at the Bridgewater Hall.

Manchester Art Gallery

The Get Together and Get Things Done project ran from 17th May to 29th September 2019 as part of the city-wide Peterloo 2019 programme. A project group from across the gallery’s learning and curatorial teams worked together to test new ways of exhibition-making to explore the meaning and importance of crowds and collective action and general usership of the gallery as a public space.

John Rylands Library

The Peterloo: Manchester’s Fight for Freedom exhibition at The John Rylands Library uncovered the personal stories behind the protest that shocked Britain. It exhibited original handwritten records to show the names of the ordinary Mancunians who sacrificed their lives for liberty. It showed documents about how the city authorities tried to conceal the atrocities they committed against their own citizens. It encouraged people to get up close to historic newspapers, and be inspired by the journalists who tirelessly sought to report truth, expose corruption and seek justice.

Manchester Museum

Jallianwala Bagh 1919: Punjab under Siege exhibited the lived experiences and testimonies from the Punjab before, during and after the events which took place on 13 April 1919, when British troops opened fire on peaceful Indian protesters.

Manchester Craft Centre

Misshaping Peterloo commissioned a collection of ceramics to mark the 200-year anniversary of the Peterloo Massacre. The ‘Misshaping Peterloo’ collection was created by illustrator and ceramicist Alex Sickling, inspired by the individuals who fought and died for their rights and freedom on 16 August 1819. The poignant, playful and political pottery looked at how and why we commemorate disaster and historical events using ceramics, and how key facts become distorted when meeting a deadline.

OTHER KEY ACTIVITY PUT ON BY PARTNERS (continued)

Gallery oldham

From Waterloo to Peterloo explored the many stories linking Oldham and its people with the historic events of the Peterloo Massacre. It examined the legacy of Peterloo and why the memory of that day has remained important in the town for many years. The exhibition also looked at what life was like in Oldham in the early 1800s using items from Gallery Oldham’s collections.

Touchstones Rochdale

Protest & Peterloo displayed a range of objects from the museum’s collection with incredible stories linked to Peterloo, including the only surviving banner that was marched from Middleton by a group led by Sam Bamford. The exhibition also included a project with Rochdale Youth Parliament and the Children’s Council.

Tameside

Tameside Remembers Peterloo was a roving exhibition, of display boards, handmade banners and pendants, made by the community, at various venues throughout Tameside. It told the story of the People of Tameside and how they were involved in Peterloo.

working Class Movement Library

Peterloo: news, fake news and paranoia, explored the historical context, the prevailing paranoia and the reactions of the establishment of the Peterloo Massacre, utilising the Library’s extensive Peterloo holdings.

Quarry Bank

The Rights of the Child exhibition explored the experiences of the hundreds of children who worked at Quarry Bank to discover how children’s rights had changed over time. It featured new protest banners created by Ed Hall & local community groups exploring what the Peterloo Massacre meant to the people who were there at the time, and its significance today. The exhibition used the extensive archive collections held by the National Trust which captures stories of working-class people and the evolving right for fair and appropriate treatment of children in our society.

Peterloo Graphic Novel

Many events took place across Greater Manchester to launch Peterloo: Witnesses to a Massacre (Polyp, Schlunke, and Poole), a graphic novel that used bold imagery to take readers back to a visual account of the 1819 Peterloo Massacre. Published as part of the 200th anniversary commemorations, the novel has also been adapted to be used in schools.