Art in Manufacturing is the National Festival of Making’s headline commissioning programme providing artists with an incomparable platform to make new work in and alongside manufacturing and making industries.
Each season of Art in Manufacturing sees artists paired with leading manufacturers and unique spaces of making, from artisan producers to industry giants. The residency programme creates collaborations with highly skilled workforces, facilitates access to cutting edge technologies and unearths hidden heritages – all resulting in remarkable, contemporary artworks.
To date, Art in Manufacturing has commissioned 34 artists to create exceptional artworks, made in dialogue and collaboration with workforce communities.
Season Seven welcomes three new artists into the residency programme, culminating in a celebration of new collaborative installations at the National Festival of Making on 5 and 6 July 2025.
Artist
Born and bred in London, Morag Myerscough is known globally for creating immersive structural installations characterised by boldness, vibrant colours and a high level of positive energy.
The artist’s installations, which have appeared all over the world, have a profound impact on public spaces, transcending the limitations of traditional approaches. Her vibrant and invigorating works disrupt existing architectural lines, introducing irregular shapes, colours and words.
Myerscough’s approach to work is integrated and participatory, wherein she collaborates closely with communities to generate art that responds to their unique requirements. Her generous approach instils a sense of pride and belonging in people, creating a strong and meaningful narrative for the spaces she transforms. The core motivation behind her work is to bring people together, fostering joy, well-being, and a sense of community.
Manufacturer
Established in 1777 in Darwen as Dob Meadows Printing Shop, Crown Paints have more than 200 years of knowledge, passion and expertise that goes into each and every tin of paint they produce.
Today they are made up of over 1100 colleagues, from their head office in Darwen, Lancashire over to their manufacturing site in Hull and an ever-growing network of Crown Decorating centres.
Under the mantra “It’s not just paint, it’s personal”, Crown Paints are committed to sustainability and are delivering on this through Project Possible, an ambitious programme of actions that places sustainability and community at the heart of their work.
Artist
Matter at hand is the design practice of Lewis Jones, a designer working across architecture, material science and construction. His work is rooted in an investigation of the materials and processes that shape our built environment. Through deep material research and hands-on experimentation, he works with waste, industrial by-products, and natural resources to develop more resourceful and equitable ways of building.
Jones co-founded the architecture and design collective Assemble in 2010, helping shape an award winning body of work setting out to rethink how buildings are made and who gets to make them. From 2012, he led a long term collaboration with residents of the Granby Four Streets in Liverpool to help rebuild their neighbourhood, a project awarded the Turner Prize in 2015.
In 2016, he moved to Liverpool to oversee the growth of Granby Workshop, a design led ceramics manufacturer rooted in the neighbourhood. Over seven years, the Workshop evolved into a thriving, employee owned business producing architectural ceramics from local waste materials, while acting as a live testing ground for sustainable materials and finishes.
In 2025, Jones established Matter at hand, a research-based design studio, guided by the belief that inventive and unexpected solutions to the problems at hand can be found in a deeper understanding of the materials and resources around us.
Manufacturer
Darwen Terracotta is a leading manufacturer of architectural terracotta and faience, specialising in both historic restoration and new-build projects. With a passion for craftsmanship and innovation, the company also trades as Whitebirk Sink Company, applying its expertise in ceramic manufacturing to produce premium fireclay ceramic sinks. A double winner at the Red Rose Awards 2025 for the “Made in Lancashire” and “Export” categories, Darwen Terracotta continues to showcase the excellence of British manufacturing on a global stage by blending traditional techniques with modern design.
This is the fourth Art in Manufacturing residency hosted by the industry leaders, who have supplied products to international artists including Grayson Perry and the House of Essex and Richard Deacon, and been involved in prestigious architectural projects internationally across restoration and new build, from the Natural History Museum and the Royal Albert Hall to The Londoner at Leicester Square.
Artist
Liaqat Rasul, a gay, dyslexic Welsh-Pakistani artist born in 1974, works in collage and sculpture. He transforms discarded materials—envelopes, tickets, fabric scraps, wire hangers—into vibrant, tactile compositions. These analogue creations tell visual stories of multicultural identity and mental health, celebrating real-world connections and the beauty found in imperfection.
For Rasul, art is an act of hope. He advocates for multiculturalism and the importance of valuing our support networks. Inspired by human vulnerability, mental health, and historical events, his recent pieces address injustices such as the murder of Stephen Lawrence and the 1943 Bengal Famine.
A recent commission, titled ‘0808 2000 247’—the telephone number for the domestic violence charity Refuge—is a mobile face sculpture.
His practice, which emphasizes tangible engagement and community bonds, was recently celebrated in a solo show at ‘Nau Nau Doh Chaar’, Ty Pawb, Wrexham. The exhibition explored resilience and migrant experiences and served as a retrospective of his last 25 years in fashion and art.
Manufacturer
Herbert Parkinson Textile Factory based in Darwen, Lancashire became part of the John Lewis Partnership in 1953, and ever since has been a thriving example of UK design, quality and craftsmanship. Combining the best of modern technology and traditional skills, Herbert Parkinson makes many of John Lewis’s own brand soft furnishings, duvets, pillows, and all of their Made to Measure products.
Herbert Parkinson is a major employer in the local community, with over 200 Partners working there. They are committed to supporting the textile industry and have been successful in keeping British manufacturing at the heart of Lancashire.
This is the second Art in Manufacturing residency hosted by Herbert Parkinson, following a residency during Season Four, with artists Sarah Marsh and Stephanie Jefferies that celebrated the factory’s 70th anniversary year.
Outcomes from 2025’s Art in Manufacturing artist residencies will be presented at the National Festival of Making on 5th & 6th July 2025.
