Manchester Wakes, at Manchester Central Library
Manchester Central Library delivers an exciting series of events this May with the Manchester Wakes project.
Manchester Wakes is inspired by the tradition of "Wakes Week", which saw factory workers travelling around the UK to enjoy family holidays by the sea.
The project brings the library and the University of Manchester together, through a collaboration with postgraduate students.
Central Library will open after hours on Friday 15 May for 'Workers At Play' - and presents the 'Wonderland By The Waves' exhibition from Monday 11 May - Friday 5 June.
Workers At Play is an evening curated by Tom Hingley, former frontman of Inspiral Carpets. Inspired by leisure practices of the past, it features live music, experimental sound performances and storytelling. An accomplished musician and author, Tom Hingley has developed a unique programme that is not to be missed.
Workers At Play aims to bring back the spirit of Wakes Week in a night of entertainment presented in a truly modern context. The live part of the evening will feature award-winning performance poet JB Barrington, with special guests from the RNCM and collaborative folk performance from Monologue John Bartley and Manchester’s broadside ballad singer Jennifer Reid.
The night will also bring together local choirs - The Cosmo Singers and a mixed group from the Kadenza and Bolton Clarion choirs - magician Jez Mansfield, ukulele group Levy Uke Up, Oldham Youth Wind Ensemble and newly commissioned, experimental, responsive soundscapes composed by members of NOVARS - all reflecting on ideas of work and play.
Tom Hingley, curator, Manchester Wakes, said: "I am more than excited to be acting as curator for Workers at Play, on Friday 15 May. I have been ably assisted in the project by library staff and postgraduate students of Arts Management at The University of Manchester, in putting together a programme of musical spectaculars to accompany the official opening of a wonderful archive exhibition.
"Whether you're a Central Library stalwart, or a novice; whether you've seen the beautiful newly updated library, or have not stepped inside the cultural spaceship for years, we can guarantee music, sights and sounds to make you laugh, cry, reminisce and look backwards to the future. I couldn't be prouder to be asked to put this evening of entertainment together for Manchester Wakes at Central Library."
Wonderland by the Waves, curated by the Manchester Wakes exhibition team, is open throughout the month of May - aiming to bring holiday memories back to life.
Wonderland by the Waves is a new exhibition of items from the Archives+ collection, revealing previously unseen donations from Manchester residents and a local history of traditional pastimes. The exhibition demonstrates the strong significance of holidays in Blackpool, which inspired the theme for this exhibition. Bolton Museum, The Transport Museum, North West Film Archive and Stockport Museum have all loaned significant objects and films reflecting the popularity of travelling to Blackpool and sea-side holidays.
While looking into the past, the Manchester Wakes team have been gathering new stories, images and collections of UK holidays, creating a unique collaborative display of previous and current donations to the Central Library.
Hannah Bonney, an exhibition curator for Wonderland By The Waves, said: “My favourite object from the exhibition is a family photo-album we discovered in the archives. It’s battered and falling to pieces, but the photos inside act like a time-capsule of this family’s holiday. There are wonderful photos of the family in their woolly swimsuits, the father building sandcastles with his son, and all the really iconic sites. It’s a truly magical object that transports you back to 1930s Blackpool.”
Neil MacInnes, Head of Libraries, Information & Archives at Manchester City Council, said: "Central Library is the perfect venue to host the Manchester Wakes project, which celebrates a fascinating strand of the region's history.
"The 'Wonderland by the Waves' exhibition is a great example of how, by working in collaboration with the University of Manchester, Central Library's Archives+ Centre comes into its own as the perfect place to bring local history to life.
"Tom Hingley's 'Workers at Play' event will make the most of the library's Performance Space by offering a very special, free showcase of local artistic talent."
Workers at Play15th May 2015, 6:00pm - 9:00pm
Tickets: Free, available at www.manchesterwakes.bpt.me (booking required)
Wonderland by the Waves11th May 2015 - 5th June 2015, Library opening hours
