Projects

Current Projects

Hyndburn Mural

Mural artist Gavin Renshaw is currently working in collaboration with students from The Hollins.

The Ripple Effect – Nelson

Our canal side community in Nelson

Dirty Faces Studio Commission

We're working with film makers Dirty Faces Studio

Homegrown/Homespun

A ground-breaking regenerative fashion project

Blackburn Space: Audley

Our canal side space in Audley, Blackburn.

Hyndburn Space: Clayton Community Centre

Our canal side space in Clayton, Hyndburn.

Blackburn Space: Canalside Activity Centre, Mill Hill

Our canal side space in Mill Hill, Blackburn.

Jeremy Hutchison – Dead White Man (Effigies)

Bales of secondhand clothes were shredded, allowing participants to transform secondhand clothes into a horde of miniature zombies.

Eva Sajovic in collaboration with Nicola Privato – #end_of_empire

In-Situ artist in residence Eva Sajovic drew on the history and heritage of Lancashire as the origin of the Industrial Revolution.

Nick Jordan and Jacob Cartwright – Larksong

Collaborative artists Jacob Cartwright and Nick Jordan presented a film installation in  Goodshaw Chapel, Rossendale, a nonconformist Baptist chapel established by textile workers and farm labourers in 1760 and now owned by English Heritage.

Artist A & Artist B – The Surplus Badge

The Surplus Badge was developed in three stages: workshops with East Lancashire Guides, Brownies and Rainbows, a participatory picnic filmed on the lawn in front of Towneley Hall and the installation including the film and artworks, exhibited in Towneley’s Family Dining Room for the British Textiles Biennial.

Rebecca Chesney – Conditions at Present

Using the discarded fabric, in collaboration with FWRD (Festival Waste Reclamation and Distribution) Together, Rebecca Chesney's field of windsocks served as an indicator of current conditions; a barometer of the climate crisis of our own making.

Material Memory

Nothing holds memories better than fabric. Passed down through generations for commemoration or passed on for safe care in dangerous times, it is mobile, mendable and holds memories within its threads.

Christine Borland – Projection Cloth

In Christine Borland’s installation, four films were cast onto a Projection Cloth of fustian, a mix of linen warp and cotton weft, woven into the fabric of this medieval cruck barn.

Common Wealth – Fast, Fast, Slow

Working with community co-creators from East Lancashire, Common Wealth Theatre presented Fast, Fast, Slow, an interactive catwalk performance that takes the audience on a journey through our relationship to fashion, from Burnley to Ghana.

Small Bells Ring

A floating library of short stories on the Leeds & Liverpool Canal

Pocket Park – Church

A little oasis along the canal, developed by artist Rebecca Chesney and members of the community.

Burnley Space: Finsley Gate Wharf

Our canal side space at Finsley Gate Wharf in Burnley.

Rebecca Chesney Linear Park Residency

Walk The Super Slow Way with Rebecca Chesney

Past Projects

Timberplay

Explore playful possibilities for The Super Slow Way!

Super Small Ways

Working with communities up and down the canal

Eating the Canal

A selection of downloadable resources: Learn about, map and cook with the wild edible and medicinal plants that grow along the Leeds & Liverpool canal around Burnley.

Workshops on the Water

Summer workshops on Wetlab our floating laboratory

Wetlab

A space for conversations and exploration

Textile Talking

Sewing and storytelling sessions with women across East Lancashire

Flashback

To Blackburn's Acid House Parties

Local Colour 2019

Claire Wellesley-Smith worked with the local community at Elmfield Hall, and experimented with dyeing techniques that were pioneered at the hall almost 100 years ago.

Yes and…

Over the spring and summer In-Situ’s Yes, and… young people's group will be exploring the creative use of lighting in their local area, specifically on the canal

Art in Manufacturing 2019

Artists collaborate with industry for a third time as five artists meet five manufacturers for The National Festival of Making’s unpredictable, collaborative art commissioning series

Jamie Holman: Live The Dream

Through out 2018 and 2019 we worked with Blackburn based artist Jamie Holman on a co-commission with Lancashire Encounters Festival

Our Textile Town

Join us for FREE family textile workshops inspired by Padiham's world-class Gawthorpe Textiles Collection

Projection

An interactive light work for the Cotton Exchange in Blackburn.

