What is Manchester Digital Exhibitions?
Manchester Digital Exhibitions (MDE) is an online exhibition platform for The University of Manchester. MDE draws together past exhibitions from the John Rylands Library and new, online-only research projects. Exhibitions feature digital objects and share in-depth interpretation from archivists, curators, and researchers at the University. Items from Special Collections at The University of Manchester as well as research project-specific material from around the world feature in the exhibitions.
The platform uses the open-source Omeka S platform, which supports the display of the ultra high-quality, International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) digital images produced by our Imaging team. These images are hosted on the Library's Manchester Digital Collections (MDC) and Library Digital Collections platforms.
Can I view the items featured in MDE exhibitions?
For Special Collections items held by the University of Manchester Library, anyone over the age of 18 can book appointments to view material in our three reading rooms. For information about searching our catalogues, booking an appointment and requesting material, please view our guidance on using the Special Collections Reading Rooms.
Supporting Research Projects
Funded research projects use MDE as a showcase for their findings, including both research on Special Collections and those which explore new subject matter, using material held outside of the University and its cultural institutions.
Travels in Tokugawa Japan
Our Japanese Maps exhibition was created as part of the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions Project Travel in Tokugawa Period Japan (1603-1868): Identity, Nation and Social Transformation led by Dr. Sonia Favi (2019-2021), exploring material from the Library's Japanese Collection and the Maps Collection. The online exhibition on MDE followed a wider digitisation project on Manchester Digital Collections.
CARLA
The CARLA exhibition was an output of the AHRC-funded project “Cultures of Anti-Racism in Latin America”, led by Peter Wade, Professor of Social Anthropology, and other academics from the University's School of Arts, Languages and Cultures (SALC). The exhibition presents works by indigenous artists from Latin America, the majority of which were commissioned especially for the CARLA project.
CORALA
The CORALA exhibition was created as part of the AHRC-funded Comics and Race in Latin America project. Led by James Scorer, Professor of Latin American Studies in the department of Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American Studies, it explores the portrayal of race in Latin American comics, and was the first of our online exhibitions built by the project team themselves.
Can I create an exhibition on MDE?
Proposals for online exhibitions on MDE are open to academic, research, and professional services staff at The University of Manchester.
How are online exhibitions created on MDE?
Online exhibitions are built either by the Digital Exhibitions Curator, or by curators, researchers, and research assistants. For 'self-build' projects, full training and support is offered at every stage of the process.
I am a student at the University of Manchester, can I create an exhibition?
While students at the University are unable to submit their own proposals, they are welcome to assist with their build in MDE. The Library's Student Team, for example, built our Women who shaped Manchester exhibition.
How do I submit a proposal?
If you are interested in creating an exhibition on MDE and your enquiry relates to Special Collections, please contact the relavant curatorto talk through initial ideas and considerations. For other exhibitions and enquiries please get in touch with the Digital Exhibitions Curator.
To formally submit a proposal, University members of staff can complete our online proposal form. Proposals are considered by the MDE governance groups to assess operational requirements and strategic priority.
Things to consider when making a proposal
The Digital Exhibitions Curator can build some online exhibitions (projects with strategic priority or special technical requirements), but the majority of sites will be created by the individuals and teams who submit the proposals. Full guidance and support will be provided at every stage, and no prior experience with digital systems is necessary.
Special Collections material
Items that have been digitised will be available on Manchester Digital Collections (MDC) or Library Digitised Collections (LUNA). If new digitisation is required, the proposal will include any new photography captured by our Imaging team.
External material
If your material is not digitised, you will need to arrange its photography/digitisation. Get in touch with us and we will share our minimum requirements.
High quality metadata is essential for enabling user access to collections. Ideally material should be catalogued on an online catalogue platform before digitisation is possible.
Copyright and other ownership rights should be considered, both for the original material and the digital representation. It is the responsibility of the applicant to identify, trace, and seek formal permission of the copyright owner where material requested for digitisation is still in copyright.