In 2023, we launched an opportunity for artists and makers to create brand new projects or develop existing work in response to our Festival’s aims.
The ambition was to commission new work for the Festival, support artists to realise their ideas, and facilitate engaging and playful experiences for our intergenerational audiences.
With over 100 applications to our Open Call, three artists/makers were selected to deliver their projects.
Thingamabobas
Thingamabobas draws inspiration from the contraptions of Heath Robinson, Rowland Emett and Calder’s Circus. The work combines robotics, found objects, interactive technology and sensors and was originally created by Makers of Imaginary Worlds as a contactless interactive performance due to the COVID-19 lockdowns.
Through the Festival commission, they developed the installations to be more physically interactive, building on specific sculptures and developing a new interactive area for early years. The playful, animatronic circus has now featured at the National Festival of Making twice, delighting over 3000 visitors, with further development of and research on Ned the robotic arm in 2025.
Cobot Maker Space, Mixed Reality Lab and the Institute of Policy and Engagement at the University of Nottingham supported the research in the Thingamabobas project.
Fantastical Fairground
Taking inspiration from the ornate and beautifully decorated tents of Mughal India, artist Saima Kaur hand embroidered, painted and embellished reams of fabric, transforming a standard gazebo frame with fantastical scenes, characters and motifs based on the theme of ‘play’.
Audiences visited the embroidery installation over the weekend and added their own creations, inspired by Saima’s practice of storytelling through stitch.
Plant it up!
A living and growing installation from vertical farmers, UpPlant, saw the realisation of a multi-sensory and educational experience. The installation introduced audiences to topics of urban growing and small-scale farming – visitors were able to enter the installation and learn about how it works through conversation with the Makers and an augmented reality aid.
A harvest of the greens at the end of the weekend saw the salad leaves distributed to visitors and artists.
Makers of Imaginary Worlds is a Nottingham-based company that designs and makes immersive experiences, sensory performances, and installations for children aged 0-10 years old. They specialise in making tangible interfaces, seamlessly combining traditional craft techniques with interactive technologies.
Saima’s hand embroideries are inspired by the textile traditions of Punjab, India. Rich in colour and steeped in stories, her artworks are playful dreamscapes. She creates original hand embroideries and prints for interiors and has worked in collaboration with independent businesses and designers.
UpPlant is a family-run small-holding enterprise based in the South Pennines above Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire, UK. Their pilot farm uses Aquaponic and vertical cultivation methods alongside small-scale regenerative techniques to produce seasonal fruit and vegetables.
Photography by Derren Lee Poole and Robin Zahler.