Manchester Histories Festival 2022

Tom Grieve, Cinema Editor
For those who are to come, Manchester Central Library, until Saturday 18th June 2022 © Bruno Kelly

8 — 12 June 2022 Entrance is free

Manchester Histories Festival returns for its 8th edition this June. Exploring The History of Climate Change, this year the wide-ranging, eclectic festival asks us to look back at the past in order to understand the present and prepare for the future. The mostly free, five-day event runs from Thursday 8 – Sunday 12 June and features art exhibitions, talks, tours, discussions and even interactive theatre – all alongside outdoor festivities, creative workshops and family-friendly celebrations.

As the birthplace of the industrial revolution, Greater Manchester is a fitting place to discuss the history of climate change. Scheduled talks address everything from how 180 million years of climate and geography helped form the industrial north, to the research done by The University of Manchester’s Sustainable Futures research platform, to the international impact of Manchester’s history as Cottonopolis.

As the birthplace of the industrial revolution, Greater Manchester is a fitting place to discuss the history of climate change.

Ergon Theatre, The Wicked Problem, Manchester Central Library, Thursday 9th June 2022
Ergon Theatre, The Wicked Problem

 

Designed as a festival for all, further discussion sessions use history to track the political dimensions of climate change protest, corporate interests and social movements, but also to look at how organisations and we as individuals can intervene. Meanwhile, Ergon Theatre’s The Wicked Problem asks what comes first, the planet or your family? Set in the year 2061, the interactive drama asks its audience to act as the jury in a futuristic climate change trial which pits an individual against an authoritarian, green government.

The events are mainly split across four main venues – Manchester Central Library, Gallery Oldham, Angel Meadow Park and The Manchester Monastery – with supplemental activity taking place across the city and online. For art-enthusiasts, exhibitions include For those who are to come, a curated series of photographs presenting the diverse faces and colours of Amazonia – which first showed at COP26 – and a retrospective featuring 10 Years of British Wildlife Photography Awards.

Carbon Buster by Walk the Plank
Carbon Buster by Walk the Plank

 

There are also plenty of opportunities for celebration and family fun across the festival. Angel Meadow Park will host a day of music, games and workshops exploring the environmental impact of food and drink featuring street food vendors and markets on Saturday 11 June. While at Gorton’s The Manchester Monastery, Sunday 12 June is Celebration Day, with stalls from Greater Manchester’s museums, archives and projects joined by creative workshops, music, a vintage bus, an ice-cream van and a pop-up museum from Manchester Museum.

8 — 12 June 2022 Entrance is free

Where to go near Manchester Histories Festival 2022

Manchester
Restaurant
New Wave Ramen

New Wave Ramen is a stylish, friendly Japanese ramen bar and restaurant on Tib Lane in the heart of Manchester.

caprismcr - restaurant
City Centre
Restaurant
Capri’s Cucina Italiana

The King Street area isn’t short of popular Italian restaurants, but none strike quite the same note as Capri’s, where you’ll be greeted like family and served some of the most authentic Neapolitan food in Manchester.

The Feel Good Club exterior
Manchester
Event venue
Feel Good Club

Our flagship Feel Good Club in Manchester, open 7 days a week, providing a beautiful friendly environment for coffee, brunch, lunch, cocktails and beers with an amazing selection of non alcoholic beverages too.

Ancoats
Bar or Pub
Finders Keepers

Welcoming waterside bar in New Islington Marina, serving a wide array of carefully-curated cocktails.

City Centre
Restaurant
Climat

Highly-regarded wine-led, French-leaning wine bar and rooftop restaurant in the city centre.

Image licensed with iStock.
Stockport
Library
Stockport Central Library

Stockport Central Library is a Carnegie library, built 1913–15 in the Edwardian Baroque style. It continues to serve as Stockport’s largest library.

The Edge exterior
Wigan
Event venue
The Edge, Wigan

Opened in September 2017, The Edge Arena is Wigan’s performance, conference and event venue.

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