Opening Moment at Manchester Central Library
Public launch 6-7pm, free, no booking required
Collective song, live poetry, and travelling illuminated words come together to mark Corridor of Light’s opening moment at Manchester Central Library. Here, the lines of Recovery Poems, created by long-established outdoor arts pioneers Emergency Exit Arts, collaborating with artists Deanna Rodger and Robert Montgomery, are illuminated in three-metre-high capital letters against the evening sky. Reflecting on the losses and lessons of lockdown, the installation is accompanied by evocative choral song from LGBTQ+ low voice choir The Sunday Boys in the library’s Reading Room.
Made in Manchester, a community poem in 65 different languages, follows: witness the performance of two specially-commissioned new stanzas, written by communities working with Manchester Poetry Library at Manchester Metropolitan University. This living composition, led by local poet Zahid Hussain, will eventually represent every language spoken in the city.
This celebration is also the start of a three-day journey: look out for Recovery Poems as it travels the Oxford Road Corridor.
Running Order – repeats from 6-7pm.
The Sunday Boys led by Artistic Director Michael Betteridge
1. Dominie Hooper The Quietening
2. Anna Appleby Heartland
3. Michael Betteridge Corridor
c15 mins
Made in Manchester
Recodings of poet Zahid Hussain followed by children from Plymouth Grove School. MADE IN
c5 mins
Outside the library, look out for Elisa Artesero’s Stories Under Our Feet.
Central Library will stay open after the opening moment until 10pm with a musical extravaganza as part of the Corridor of Light. If you are feeling adventurous try your hand at playing one of the instruments from the library’s collection, or if you want to relax grab a coffee from the café and experience the city’s beating heart brought alive by music then pay us a visit. Also in the library, you can join open mic night, Word Central from Flapjack Press and a new exhibition from Venture Arts.
