Chetham’s Library have been working with Nick Thurston for a number of years to think in new ways about the collections, architecture and everyday life of the library. Together, we have explored the histories of reading and public sharing that Chetham’s is testament to, and the emotional and imaginative work done by librarians to care for the future.

This work has culminated in a new video by Nick, Tender Silences, which was shot in Chetham’s during April 2021 as the team prepared to re-open the library from lockdown. Tender Silences is 7mins long, silent and free to stream. There is a prose-poem embedded in the Closed Captions, which you can turn On/Off.

You can also watch Nick and Fergus Wilde, our Librarian, discuss the history of Chetham’s and the development of the project.

An accompanying newspaper offers different views from the Seeing Libraries Differently project and introduces the little-known history of contemporary artists responding to libraries in moving image works. Print copies of the broadsheet are freely available at participating venues during the Festival, and digital copies re-formatted for screen and home printing can be downloaded below.