Human Natures: A Free Exhibition Opens at Manchester Museum

Human Natures brings together powerful objects, stories and contemporary voices. You’ll encounter the realities of overconsumption and overexploitation of animals, plants and minerals, but you’ll also leave with inspiration, thanks to hopeful examples of people and organisations taking action to live in better balance with nature.

• Local action, Manchester-made: Discover grassroots changemakers including Manchester Urban Diggers (MUD) (Platt Fields Market Garden) and the volunteer-run Manchester Library of Things (LOT) in Levenshulme. Both are helping communities reconnect with nature and live more sustainably.
• See the city’s environmental hub in action: Partners from Manchester Museum’s Top Floor environmental action and social justice hub will feature across the exhibition.

Don’t miss a striking installation by the University of Manchester’s Cottonopolis Collective. Cotton woven at the National Trust’s Quarry Bank Mill was buried to reveal the impact of soil, water and air. Making hidden legacies of pollution and waste visible through eye-catching textile artworks suspended within the gallery.

“We’re aiming to tell stories that connect with people on a human level, inspiring empathy and hope.” — Rachel Webster, Curator of Botany, Manchester Museum

Travel through four immersive settings, from warehouse to waste dump to explore the world we’ve made and the choices that shape it.

The exhibition takes you on a journey through four settings, from warehouse to waste dump, exploring the way we live in the world we’ve made.

1) The warehouse: Start by exploring the complexity of our relationships with nature — from the domestication of cats, to chickens as an example of how humans have shaped a species to meet our needs, and forests that reveal this relationship at a landscape scale.

2) The wardrobe: Take a closer look at what our clothes are made from — and how ethics and personal values influence fashion choices.

A Manchester story with global impact: Meet Emily Williamson, who began a campaign from her front room near Didsbury’s Fletcher Moss Park — a response to the Victorian fashion for feathers — and went on to found the organisation that became the RSPB, now the UK’s largest conservation organisation.

3) The waste dump: Confront throw-away culture — why we bin materials while still extracting raw resources to make new products. The exhibition shares the work of The Or Foundation in Accra, Ghana, highlighting how textile waste is exported from the Global North to the Global South and the human and environmental harm linked to overproduction and overconsumption.

4) The action space: End with practical hope. Partners including MUD, LOT and London Mining Network will take turns in two-month residencies within the museum’s Top Floor hub. You can also explore University of Manchester research into plastics and see bold murals by Stockport’s Plastic Shed.

Pair your visit with the Museum’s collections across natural science and human cultures in the heart of Manchester and enjoy lunch in the cafe. With a selection of Museums and Galleries close by, it's the perfect excuse to extend your stay in Manchester. Families can enjoy the convenience of family-friendly hotels or enjoy a home-away-from-home experience at a range of serviced apartments or self-catering accommodations. Nature lovers can explore the countryside with camping and caravanning options, whilst urban adventurers can enjoy accommodation in Manchester city centre.