Free things to do in Manchester this week ft. Augmented Reality + more

Augmented Reality Experience at Central Library
Central Library provides the first in our list of free things to do in Manchester this week, with this new augmented reality exhibition starting Monday. It’s called The Danger Tree and it’s been designed by seasoned visual artists Scarlett Raven and Marc Marot, alog with film set designer Kave Quinn. Using a phone or tablet, you can step inside Scarlett and Marc’s work, gaining extra insights into the artistic process through animation and spoken word excerpts provided by actors such as Sean Bean and Vicky McClure. If you don’t have access to a smart device, iPads are available for the duration of the tour. This exhibition is open until the end of March.
Mon 15 Jan – Sat 31 Mar, Central Library, St Peter’s Square, Manchester, M2 5PD. Tel: 0161 234 1983, 10am – 6pm, www.librarylive.co.uk

Diversity in Tech Talk at Macdonald Manchester Hotel
Hiring diversity is hot-button topic for any industry, but none more so than the tech and digital industries. This talk is hosted by London-based organisation Digital Leadership, who run events like these and tech advocacy workshops up and down the country, and they’ve invited two local leading industry heads to give their thoughts on the issue. Stephen Foreshew-Cain, who is Co-op’s digital director, will lead the discussion and joining him is Nicky Stewart, the commercial director at tech firm UKCloud. The pair will be talking through some of the challenges and the unexpected rewards of promoting diversity.
Tue 16 Jan, Macdonald Manchester Hotel, London Road, Manchester, M1 2PG. 4pm – 6pm, www.eventbrite.com

Birth Rites at The Whitworth (pictured)
As part of their Thursday Lates series, The Whitworth are hosting this one-off event showcasing the work of artists shortlisted for the 2018 Birth Rites Competition for New Work. The competition is unique in that it specifically hones in on the theme of childbirth, a subject long-neglected by visual art. Eighteen different artists will be giving their take on the issue, in mediums ranging from traditional painting, through sculpture to new media, and even wallpaper.
Thu 18 Jan, The Whitworth, Oxford Road, Manchester, M15 6ER. Tel: 0161 275 7450, 7pm – 9pm, www.facebook.com

Ed Caesar at Burgess Foundation
Finally for this week, the International Anthony Burgess Foundation invites narrative non-fiction writer Ed Caeser into their performance space for this free talk. Ed has just taken up residence at MMU as a visiting fellow in Creative Writing, and here he’ll be talking about his influences, in particular Levels of the Game by John McPhee, a thrilling recollection of the 1968 US Open Final, which Caesar himself aped in a 2011 tennis article he wrote for GQ. Caesar will be focussing on the ways narrative non-fiction and literary fiction interact, and the skills that are transferable between the two.
Thu 18 Jan, International Anthony Burgess Foundation, Chorlton Mill, 3 Cambridge Street, Manchester, M1 5BY. 7pm – 8.30pm, www.eventbrite.com