International Women: A Discussion on International Women’s Day at Portico Library

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International Women: A Discussion on International Women's Day

The Portico Library, Chinatown
8 March 2024

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

A portrait of 2 women in front of books
Carol Ann Whitehead
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Head to the Portico Library for a discussion on ‘International Women’, which draws out relevant themes from the library’s long-running, just-opened exhibition, Infamous: Opium, Silk, Tea & the Mission.

This exhibition considers the influence of the industrial revolution and the trading power of Manchester in the often violent struggle to access the markets in China. Infamous considers why tea, opium and silk were so lucrative and important to the expansion of the British Empire and the factories in Manchester, Cheshire and Lancashire. There’s also a display showing a curated selection of lantern slides of missionary activity in China that we know little about. This gives a visual window into the role of missionaries, many of whom worked against the opium trade.

Jumping off the themes raised in this thought-provoking exhibition, Curator Iris Yau and Circle Steele, CEO of the Wai Yin Society, will join a discussion on ‘International Women’, hosted by Carol-Ann Whitehead, Portico Library Trustee and Managing Director of the Zebra Partnership. Expect an illuminating evening of conversation.

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