Art in Manufacturing is the headline commissioning programme of the National Festival of Making, pairing artists with some of the UK’s leading manufacturers.
Remarkable artist residencies with factories.
To date, Art in Manufacturing has commissioned in excess of 35 artists to create exceptional artworks, made collaboratively with workforce communities.
The residency programme facilitates access to cutting-edge technologies and unearths hidden heritages – all resulting in remarkable, contemporary artworks.
Season 8 artist lineup to be released soon.
Current Season
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Past Residencies
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Radical Pairings
The Art in Manufacturing publication Radical Pairings documents the residencies of five women artists, exploring their practices and the unique nature of working as an artist within the industrial setting.
A work of people, place, art and industry, it seeks to highlight the limitless potential when artists are invited onto the factory floor.
Art in Manufacturing Website
Designed to capture the detail of the collaborations, the dedicated Art in Manufacturing website hosts all the commissions to date, including documentary photography and film of the residencies and exhibitions. Click below to be taken to the website and explore the commissioning programme in more depth.
Radical Pairings is a new publication celebrating the work of five exceptional women artists who exhibited new work created during residencies with manufacturers in the North in 2022.
Watch the latest short films in this series alongside interviews with artists Matter at hand (Lewis Jones) and Liaqat Rasul, as well as with Andy Walmsley, Creative Director of Wash.
For us, Lancashire Day is the perfect lead-in to Small Business Saturday, a moment to spotlight and champion small businesses and makers.
We’re inviting artists, makers, creatives and facilitators to submit workshop proposals for the National Festival of Making weekend on the 4th & 5th July 2026.
National Festival of Making appoints Rosy Greenlees OBE as new Chair and welcomes Rachel Cunningham Clark to the Board.