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LOCAL CREATIVES
If you’re looking for a local creative to collaborate with, look no further! These wonderful folks have worked on Festival of Libraries previously, and would be open to discussions about working with you all again.
Some of these creative practitioners span multiple disciplines, so be sure to check out their websites.
Artists
Inko Ai Takita
Inko Ai Takita is a professional manga artist. Inko Ai Takita lead manga workshops for teens in Eccles and Pendleton libraries in October 2022. Inko explained the world of manga publication in Japan, demonstrated their own styles of manga and took teens through a practical journey to build their own manga skills and style.
https://www.instagram.com/inkoai/ 
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Chris Ball
Chris is a creative technologist specialising in playful physical and electronic prototyping. At last year’s festival, Chris worked with writer Ruth Yates to create a multidisciplinary artwork at Leigh Library. The artwork could be experienced as a digital display and printed souvenirs, and explored the potential future of libraries.
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Izzy Bolt
Izzy Bolt is a digital artist working with live visuals, sonics and storytelling. During Festival of Libraries 2021, Izzy worked with Manchester Central Library and writer Lydia Hounat to create a contemporary performance exploring the potential future of libraries.
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Klaire Doyle
Klaire Doyle is an interdisciplinary artist and art educator. Klaire ran a Shoebox Libraries workshop for adults and children and inspired the borough-wide Shoebox Libraries competition at the Festival of Libraries in June 2022.
Meha Hindocha
Meha Hindocha is a visual artist creating colourful collages and cityscapes. At last year’s festival, Meha collaborated with The Portico Library, inviting visitors to create collages inspired by the library’s history collection. The activity encouraged people to create their own responses to the collections, which resulted in an outcome that was at once personal and collaborative.
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Emma Martin
Emma Martin is a Lecturer in Museology at the University of Manchester and Senior Curator of Ethnology at the National Museum Liverpool. The ‘Happy, Safe and Free’ art project, designed by Emma and assisted by Judy Donnelly, was hosted at Manchester Central Library at the 2022 festival, exploring empathy and understanding for refugees through creativity.
https://twitter.com/tibetcurator
https://research.manchester.ac.uk/en/persons/emma.martin-2
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David McFarlane
David McFarlane is a creative technologist, digital artist and musician. During Festival of Libraries 2021, David collaborated with writer Charlotte Wetton at the Poetry Library, creating an interactive installation that celebrated the role of libraries and librarians.
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Abigail Reynolds
Abigail Reynolds is a multimedia artist who works across sculpture, print, event and film. Abigail presented their work ‘Elliptical Reading’ at Manchester Poetry Library during the 2022 Festival of Libraries.
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Chie
Chie is a professional manga artist. Chie held manga workshops for teenagers in Bolton, in October 2022. Chie explained the world of manga publication in Japan, demonstrated their own styles of manga and took teens through a practical journey to build their own manga skills and style.
https: //www.instagram.com/chieartwork/ 
Authors & creative writers
Ali Al-Jamri
Ali Al-Jamri is a poet and writer, he is a Manchester Multilingual City Poet which involves writing commissions throughout the year in response to happenings around the city.
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Mike Brownlow
Mike Brownlow is a children’s author and illustrator. During Festival of Libraries 2021, Mike’s books were hidden in parks around Wigan as part of the “Look for a Book” event.
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Michelle Collier
Michelle Collier is a creative writer working across scripts, games, digital, fiction and poetry. As an Artist in Residence for Festival of Libraries 2021, she worked with Manchester’s Young Identity and Trafford Libraries to create poetry inspired by libraries, which the group performed at Urmston Library during the festival. Michelle is also an illustrator and printmaker.
mickeypip.com // michellecollier.co.uk
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Louise Fazackerley
Louise Fazackerley is a poet, inter-disciplinary artist and creative writing teacher. Louise’s work was used as part of Hawk Dance Theatre’s “Getting from A to B” production, which they performed in various libraries across Greater Manchester during last year’s festival.
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Magaly Flores
Magaly Flores is founder and creative director of Colibri Mexican Folkdance UK, as well as a Spanish Teacher for the Primary sector. In 2022 Magaly Flores coordinated a celebration for the Festival of Libraries with children’s literature and storytelling in Spanish.
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Rosie Garland
Rosie Garland is poet, author, singer and cabaret performer. During last year’s festival, Rosie led virtual walking tours, offering a behind-the-scenes look at Manchester’s five heritage libraries.
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Lydia Hounat
Lydia Hounat is a creative writer and photographer. During last year’s festival, Lydia worked with Manchester Central Library and artist Izzy Bolt to create a contemporary performance exploring the future of libraries.
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Greg Jenner
Greg Jenner is an author and public historian, he participated in the ‘Inspired by the Library’ event in June 2022 in talks with Catherine Fletcher at Urmston Library.
https://twitter.com/greg_jenner
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Anjum Malik
Anjum Malik is a scriptwriter, poet and Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing at Manchester Metropolitan University. During an Artist Residency at Festival of Libraries 2021, Anjum collaborated with Bolton Libraries and a local writing group to create new poetry.
wgmtalent.com/screen-writers/anjum-malik/
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Stuart Maconie
Stuart Maconie is a television and radio presenter, writer and journalist. During last year’s festival, he spent time chatting to visitors at Eccles Public Library in Salford, discuss all things libraries!
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Ella Otomewo
Ella Otomewo is a spoken word poet, performer and creative writer. Ella was an Artist in Residence at Festival of Libraries 2021, working with Oldham Libraries and Fatima Women’s Organisation. Together they created the poetry pamphlet, Our Voices.
