Welcome to the Library's exhibitions and events page
Find out about our current and upcoming exhibitions and events, which will be taking place in one or more of our gallery spaces at the Hartley Library, the National Oceanographic Library and the Winchester School of Art Library.
Scroll through the gallery below to explore events and exhibitions currently taking place.
The Library's 2nd Summer Exhibition will showcase artwork created by staff from the University of Southampton. This year's theme is Connection.
On display at Level 4 Gallery, Hartley Library
Knitting Reference Library Transformed
The Knitting Reference Library located in the Winchester School of Art Library contains a treasure trove of magazines, journals, knitting patterns and even knitted objects. Knitting Reference Library Transformed takes but a few of these objects and transforms them through techniques such as 3D scanning, 3D printing, 3D Modelling and Augmented Reality.
On display at Winchester School of Art Library
Find out more about each of our Library sites.
Check the opening hours to see when all our libraries are open.
Explore some of our past exhibitions:
Paint Outs, Cut Outs, Tear Up Erasures
19th-century Southampton: a glimpse from the Cope Collection
Transformation: Student Experience Directorate (SED) Summer Exhibition
Styling the Eighties: Ray Petri
Styling the Eighties: Simon Foxton
Turner Sims at 50: All for the Joy of Music
Nonsuch Memory Of My Birth Artists’ Books
Seeing Through Drawing: Observation, Record and Representation in Art and Science
“My day was not an idle one”: Lord Palmerston and the Broadlands Estate
A Passion for Collecting: Raymond Turley and the Isle of Wigh
Journeys into Spiritual Wellbeing: Urban Meditation in Taiwanese Outsider Art
#UniSotonLibraryExhibitions
Scroll through the gallery below to explore our upcoming events and exhibitions.
The Crochet Coral Reef: Protect Our Oceans
The Coral Reef tells the story of our oceans: their beauty, their fragility, and their power to heal. The healthy coral is a vibrant, colourful reef full of pinks, blues, oranges, and greens. Rich textures and sea creatures represent a thriving underwater ecosystem.
On display at the National Oceanographic Library
Between Ice and Ocean: 100 years of RRS Discovery
To mark the centenary of the RRS Discovery, the exhibition will draw on material from the National Oceanography Library archive to highlight something of life on board in the 1920s.
Curated by Emma Guest (Engagement Librarian), Catherine Polley (Head of Collections Engagement), Peter Webster (Head of Digital Scholarship and Innovation) and Karen Robson (Head of Archives and Special Collections).
On display at Level 4 Gallery, Hartley Library
Looking Back, Looking Forward: Hartley Library Transformations
This exhibition will look at the Hartley Library through its five distinct phases of development from pre first world war, through the Turner Sims and Gurney Dixon work of the 1930s and 1950s and on to the 1980s and the 2000 wrap around extension. It will include a selection of items from our Archives and Special Collections, new digital content in response to the material in the archives alongside future development ideas.
There will also be a chance to view alumni memories of the Hartley Library, part of our Hartley History Postcard collaboration with ODAR, the Office of Development and Alumni Relations.
Curated by Emma Guest (Engagement Librarian), Catherine Polley (Head of Collections Engagement), Peter Webster (Head of Digital Scholarship and Innovation), Karen Robson (Head of Archives and Special Collections) and Sarah Watson (Senior Project Manager).
On display at Level 4 Gallery, Hartley Library