In August we held our first ever teen cosplay event at Central library. The event was co-created with 15-year-old Amira. Amira contacted us via her school librarian when she was looking for a Cosplay event in Manchester aimed at teens, but wasn’t able to find anything aimed at under-18s only.
We decided to work together to create our own event with some very specific requirements:
- For young people aged 12 – 18 with parents or guardians welcome.
- Young people could decide if they wanted to have photos or not and this would be identified with wristbands.
- Crafts.
- Opportunities to connect with each other.
- A guest speaker.
- Stalls to buy items from.
- It would also be a safe and inclusive space.
After a few planning meetings with Amira to make sure the event met her expectations we decided on the 18th of August for the date.
Around 60 people attended the event in the performance space with all the young people attending in their best cosplay costumes, many of which were handmade. We were really impressed with the time and creativity they had used to put their costumes together.
As part of the event, we welcomed Julia C Walker , a local milliner, who has created hats, headpieces and costumes for film and TV including Peaky Blinders, Phantom Menace and Gladiator. Julia who also teaches at the University of Salford gave an engaging talk about her career and answered questions on how to get into the world of costume making.
Co-creating events like these highlight libraries’ commitment to champion children’s rights and supporting Manchester in being a Child Friendly City.
If you are interested in Teen Events, take a look at Library Live for what’s on this year, including Teen Book Club on the third Saturday of each month, an upcoming comic book swap and chat on the 19th of September and a Home Educators Teen book club with the date to be confirmed. You can find all the teen events here.
To learn more information about the event, view the full blog here