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Jonathan Schofield
Jonathan Schofield has been a registered Blue Badge Guide since 1996 and is the Editor-at-Large of Manchester Confidential. In 2022, Jonathan led an excursion around the four great libraries of Manchester city centre, Central Library, Portico Library, John Rylands Library and Chetham’s Library during last year’s festival.
https://www.jonathanschofieldtours.com/contact-details-and-biography.html
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Lemn Sissay
LEMN SISSAY is a BAFTA nominated International prize winning writer. He was awarded an MBE for services to literature by The Queen of England, The Pen Pinter Prize and a Points of Light Award from The Prime Minister. Lemn Sissay OBE was the ambassador of the 2022 Festival of Libraries.
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Oliver Sykes
Oliver is a writer and performer. Oliver Sykes held TikTok Poetry with teens at Manchester Central Library in October 2022, where they created poetry and considered how to deliver their work.
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Charlotte Wetton
Charlotte Wetton is a creative writer, poet and performer. During last year’s festival, Charlotte collaborated with artist David McFarlane and the Poetry Library to create an interactive installation that celebrated the role of libraries and librarians.
charlottewettonpoetry.wordpress.com
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Ruth Yates
Creative writer Ruth Yates worked with Chris Ball and Leigh Library to create a multidisciplinary artwork for Festival of Libraries 2021. The artwork could be experienced as a digital display and as small, printed souvenirs. The piece explored the future of libraries as imagined by librarians and local communities.
writingsquad.com/squad-writer/ruth-yates
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Gary Younge
Gary is an author, professor of Sociology and former Guardian journalist. During the festival, Gary recorded a special discussion at John Ryland’s Library, in which he described the impact Manchester Libraries had on his life. The video was available for audiences to watch online.
Musicians
Guy Garvey
Guy Garvey is the lyricist and lead musician in Elbow. During the 2021 festival, Guy spoke at Chetham’s Library about the importance of Manchester’s Libraries.
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James Holt
Singer-songwriter James Holt worked with Stockport Libraries and a local youth group to produce music at the One Hub Library during the 2021 festival.
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Aziz Ibrahim
Aziz is a guitarist, he performed 'My Library Legacy' at Manchester Central Library on 17th June 2022 to raise the importance of local libraries as spaces for young people to play and engage in creative activities for free.
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Richard Smithson
Richard is a composer and sound designer. His music was used in Hawk Dance Theatre’s “Getting From A to B” production, which was performed in various Libraries across Greater Manchester.
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Vera Tymchyshyn
Vera is a singer. For the 2022 Festival, Vera hosted talks, musical performances and group discussions on Migrant Voices: Musical Living Library at Bolton Central Library with Geli Berg, a music DJ and actress.
Tony Watt
Tony Watt is the Director of Manchester School of Samba. For the 2022 Festival, Tony hosted talks, musical performances, and group discussions on Migrant Voices: Musical Living Library at Stockport Central Library with Numan Azmi, a Social Entrepreneur.
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LittleSheGirls
The LittleSheGirls are a collective of women artists who create unique sound art and spoken word. The feminist band gave a performance at the ‘Trailblazers! – Women of Manchester and the North West’ event during the 2022 festival.
https://www.facebook.com/littleshegirls/
Yussuf Maleem
Yussuf is a sound artist who led Beat Making/Music Production workshops in Urmston and Altrincham libraries in October 2022. Yussuf took the workshop through principles of beat making and basic programs.
https://www.instagram.com/yussufmaleem/
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Jade Parker
Jade Parker is an electronic producer and vocalist from Manchester. She was one of the Re:Sound artists during last year’s festival who worked with KYSO Talent Group on Unlocking Our Sound Heritage’s 250 recordings about working life and social history in the Bolton and Manchester archives.
https://www.facebook.com/jadeparkermusik/
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Jaydev Mistry
Jaydev is a guitarist, percussionist and music technologist. He won an Amnesty award and was commissioned by companies such as Red Ladder Theatre Company, Theatre in the Mill, and BBC Radio 4. Jaydev worked with Pendleton Sixth Form College to go through the 100 cassettes at The Working Class Movement Library as a Re:Sound artist.
https://www.musicaction.org/team/jaydev-mistry-music-facilitator/
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Mike Sweeney
Mike Sweeney is a broadcaster and radio DJ, he participated in the ‘Inspired by the Library’ event in June 2022 in talks with Hannah Kate at Eccles Library.
Theatre practitioners
Coalesce Dance Theatre
During Festival of Libraries 2022, Coalesce Dance Theatre performed the family friendly show “The Old Green Time Machine” in various Libraries across Greater Manchester.
https://www.coalescedancetheatre.com/
Hawk Dance Theatre
During Festival of Libraries 2021, Hawk Dance Theatre performed their production “Getting from A to B” and during Festival of Libraries 2022, Hawk Dance Theatre performed their production “Inside the igloo”, both years these were in various Libraries across Greater Manchester.
Malandra Jacks
Malandra Jacks is a theatre and creative company from North Manchester that uses theatre and digital arts to amplify the voices of underrepresented communities. Their art installation ‘Little Libraries’ was exhibited during the 2022 festival.
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Julie Hesmondhalgh
Julie Hesmondhalgh is an actress and narrator, she participated in the 'Inspired by the Library' event in June 2022 in talks with Nasima Bee at the Tameside Library.
Hero image: Meha Hindocha’s artist drop-in at The Portico Library (Photography © Samantha Guess)