Fabrications 2017

A celebration of textiles through the eyes of artists in Pennine Lancashire September 2017

HOME1947

A work by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, Personal reflections on Partition

St Silas CE Primary School

Bristol-based artist Marina Moreno spent the academic year with St Silas CE Primary School in Blackburn. She staged creative interventions in the school and worked with the children on photography, dance, drama, drawing, yoga and much more.

What grounds Us

Artist Laura Jamieson is artist in residence at the Jinnah Centre in Burnley. Over eight months she spent time with the communities and young people of Stoneyholme and Daneshouse.

Art in Manufacturing 2017

Art in Manufacturing is a collaboration between the Festival of Making and Super Slow Way. Together we commissioned nine multidisciplinary artists to work with some of the leading manufacturers across Pennine Lancashire.

Shapes of Water, Sounds of Hope

US artist Suzanne Lacy worked with the people of Pendle to create a mass participation artwork at Brierfield Mill in September 2015.

O.K. – The Musical

A co-commission with Tate Liverpool let audiences see the entire production and performance of a musical unfold live in the gallery.

The Exbury Egg

On the first stop in a national tour, Stephen Turner's Exbury Egg came to Finsley Gate Wharf in Burnley.

Beyond Labels: In Young Men’s Shoes

Young men at Hollins Technology College explored issues of identity with a variety of artists.

Burnley Youth Theatre: Super High Way

Burnley Youth Theatre led an exciting performance on the banks of the canal at Sandygate Square, Burnley.

Muhammad Ali and Me

Muhammad Ali and Me is the coming-of-age story of a young, black, gay girl growing up in foster care, and her fantastical friendship with the legendary boxer Muhammad Ali, ‘The Greatest’.

#BridgingBlackburn

#BridgingBlackburn was a collaborative project which brought together young people interested in social action from SLYNCS and a site-specific theatre company from the Netherlands – PeerGrouP.

Hugging the Canal

Singing for their supper, artists Jennifer Reid and Simon Woolham set off to walk the 127 miles of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, exchanging their traditional songs with inn keepers along the way for accommodation and food.

Alwin Reamillo – Harkat

Harkat, devised by Philippine artist Alwin Reamillo in collaboration with Action Factory and the Canalside Community Centre was a cross-cultural project that celebrated the spirit of journey, diversity and community.

Circle of Friends Go Walking

Circle of Friends Go Walking' was a collaboration between artist Jean McEwan and Blackburn Circle of Friends group. Together they explored playful, creative ways of walking, wandering and wondering.

Kinara Festival

The Love & Etiquette Foundation brought a month of events celebrating Islamic culture to Pennine Lancashire.

Blackburn Canal Festival

Blackburn Canal Festival was done the Super Slow Way in celebration of 200 years of the Leeds & Liverpool Canal.

The Island of Mill Hill

Anthony Schrag worked with the people of Mill Hill to investigate what it means to be a 'Mill Hiller'.

Super Slow Way: A Rhapsody to the Leeds & Liverpool Canal

A specially commissioned Rhapsody by composer Ian Stephens featuring a libretto by Ian McMillan came to Blackburn.

Super Slow Way: A Rhapsody to the Leeds & Liverpool Canal

A specially commissioned Rhapsody by composer Ian Stephens featuring a libretto by Ian McMillan came to Blackburn.

idle women

idle women's floating arts centre for women and girls visited sites along the canal in Pennine Lancashire throughout 2016.

Nightsafe

Artist Najia Bagi worked with the young people at Nightsafe in Blackburn to explore their relationships and ideas of identity.

Cataloguing Padiham

Harriet Lawton collaborated with Gawthorpe Hall and Padiham residents in a series of workshops, culminating in a label trail through Padiham in summer 2016.

Creative Support

Artist Cath Ford worked with Creative Support at the BB1 for Life cafe in Blackburn.

Verd de Gris – Voluntary Carers in Care Homes Service and Carers Trust Dementia Project

Verd de Gris worked with two carers groups in Blackburn in a series of creative workshops.

Melville & Co – Victoria Park Community Café, Nelson

A collective of artists investigated the stories, memories and lives of the people who visit Victoria Park.

Men Who Care

Artist William Titley worked with male carers in collaboration with Carer's Link.

Melville & Co – Victoria Park Community Café, Nelson

A collective of artists investigated the stories, memories and lives of the people who visit Victoria Park.