Manchester City of Literature and Nanjing City of Literature are delighted to announce that their bid to the British Council’s International Collaboration Grants programme was successful. Exploring the natural world through literature and exchange between UK and China, this 9-month project will forge a lasting partnership between Manchester and Nanjing, both UNESCO Cities of Literature and Lifelong Learning.

Central to the programme is an artist exchange – uniting poets, illustrators, and playwrights from both cities – to create new work. As part of the exchange, artists from Manchester will visit Nanjing in March 2025. Outputs will include a bilingual illustrated poetry collection and a play, ensuring representation from under-represented groups, including female artists. The creative collaborations will explore the ecological theme of Real Contentment, inspired by Han Dong‘s poetry. Additionally, a schools engagement programme will involve 300 young people, fostering inter-cultural understanding and addressing the climate emergency through creative expression. The work created by the artist exchange and schools programme will be shared at the Festival of Libraries in June 2025 when Manchester hosts the artists from Nanjing.

Partners in the programme include Manchester Metropolitan University, the University of Manchester, Confucius Institute Manchester and Nanjing University of the Arts.

Real Contentment is funded by the British Council’s International Collaboration Grants, which are designed to support UK and overseas organisations to collaborate on international arts projects.