Now this year’s National Festival of Making has come to a close, we want to thank each and every one of you who visited and helped make 2024 our most ambitious and memorable yet. Tens of thousands descended on Blackburn town centre to experience a unique weekend of large scale art installations, workshops, film screenings, talks, street performances, markets and loads more.

If you didn’t manage to make it over the festival weekend, two of our Art in Manufacturing installations are still available to view.

‘Breathing Colour’: Margo Selby + Standfast & Barracks

Breathing Colour will be displayed at Blackburn Cathedral until 2PM on 28 July.

Check Cathedral opening times.

A celebratory textile installation, immersive in colour, form and sound, joyful and uplifting. Occupying the North Transept of Blackburn Cathedral, the site- responsive textile sculpture evokes the movement of cloth throughout the factory, travelling in waves and folds through the machinery. The suspended form initially lies on the cathedral floor, before reaching up to tower 9 metres into the vaulted ceiling, then descending back down.

This rise and fall reflects a respiratory waveform, a deep breath in and out again; ‘Breathing Colour’ the very nature of the workforce at Standfast & Barracks which aligns so closely with the work of Margo Selby.

‘Infinite Hands’: Nehal Aamir + Darwen Terracotta and Faience

Infinite Hands will be displayed at Blackburn Museum & Art Gallery until 14 September.

Check Museum opening times.

Nehal Aamir began her residency by documenting the shapes, sounds and textures of Darwen Terracotta and Faience, and the intimate relationship the workforce have with their individual practices. The care and order with which each task was undertaken resonated with her. Each next step taken on the factory floor revealed the next stage of the process – everything in its place, everything running smoothly.

During this time, Aamir also spent time at Blackburn Museum & Art Gallery, exploring their collection and the site of the Watercolour Gallery, where Infinite Hands is exhibited. Pieces that emulated storytelling, already an important aspect of her practice, stood out to her, as well as the relief works of Greek figures from the 1800s running the length of the space.

Infinite Hands tells a story that interweaves the history of terracotta, a spirit of collaboration, and the vibrant culture of Blackburn.

Commissioned by The National Festival of Making, in partnership with the Blackburn Museum and Art Gallery for their 150th Anniversary.