Displays, Exhibitions and Residencies
Find out what’s on in our vibrant new programme of displays, exhibitions and residencies.
Book display – Travelling through the library: Translated literature in the DEI
To celebrate the relationship between Barcelona and Exeter UNESCO Cities of Literature, this display will explore and reveal the work of literary translators through the holdings of the Institution, celebrating their contribution to culture and their role in literary exchange.
Book display – Threads through time
This book display explores how clothing has always offered a way for us to symbolise who we are.
Book display – Illustrating a Victorian Christmas
Tuesday 25th November - Thursday 18th December
In December 1848, the Illustrated London News published a picture of the British royal family, gathered around an intricately decorated Christmas tree. This iconic image caught the imagination of the reading public, and set the tone for what a Victorian Christmas should look like. This display showcases the festive wood engravings that graced the pages of the periodical, the most successful illustrated newspapers of its day.
New table-top book display – Green Shoots: horticultural treasures from our natural history collection, unearthed by our gardeners
Visit our the Outer Library between 1 May and 7 June to see beautiful books about botany and gardening, chosen for display by our Green Shoots gardening group. Free and […]
Schools’ enrichment week – free workshops for KS3/4
Join us for a fun and interactive workshop in Exeter's oldest library, to find our what historic newspapers can tell us about fake news, trolling and clickbait.
Press Release – Turning the Page, May 2025
Following the success of The Next Chapter project, the Devon and Exeter Institution is thrilled to announce the award of £213,000 from The National Lottery Heritage Fund for its exciting new initiative, Turning the Page.
Event highlights this summer
We’re delighted to launch our new Spring/Summer events programme!
Women’s Travelogues: Isabella Bird
In the final instalment of her special edition Book of the Month blog, Isabel Moon discusses Isabella Bird’s ‘A Lady’s Life in the Rocky Mountains’ (1879). A prolific writer and […]
Women’s Travelogues: Harriet Martineau and Alison Carmichael
History MA student Isabel Moon has been exploring the works of the 19th-century women who feature in our Voyages and Travels collection. This is as part of an ongoing project […]
The Folklore of Cornwall (1975): Exploring the Tradition and Legacy of Cornish Folklore
For March's Book of the Month, library volunteer Mela Moseley delves into our modern South West collection to discuss Tony Deane and Tony Shaw's The Folklore of Cornwall (1975). Continuing in the tradition of the Victorian folklorists who first began to document the mythology of the region, Deane and Shaw combine anthropological research with engaging storytelling. The result is a detailed exploration of Cornish legend which remains a valuable resource for those interested in the subject.
