Help Archives+ Centre chart life during lockdown in Manchester

archives+Archives+, the city’s showcase and repository for archives and family history, is inviting all Mancunians to share their writing, drawings, photos, audio and video files, which could form part of future exhibitions about life during the COVID-19 lockdown. 

All submissions from Manchester residents, no matter how big or small, are welcome. 

Situated at Manchester Central Library, Archives+ is a purpose-built home for local, regional and national collections of documents, photographs and films, providing the public with access to their local history and heritage.

Some people may have already written down or recorded their thoughts, or expressed them through creating artwork - but if you are keen to capture your feelings about the times we’re living through and are not sure where to start, the following prompts might help:

  • If you have had the virus, how did it affect you?
  • How has the virus impacted on your work?
  • How has the virus impacted on your home life?
  • What are you doing to keep busy?
  • Have you got to know your neighbours better?
  • How has the virus affected your view of the future?
  • What are your feelings on how Manchester has responded to the virus?

Submissions of documents, photographs or short sound files (aim for around one minute in length) can be made digitally by emailing [email protected]  

The Ahmed Iqbal Ullah Race Relations Resource Centre and Education Trust, based at Central Library, is also calling for submissions, as part of their mission to ensure that historical accounts from black and ethnic minority communities are equally represented in the story of how the coronavirus has affected Greater Manchester.

If you wish to submit a short video file, contact the North West Film Archive, which is based at Archives+, click here

For more information about Archives+ click here