Beautiful Monsters at The Portico Library

Sara Jaspan, Exhibitions Editor

Visit now

Beautiful Monsters

The Portico Library, Chinatown
17 May-30 June 2018

Always double check opening hours with the venue before making a special visit.

Beautiful Monsters at The Portico Library, Manchester
The Portico Libary
Book now

Buried deep among The Portico’s impressive, 25,000-strong collection of books, spanning subjects such as ‘Voyages and Travels’, ‘Correspondence’ and ‘Local History’, sits one of the library’s oldest, and perhaps most curious acquisitions of all: an original, leather-bound copy of Historiae Animalium (“Accounts of Animals”), vol. I.

Now regarded as the starting point of modern zoology, the 4,500-page text is an encyclopaedic inventory of actual and mythological animals in which its author – the 16th century Swiss physician and naturalist Conrad Gessner – makes no distinction between the real and the imaginary. Setting out to include every animal in the world, familiar creatures such as elephants, hamsters and camels appear alongside others like the unicorn (which, Gessner speculates, probably didn’t make it onto Noah’s Ark) and numerous unusual specimens labelled ‘monsters’.

For The Portico’s latest exhibition, Beautiful Monsters, seven international artists have been invited to respond to Gessner’s text and other volumes from the library’s collection, resulting in a diverse series of new works (spanning everything from drawing, painting and textiles to robotics) that consider where the idea of the monstrous sits within themes of history, mythology and 21st century life.

Beautiful Monsters was initiated by artist and curator Anya Charikov-Mickleburgh and also features Laura Dekker, Donal Moloney, Ed Saye, Evgenyi Strelkov and Dina Varpahovsky.

What's on at The Portico Library

Where to go near Beautiful Monsters at The Portico Library

City Centre
Restaurant
Blinker

Elegant cocktail bar in the centre of Manchester, with a relaxed atmosphere and wonderfully friendly staff.

moose coffee manchester creative tourist
Manchester
Café or Coffee Shop
Moose Coffee Manchester

Moose Coffee celebrates ‘the best meal of the day’ (brunch) in American style, with stack pancakes, potato hash, Huevos Rancheros and eggs any way. There’s always a queue.

Home-X
Manchester
Restaurant
Home-X

Home-X is the online spin-off of renowned Scottish-Italian chef Nico Simeone’s Six By Nico restaurant. This is geared around kit meals to cook at home.

Manchester
Restaurant
Pho Manchester

Pho does a fine line in pho, the noodle soup that’s a staple of Vietnamese street cuisine.

Manchester
Shop
Siam Smiles

Now based at the Great Northern, Siam Smiles is a food stop that’s hot on everyone’s lips.

Chinatown
Restaurant
Manchester Art Gallery Cafe

Summery bakes, seasonal salads and fresh light meals at Manchester Art Gallery’s in-house café, courtesy of highly-regarded Head Chef Matthew Taylor.

hunan chinese restaurant manchester
Chinatown
Restaurant
Hunan Restaurant

Hunan, a Chinese restaurant in Manchester’s Chinatown, may be a bit off the beaten track – but it’s all the better for that.

What's on: Exhibitions

In a large industrial space filled with dobby looms hangs a blood red textile piece infront of a sheer white backdrop.
Until
ExhibitionsLeeds
Loops at Sunny Bank Mills

‘Loops’ is a new collaborative exhibition of textiles at Sunny Bank Mills, connecting artists from across the Netherlands and Yorkshire.

Free entry

Culture Guides

European Poetry Festival European Camarade
Literature Events in the North

From tongue-twisters to twisty page-turners, we have all kinds of spoken word surprises in the latest literature round-up.

Theatre in Manchester
Theatre in the North

Summer signals theatre festivals, world premieres and open-air spectacle - from MIF25 to comedy, outdoor circus and beyond, here’s what we’re looking forward to.

Cloudwater Production One
Tours and Activities in the North

Go forth with wild abandon to dance the pavements, dabble with the paint and down the pints in this month's tours and activities guide.

Star Nhà Ease
Cinema in the North

July's cinema highlights include spotlights on international cinema, a new cult classic, plus a visit from one of our favourite directors.

Exhibitions in the North

Captivating, urgent and intimate - we bring you our top exhibition picks, with even more art festivals, artist-led shows and new venues.

Helena Hauff
Music in the North

Shape-shifting bands, scorched-earth techno, and off-grid festivals. Our latest music picks catch the live scene at its most urgent, inventive and alive.