Ian’s Print Rally

Event Details

Saturday

11am – 5pm

Sunday

11am – 5pm

Age

All ages

Venue

Blackburn Library

How to attend

Drop in

Price

Free

Join in with the National Festival of Making’s Print Rally, created by Ian Halawi and supported by Fred Aldous!

Head to Blackburn Library where Ian will show you how to fold your zine and stamp your first print. Then head off to explore the rest of the festival, collecting prints along the way!

Blackburn Library Look out for print stations dotted around town and collect a series of two-colour prints to fill up your zine:

  • Blackburn Museum & Art Gallery
  • Info Point, King William Street
  • Blakey Moor Terrace
  • Not Only A Street Party, Church Street
  • Cathedral Square

This Print Rally is connected to a collaboration with Fred Aldous, a long-established arts supply store in Manchester’s Northern Quarter. Each year, the National Festival of Making commissions a unique, artist-led window installation, transforming the shopfront into a celebration of a wide range of making activities and materials.

For 2026, Blackburn-based artist and long-time Festival of Making CIC collaborator, Ian Halawi, has been commissioned to create the window and connected Festival activity. Keep an eye on social media for when the window launches! You can read more about our past collaborations with Fred Aldous here.

About Ian Halawi

Ian Halawi is an artist whose creative work began as a printmaker and illustrator. With an interest in hand craft techniques, he has delivered creative workshops that take people away from digital spaces and discover the joy of creativity with a human touch. Working from his studio in Blackburn, he is currently interested in exploring a more personal side of his art looking at race and identity through painting and textiles.

Fred Aldous has been helping people make things since 1886. Over five generations later, the business continues to thrive, committed to supplying materials to makers of all kinds. Beyond their shops, they have nurtured a vibrant community of artists and customers, becoming a beloved staple of the creative scene.

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