Festival of Making

Through both our year-round programme and annual festival, we have worked with over 1000 primary and secondary school pupils, as well as developed close relationships with university partners, youth organisations and the library service.

Creating opportunities and inspiration for the next generation of makers is central to our work. This takes us into schools, colleges, and universities, engaging learners from EYFS through to postgraduate level. Whether through one-off projects with artists, industry-related briefs, or collaborative work with academic researchers, learning is at the heart of everything we do and integral to our organisational ethos.

Featured Projects

Graduate Micro Commissions

In response to the pandemic, the National Festival of Making launched an open call to commission three recent creative degree graduates from any Lancashire-based university.

Find out more

The Nasheed Choir: Hussnain Hanif

Internationally recognised Nasheed artist Hussnain Hanif formed a new Nasheed choir with 60 students from two Blackburn-based schools.

Find out more

Festival on tour: Let’s Make Art

In collaboration with Blackburn Central Library, the National Festival of Making and Let’s Make Art have developed a collection of making activities.

Find out more

School Education & Youth Groups

We’ve welcomed primary and secondary schools to our Art in Manufacturing exhibitions, visited schools and youth groups with artists, participated in career days, acted as a bridge for national partners seeking local connections, and developed resources and challenges that have reached audiences nationally and internationally.

Even if we don’t have a current project that fits, we’d love to have a conversation about how we might collaborate in the future.

Post-16 & Higher Education

We have developed close relationships with a number of universities across the UK, working with course leads to collaborate on live projects for students, or through initiating our own briefs and open call opportunities.

We also visit universities or colleges to deliver talks and workshops related to our work. Long-term partnerships have seen tutors and students sharing course skills through workshops over the festival weekend.

If you would like to chat to us about a project, a brief, or getting involved in the festival, get in touch.

Downloads

Head to the Downloads page and you’ll find a body of making resources and tutorials connected to the vast array of projects we’ve commissioned or worked on.

These are available for free, and we welcome you to use them in your curriculum, sessions or just day-to-day. If you can’t find what you’re looking for, drop us an email, as we might just have it, or be able to connect you to an artist or organisation who does.

View Downloads

Current and recent partners

Live Briefs that enable students to experience the commissioning and development process of someone working in the creative sector are an essential part of how students can expand their knowledge, skills and supports talent development in the creative industries.

Wayne Hemingway MBE, Non-Executive Board Member & Co-Founder

I think children’s ideas should be taken seriously because we think differently, have unique ideas and don’t always think in a serious way!

Isla, age 11, Project Contributor

Learning

Featured Projects

Graduate Micro Commissions

In response to the pandemic, the National Festival of Making launched an open call to commission three recent creative degree graduates from any Lancashire-based university.

The Nasheed Choir: Hussnain Hanif

Internationally recognised Nasheed artist Hussnain Hanif formed a new Nasheed choir with 60 students from two Blackburn-based schools.

Festival on tour: Let’s Make Art

In collaboration with Blackburn Central Library, the National Festival of Making and Let’s Make Art have developed a collection of making activities.

Current and recent partners