Culture Burnley
Photo credit: Tom Lally.
Why Not Burnley?
Culture shapes who we are as individuals and how we define our place in the world – our sense of belonging to a place or group of people. It is a powerful tool that can unite, inspire, educate, and transform lives.
To help us to better celebrate and connect the great things that are already happening, and to grow and deliver more over the next few years, we are developing plans for Burnley 2027 Year of Culture.
Between now and 2027 we are building partnerships, cultural initiatives, events, and projects that breathe new life into our venues, streets, parks, and public spaces across the borough.
We are:
- Involving more people from the local community in planning and shaping the activities that are delivered through forming a community panel and running a Culture Makers project to create community cultural ambassadors.
- Working more closely with schools and youth organisations through the Local Cultural Education Partnership to create more opportunities for young people.
- Working with partner organisations to better coordinate, promote and plan what is happening across the borough.
- Working with individuals and organisations to deliver more, and bigger events.
- Upskilling and employing more people.
- Ensuring that we are better responding to diverse needs and interests to allow more local people to take part.
- Raising funds to invest in our cultural buildings, organisations, creative individuals and grass roots community programmes.
Burnley has world class cultural assets and a wealth of local talent that deserves to be showcased. 2027 will be an opportunity to celebrate local pride in our cultural heritage and to also look to the future of what Burnley can offer to residents and visitors as a vibrant destination.
Our collective ambition for 2027 is to create projects that involve, engage and inspire local people, creating new public art, theatre, film, music, literature, digital and more. It will be the start of a new chapter for Burnley, creating a legacy of projects and programmes that take us into an exciting future.
Burnley is getting ready for it’s Year of Culture in 2027 – are you?
If you would like to be part of the conversation then register your interest here or get in touch with csteels@blcgroup.co.uk and follow our @CultureBurnley Facebook Page
Find out more by viewing the Cultural Framework using the link below and access films that are documenting our activity on our YouTube channel at @CultureBurnley
Cultural Framework
Why Not Burnley? showcases Burnley’s ambition towards Burnley 2027 and was supported by local businesses, community members and young people:
An introduction to Burnley 2027 and Burnley’s Cultural Ambassadors:
Filmed at the 2024 Culture Burnley Awards, hear more from Burnley’s Cultural Ambassadors as we move towards 2027:
Cultural Capital Exchange Symposium
On 31st October 2025, this one-day symposium examines the case for culture as the catalyst for social and economic regeneration that contributes to the transformation of places to be more attractive to live, work, visit, and invest. Also exploring how Year of Culture could drive growth, foster innovation, create a lasting legacy and benefits including promoting social cohesion, civic pride and environmental sustainability.
Hosted and co-developed with broadcaster Nihal Arthanayake we’ll unlock the creative inspiration from the region and beyond to tell the story of who makes culture and how they do it. Hear from individuals and organisations that have delivered similar initiatives in other places including Shanaz Gulzar, Creative Director of Bradford City of Culture 2025, as well as those involved in delivering other mega-cultural events that have facilitated similar step change in places via a culture-led approach.
Other speakers include Liz Pugh, Co-Founder and Creative Producer of Walk the Plank, Simon Cronshaw, Co-Founder of Remix Summits and multi-disciplinary artist and fashion designer Aitor Throup.
The Cultural Capital Exchange symposium is presented in association with Creative Lancashire, a service provided by Lancashire County Council, and hosted at Victoria Mill, is being delivered with the support of the University of Lancashire (formerly University of Central Lancashire).
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