Radical Pairings is a new publication celebrating the work of five exceptional women artists who exhibited new work created during residencies with manufacturers in the North in 2022.

Ranging from three months to two years, the residences of Hannah Leighton-Boyce + Darwen Terracotta, Liz Wilson + CNC Robotics, Nicola Ellis + Ritherdon, Jacqueline Donachie + Lancashire Saw Mill, and Raisa Kabir with John Spencer Textiles and Queen Street Mill were developed through the National Festival of Making’s commissioning programme, Art in Manufacturing.

Art critic and writer Elizabeth Fullerton was invited to document these particular artists’ residencies, commissioned within the wider scope of the Art in Manufacturing programme and resulting in the essay central to this publication, Artists and Factories Make Radical Pairings.

The publication shares new context and insights from Director and Programme Curator, Elena Jackson, Director and Curator of theCOLAB, Claire Mander and Artist and Board Member of the Festival of Making CIC, Jamie Holman. 

If you attended the 2025 National Festival of Making you may have visited the accompanying Radical Pairings exhibition, curated by Liz Wilson, where the work of these artists was presented to celebrate the completion of this publication.

The culmination of several years’ work, we are thrilled to now make a digital version of this publication available for free download.

To find out more about Radical Pairings and to download your copy, visit the Art in Manufacturing website here.

A print edition of this publication is available for purchase from theCOLAB.

The Radical Pairings publication was created and edited as a partnership between the National Festival of Making and theCOLAB. It was designed by Robert Walmsley at Teacake Design.