The Portico Library announces an artist/curator opportunity for a research residency and exhibition, Sharing the Portico Library’s Hidden Heritage. The Library particularly welcomes artists with an enthusiasm for interpreting historical material.

Click here for the application / registration

Deadline: 13 May 2018

In March 2018 the library was awarded a Heritage Lottery Fund grant to catalogue its archive and promote its findings through an exhibition entitled ‘Sharing The Portico Library’s Hidden Heritage.’ The Library is inviting artists and curators to collaborate on a research project to emphasize the collection’s 21st-century context and relevance. The exhibition, launching in December 2018 and supported by The Zochonis Charitable Trust, will feature significant discoveries and provide an informative visual presentation of the archiving process itself.

Applicants must demonstrate a previous record of successful similar projects. They must provide examples of original, distinctive work. The Library aims to promote a wide variety of voices and perspectives.

Sharing The Portico Library’s Hidden Heritage Artist Benefits

• £500 initial contributor fee with further funding anticipated
• Private access to the special research collection and archive with professional staff support
• Staffing for exhibition launch evening and associated events
• Invigilation for the duration of the exhibition
• Curatorial support
• Design and printing of exhibition booklet
• Publicity and promotion through The Portico Library quarterly magazine, website, social media, and advertising

About The Portico Library

The Portico Library has been central to Manchester’s cultural and intellectual life since its establishment in 1806. It is now open free to the public six days a week. Its collection of 25,000 rare books, archives, and illustrations provides fascinating insights into the 18th and 19th centuries. A diverse programme of events and exhibitions promotes contemporary responses to this history from artists. As a registered charity, their role is to preserve the library and its collections. They ensure collections are shared with a diverse and growing audience of visitors, members, and researchers. The Portico Library’s archive records the history of the people, events, language, politics, and communities of the North West of England over the last 212 years. It shines an important light on the social history of Manchester and Victorian Britain as a whole. This material, virtually untouched by contemporary researchers, reveals The Portico’s connection to significant events.

For more information, contact gallery@theportico.org.uk.