Big Picture Show

Follow Milo the mouse and his guide Winkie the pigeon, as they discover stories of brave animals who have helped the war effort from the First World War to the present day.

Learn about wartime animal heroes from Duffy the donkey, Rip the dog and K-Dog the dolphin in this new show created for Imperial War Museum North.

The Roads We Walked: The Fifth Pan-African Congress celebrates the 80th anniversary of the Fifth Pan-African Congress, which took place in Manchester in October 1945. 

This meeting of 200 activists, intellectuals, and political leaders was a key factor in many of the African independence movements that followed.

This Big Picture Show has been written by a group of young poets from Manchester’s literary charity, Young Identity. The script is composed of their spoken-word reflections, highlighting key delegates and their demands, and focusing on Manchester’s radical legacy, both past and present.

Hear the powerful poetry of Tony Walsh alongside poignant imagery from our collections in a specially commissioned Big Picture Show.

Especially commissioned by IWM, acclaimed Mancunian poet Tony Walsh wrote and recorded a poem for our Big Picture Show. The new poem, Mightier Than War, explores the triumph of the human spirit in times of conflict through his unique and enthralling storytelling.

Mass media coverage of the war in Ukraine has shocked the world. Spanning the period since the 2022 invasion, powerful real-life stories of young Ukrainians told through their own social media posts, capture the reality of what everyday life is like for young Ukrainians caught up in war.

Their stories are shared through images and footage as they try to find normality, living their ordinary lives through extraordinarily challenging times. 

A Big Picture Show exploring the different ways we remember those who have died in conflict, from the First World War to the Iraq War.

Witness powerful footage from Academy Award winner Peter Jackson's critically acclaimed They Shall Not Grow Old, alongside original imagery, footage and sound from Imperial War Museum's extensive First World War collections.

Life on the Line: with footage from Peter Jackson’s They Shall Not Grow Old is the newest Big Picture Show, an immersive surround sound and 360 degree, 27-foot tall, projection that brings personal experiences of conflict to life in our Main Exhibition Space.

Please be aware that when the Big Picture Show is on, the exhibition space will go dark and there will be loud noises and flashing images which some visitors may find unsettling.