Ryland125 – Collections Gallery & The Secret Public: LGBTQ Pop 1955-1985
Exhibition
In 2025, the John Rylands Library celebrates 125 years with a special programme of events and exhibitions including two new galleries:
- Collections Gallery: Presenting over 40 remarkable objects that illuminate the history and evolution of the Library’s special collections, with many on public display for the first time. This eclectic display includes Shakespeare’s First Folio; a clay cylinder from Nebuchadnezzar’s temple; a Qur’an manuscript; a parchment roll signed by Elizabeth I; Alan Turing’s notes on the MARK I computer; and Rob Gretton’s Joy Division notebook.
- Special Exhibitions Gallery: The opening exhibition, The Secret Public: LGBTQ Pop 1955-1985, explores the profound influence of LGBTQ performers, artists and activists on mainstream popular culture. Based on the book by Professor of Popular Culture, Jon Savage, the exhibition draws on his personal archives and The University of Manchester’s British Pop Archive.