Royal Exchange Theatre – Local History, Global Impact

The Manchester Fifth Pan-African Congress at 80

2025 marked the 80th anniversary of the 1945 Pan-African Congress in Manchester, a landmark gathering that reshaped the global fight for Black liberation and independence.

This exhibition, delivered in partnership with the Royal Exchange Theatre as part of the production of LIBERATION, was curated by a team of staff and student researchers associated with the Race, Roots & Resistance Collective’s Emerging Scholars programme at the University of Manchester. It brought together archive material, photographs and audio recordings that honour the legacy of the Congress and the radical ideas it ignited, as well as some behind-the-scenes designs from LIBERATION. Visitors were invited to share thoughts and feelings around the exhibition, and the show, via interactive stations.

“Working with Katie was invaluable. She managed to transform our unconventional space into a vibrant exhibition and her creativity, resourcefulness and patience guided our team through the process of delivering their first exhibition. Katie was collaborative and brought fresh ideas to the table to make our exhibition accessible to all our customers. We’ve had incredible feedback from staff, creative teams and members of the public about our exhibition and we wouldn’t have been able to do it without Katie!”

Molly Taylor
Engagement Manager, Royal Exchange Theatre