Since its inception in 2016, the National Festival of Making’s Art in Manufacturing programme has commissioned over 40 artists to produce work in residency with more than 25 partner factories and spaces of making.
Artworks by two commissioned artists, Nicola Ellis and Hannah Leighton-Boyce, are now part of the collection at Blackburn Museum & Art Gallery. These works are on display in the Museum’s first floor Contemporary Art Gallery until January 2027 as part of Art & Industry.
Nicola Ellis worked in residency with Ritherdon & Co., a manufacturer of electrical enclosures that supplies a range of industries including highways, street lighting, housing and more. Ellis’ residency has resulted in multiple exhibitions, including Chemistry and Magic Straight Down the Line (2018) and Return to Ritherdon (2022), both shown at the National Festival of Making. This relationship between artist and manufacturer has endured, resulting in a collaboration that continues to this day.
“My original Art in Manufacturing commission with Ritherdon & Co Ltd in 2018 was the starting point for an ongoing relationship with the company that continues today, and became foundational to the way my practice has developed since. The works now acquired by Blackburn Museum & Art Gallery emerged from that extended period of working together and were originally exhibited in a solo exhibition at Castlefield Gallery in 2021, before my return to the festival programme, where they were exhibited at the National Festival of Making in 2022. It feels particularly significant to see them now enter the museum’s permanent collection and become part of Art and Industry, alongside other significant works by artists with insightful and sensitive practices, that reflect the rich relationship building between artists and industry in the area.”
– Nicola Ellis
Hannah Leighton-Boyce worked with Darwen Terracotta, a leading manufacturer of architectural terracotta and faience who specialise in both historic restoration and new-build projects. The artwork, Articulations (2022) was developed from 2019-2022, with the necessary extended nature of her placement allowing the artist to explore a range of ideas and reflect on working in a factory during that period.
“I’m delighted that these works are now part of the collection at Blackburn Museum and Art Gallery and that they join a growing number of historic and contemporary examples of products from industries from the area and their work with artists through the Art in Manufacturing Commissions.”
– Hannah Leighton-Boyce
In addition to work by Ellis and Leighton-Boyce, the gallery is also displaying works from the collection by artist James Bloomfield, whose 2017 Art in Manufacturing residency with Darwen Terracotta paid tribute to the role of the craftsman. Also presented with Art and Industry are items from Darwen Terracotta’s archive collection, including a set of test piece vases from the 1930s.
Ellis and Leighton-Boyce’s work is featured in the Art in Manufacturing publication Radical Pairings. Documenting a selection of Art in Manufacturing residencies with manufacturers in the North, the publication features a collection of essays and interviews exploring Hannah Leighton-Boyce + Darwen Terracotta, Liz Wilson + CNC Robotics, Nicola Ellis + Ritherdon, Jacqueline Donachie + Lancashire Saw Company, and Raisa Kabir with Queen Street Mill and John Spencer Textiles. Find out more about the publication and download a copy here.
Artists and factories commissioned as part of Art in Manufacturing 2027 will be announced by the National Festival of Making in the coming months.
“It means a great deal to see the work Hannah and Nicola created through Art in Manufacturing enter Blackburn Museum’s collection. These commissions celebrate not only the artists’ practices, but the extraordinary skill and craftsmanship within Ritherdon and Darwen Terracotta. Their acquisition brings contemporary stories of making – and the people behind them – into the museum, where they can sit alongside Blackburn’s rich industrial history and be valued by the town’s communities for many years to come.”
– Elena Jackson, Co-Director of the National Festival of Making and Curator of the Art in Manufacturing programme.
Visitor Information
Free Entry
Location: Contemporary Art Gallery, Hart Gallery, First Floor, Blackburn Museum & Art Gallery.
Accessibility: Blackburn Museum & Art Gallery is fully accessible. There is a lift to the First Floor through the Cotton Town Gallery.
Opening Times: Tuesday – Saturday, 11:00 – 16:45
Images courtesy of Blackburn Museum & Art Gallery.