THE 2023 NATIONAL FESTIVAL OF MAKING TOOK PLACE ON 8TH & 9TH JULY ACROSS BLACKBURN TOWN CENTRE, LANCASHIRE.

The National Festival of Making is a unique celebration of UK making, from the kitchen table to the factory floor. Presenting a programme of work that combines Art, Manufacturing, Making and Communities, we commission international and national artists to create world class works, a year round programme and a participatory FREE FAMILY festival for all to enjoy.

In 2023 the festival weekend returned to Blackburn with over 50 exhibitions, performances, workshops, talks and markets across 22 locations in the town centre. To get a taste of the programme, click here.

We also work year round to deliver projects and commissions, bringing cultural experiences to our audiences throughout the year. Read more about the extended programme on the Project Pages and in News Items featured on the website.

Formed in 2016, the ambition of Festival of Making CIC was to be a nationally relevant cultural festival in Blackburn, while celebrating the unique manufacturing heritage and contemporary characteristics of the town and region more widely. In November 2022 we were delighted to receive the news that we’d been selected as one of Arts Council England’s National Portfolio Organisations for 2023-2026. Joining the ACE’s National Portfolio for 2023-26 means that we can develop more long term plans for the National Festival of Making and its impact, whilst embedding ourselves more deeply in the cultural ecosystem of Blackburn. You can read more about the announcement here.

WORKSHOPS AND TALKS

LIVE MUSIC AND PERFORMANCE

ART IN MANUFACTURING

Art in Manufacturing is a commissioning programme at the heart of the festival. Placing the tools, materials and expertise of a diverse range of manufacturing companies into the hands of national and international artists, a series of residencies evolve on the factory floor. These result in ambitious new works of art in formats as diverse as sculpture to choreography and digital to site specific installations.

Year-round Work

Our programmes run throughout the year, with something for everyone. Highlights include the giant poetry installation Of Earth and Sky involving painting Blackburn and Darwen with the words of its people, The Big Reinvention Challenge – a huge invention challenge for children with Little Inventors, the 600 activity boxes jam-packed with art materials distributed to young people across Blackburn, and the five-part ceramic workshop series with artist Aliyah Hussain.

Supporting Artists and Makers

Supporting artists and makers is extremely important to us. In our opinion, they MAKE the world go round (pardon the pun).  We do this by mentoring students and artists alike, commissioning graduate creatives, providing residencies for artists to create new, large-scale artworks, and supporting entrepreneurs and creatives through our Makers Market. This means we are always working with exciting new people, and because we value and nurture the relationships we have with past Festival of Making artists, you might see a few familiar faces too.

Festival of Making Films

We work with some incredible film makers, so if  you are still eager to find out more and see what we’re all about, why not watch some of our films ? We think they give you a pretty good idea of what we are passionate about.

The National Festival of Making is proud to be a Family Arts Standards and Age-Friendly Standards organisation.