A free exhibition at Leeds Central Library
10 November to 17 January 2024
This new exhibition, inspired by Fantasy: Realms of Imagination at the British Library, is hidden throughout the magical setting of
Leeds Central Library from 10 November until 17 January 2024.
Explore the beautiful building, discovering ancient artefacts, spellbinding books and pop culture legends as you go. Journey from fairy tales and folklore to the worlds of Studio Ghibli. Venture into lands occupied by goblins and go down the rabbit hole. Climb Mount Olympus and travel through Middle-earth. Discover how the oldest forms of literature continue to inspire fantasy authors today. Gather your fellow adventurers and step through the portal into the realms of fantasy. Who knows where your journey will lead…
Part of the British Library's Living Knowledge Network.
Programme of events
Fantasy: Realms of Imagination Launch event
Leeds Central Library will explore the fantasy genre from Arthurian legends to fan culture in a new exhibition hidden throughout the magical building just waiting for you to discover. We will launch with an exciting panel event featuring three writers from the worlds of science-fiction, folktales and fantasy -
Adrian Tchaikovsky,
RJ Barker and
Elizabeth Dearnley. Reading from their own books, they will journey through rich and varied imaginary realms inhabited by curious creatures, brutal conflicts, perilous adventures and epic quests.
As part of an exciting programme of events, most of which are free, we will present a series of livestreams from the British Library's Living Knowledge Network including: Tales of the Weird, Why We Need Fantasy: Neil Gaiman in Conversation, The Worlds of Terry Pratchett: Neil Gaiman and Rob Wilkins and An Evening with Philip Pullman.
We'll be taking some of our special treasures out on tour, and there'll be talks, workshops, a fantasy themed family day and creative activities as part of our annual CreativeMind programme which will have a fantasy theme this year.
