Place-based Cultural Regeneration: A Panel Discussion

Jamie Holman: artist and Chair of the Board of Directors at the National Festival of Making leads this panel discussion about approaches to impactful development of cultural ecology. Festivals, arts commissioning and research led exhibitions will be discussed in the context of place-based regeneration. What is the role of ‘the collection’ in its broadest sense in the commission of contemporary art and culture-led regeneration?

Provisional event programme

4pm-5pm | Tea and coffee
5pm-6pm | Panel discussion followed by questions
6pm-7pm | Reception

• Jamie Holman: artist and Chair of the Board of Directors at the National Festival of Making. His multi-disciplinary work is often fabricated or made in collaboration with industrial processes or skilled crafts makers. Holman’s practice is informed by the heritage of working class communities, in particular the impact of the industrial revolution and the cultures that have manifested as a consequence of its emergence and subsequent decline.
• Nehal Aamir: British-Pakistani ceramic artist based in Manchester, blending traditional craftsmanship with contemporary art. Her narrative- driven work explores themes of labour, community, and the human stories embedded in craft, drawing on symbolic elements and everyday objects. Festival of Making commissioned artist with residency at Darwen Terracotta.
• Elena Jackson: Artistic Director and Co-Founder of the National Festival of Making and co-founder of culture company Deco Publique.
• Rebecca Johnson: Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council Arts and Heritage Manager, Manager Blackburn Museum and Art Gallery
• Cynthia Johnston: Senior Lecturer in the History of the Book, IES, SAS; Curator for Blackburn Museum and Art Gallery’s NPO exhibition, The Nature of Gothic; opening 12th September 2025

- this event is free to attend but booking is required.