A free exhibition celebrating one of the UK’s most important cultural assets: the Birmingham Shakespeare Memorial Library.
Immerse yourself in the unique story of the people’s Shakespeare library. Learn about Birmingham’s pioneering ‘everything to everybody’ ethos. Ask yourself what culture means for you, your family and your community. Can it be a catalyst for positive change? Can Shakespeare help us to act, come together and shape the future of our cities now?
ABOUT EVERYTHING TO EVERYBODY
The exhibition will tell visitors the story of a friendship and how this led to the creation of the first Shakespeare library in the world. The library is now home to thousands of items of Shakespearean history, including photos, music scores, programmes and playbills.
Everything to Everybody: Your Shakespeare, Your Culture will ask you to consider what culture means to you. Share your favourite cultural highlight, make your mark and create your own version of a library.
You will be welcomed to the exhibition by a short film featuring young people from Birmingham, the exhibition will also feature a brand new spoken-word piece by Birmingham’s Poet Laureate Casey Bailey and the library’s copy of the First Folio, which belongs to the people of Birmingham, will be on display
The exhibition runs to 5 November 2022 at The Gallery, Level 3, The Library of Birmingham. It’s open Mondays and Tuesdays 11am-7pm and Wednesdays to Saturdays 11am-5pm (closed Sundays). No booking required.
The Everything to Everybody project is a collaboration between the University of Birmingham and Birmingham City Council, with funding contributed by National Lottery Heritage Fund.
We have been working in partnership with the University of Birmingham since 2016. We are now in our second five-year collaboration with the university taking us to 2026. Find out more about our partnership with the University of Birmingham.