FREE | Just drop in
ACROSS THE MUSEUM
Immerse yourself in the energy, richness and vibrancy of African culture when Manchester Museum celebrates Africa Day, in collaboration with Prof. Erinma Bell MBE and CARISMA.
This year’s theme is Roots and Routes, and all of our performers, facilitators and traders join us in reflecting on these themes of heritage and history, and movement and migration.
You’ll be able to enjoy music, dance, song, talks and film screenings, as well as opportunities to take a closer look at African items cared for by the Museum.
This year, we’re adding a Craft and Artisan Fair on our Top Floor, where you’ll be able to get hands-on in sessions delivered by artisan makers and creatives. You’ll also have the opportunity to feast on fabulous food at our African Food Market, which feature a range of different traders on Bridgeford Street, running alongside the Museum.
As if that wasn’t enough, you can head out on a trip around the Museum to find fascinating objects and stories related to Africa in our special Africa Day Trail activity.
The full programme is below.
MAIN HALL
10.30-10.45am Mahtsen (East African/Eritrean dance).
11-11.15am Mahtsen (East African/Eritrean dance).
12-12.30pm Welcome with the Lord Mayor.
12.30-1pm Jamaica Society Folk Ensemble (Jamaican dance).
1.30-2pm Akwa Cross (West African/Nigerian dance).
2.30-3pm Awtar Manchester (Sudanese band).
LIVING WORLDS
10am-12pm International Women’s Peace Group Manchester. Peace-loving art competition.
12-12.30pm Jali Nyonkoling Kuyateh (Kora performance).
12-2pm Mancala tournament.
1.30-2pm Jali Nyonkoling Kuyateh (Kora performance).
2.30pm Mancala winner announcement.
TOP FLOOR CRAFT AND ARTISAN FAIR
10-11am, 11am-12pm, 2-3pm and 3-4pm Life of Africa Drumming workshop. Book tickets for the drumming workshop in advance.
10am-12pm and 1.30-4pm Ethiopian coffee workshop.
11am-12pm and 1-2pm African fabric (Batik) print workshop. Book tickets for the Batik workshop in advance.
11.30am-12.30pm and 2-3pm Beautiful Me hairmaking wellness session. Book tickets for the hairmaking sessions in advance.
11.30am-1pm Jewellery-making (beading) workshop (90-minutes drop in and out). Book tickets for the jewellery-making workshop in advance.
12-1pm and 2.30-3.30pm Congolese doll making. Book tickets for the doll-making workshop in advance.
12.30-1.30pm Woven Roots Kente cloth workshop. Book tickets for Woven Roots in advance.
BRIDGEFORD STREET
12-4pm African food market.
RESEARCH STUDIO
11-11.45am and 12.30-1.15pm Collections workshop: Archaeology collections from Libya.
2.30-3.15pm Collections workshop: Calabash workshop.
BASEMENT EDUCATION SUITE
10.45-11.30am Carrol May storytelling.
11.45am-12.15pm Mandy Jelenje storytelling.
1-1.30pm Mandy Jelenje storytelling.
KANARIS THEATRE FILM SCREENINGS
11-11.30am SEE MY WORLD: Manchester, Lagos & ME.
12.30-1pm Cross Cultural Textiles.
2-3pm Home Away film and panel.
About Africa Day
Africa Day is an annual commemoration of the foundation of the Organization of African Unity (OAU), today known as the African Union, on 25 May 1963.
For Africans on the continent and in the diaspora, Africa Day signifies unity, pride in being African, and an opportunity to celebrate their heritage by donning traditional outfits and putting on vibrant displays of culture and diversity.
Significantly, Manchester is a very important city for Africans because it hosted the Pan African Congress at Chorlton-on-Medlock Town Hall in 1945, intended to address the decolonisation of Africa from Western imperial powers. The congress demanded an end to colonial rule and racial discrimination as well as the recognition of human rights and equality of economic opportunity for all peoples of African heritage.
Manchester Museum cares for more than 40,000 objects from across Africa, many of which were collected during the period of the British Empire, through practices that included trade, anthropology, confiscation, and looting. Your Museum’s Africa Day celebrations are a way of making the stories of these African collections more visible, collaborating with diaspora communities to celebrate and build understanding of African cultural heritage.
This is also part of our Manchester Museum Celebrates event series, building connection and understanding through vibrant cultural celebrations.
