Five artists immersed themselves in the playground of heavy industry in the UK and internationally to produce brand new work for the third instalment of Art in Manufacturing, our co-commission with The National Festival of Making. Paired with manufacturing firms diverse in their scale, culture and specialisms, the outcomes of each artist residency were premiered at The National Festival of Making in June 2019, located in Blackburn, Lancashire.
The groundbreaking series, co-commissioned by Super Slow Way and The National Festival of Making, has seen exhibitions, installations and performances grab festival goers’ attention annually since the inaugural event in 2017. Sculpture co-created using industrial expertise and techniques, a contemporary dance performance inspired and performed by factory bakers, and a 4-dimensional soundscape capturing the oral histories of work forces presented in a long-abandoned ballroom have featured as highlights of the series to date. Exchanging their studios for the factory floor, artists have enthusiastically pushed boundaries, exploring themes of a fourth industrial revolution in installation form and re-purposing industrial machinery to become public art.
Ahead of the return of the award-winning festival the five artists and five manufacturers joined together in an intensive, three-month residency to explore the potential of creative thought and collaboration in factory settings.
The National Festival of Making will return to Blackburn for Summer 2022, Saturday the 11th and Sunday the 12th of June.
