As we move towards Burnley 2027 Year of Culture we are investing in activity that supports and engages our diverse communities across the borough, to ensure that culture in Burnley and Padiham truly reflects the people and the place.
Thanks to UK Shared Prosperity Funding we are currently delivering the Culture Makers project which will see 30 volunteers from across Burnley’s communities receiving training and support to work with artists, cultural programmers and their local communities to create events and activities which respond to local needs. Look out for updates over the coming weeks on our @CultureBurnley Facebook page.
Here are some highlights from our other recent projects:
Not a Shop!
Led by our Cultural Engager Jack, Not A Shop was a temporary cultural space in Charter Walk Shopping Centre, delivered in summer 2025 as part of the build-up to Burnley 2027 Year of Culture.
The idea was to create a curious place in the middle of town that invited people in to take part. The project ran for five weeks. Each week the shop offered a main participatory activity alongside ongoing opportunities to respond to questions on the walls, add to a community playlist, write letters to the future, record messages on the cultural answerphone, and take part in smaller creative tasks. Everything made during the project was displayed in the shop as it grew.
Over the course of the project people painted, doodled, coloured, wrote, recorded, and
shared their views. Families, young people, older residents, artists, shoppers and passers by all contributed in different ways. The responses they left behind now form part of the evidence of what Burnley wants, what Burnley values, and how people are ready to step into 2027.
Through the weekly themes we created a “Welcome Mat” for 2027 inviting people into the Year of Culture, we created the doodle door that people can walk through to access cultural experiences. Through green screen in week three visitors were invited to create a collage around year of culture and see themselves stepping into it. During week four flags and bunting were the highlight, celebrating people, place and nature – we’ll need a lot of bunting in 2027! Week five was the playlist party with radio Burnley and a celebration of the previous 4 weeks. The pieces created over this time will be moved around Burnley’s community centres to be added to over the coming months.
Burnley Pride of Place Project
From August 2023 until September 2024 we worked with photographers Jan Williams and Chris Teasdale aka The Caravan Gallery to deliver the Burnley Pride of Place Project. The project was supported using public funding from the National Lottery through Arts Council England.
Photography, research visits and community engagement with The Caravan Gallery from August 2023 to April 2024 inspired the creation of an interactive exhibition in an empty shop in Burnley town centre which was open to the public from 18 May – 21 September 2024.
More than 70 loans and donations were made to the exhibition from artists, heritage groups, cultural organisations, photographers and members of the public. Contributors were invited to share stories, objects, images, poems and more. Activities encouraged visitors to have their say about the borough and contribute towards creating a truly unique community exhibition about Burnley and its people. Around 400 school children were also involved in creating artwork for display. A sample of the exhibition is currently on display in Burnley Market.
Partners Blaze Arts involved young people, a local cultural producer worked with Burnley’s diverse communities on the Sundook project and 19 local artists and creatives delivered a range of free activities including photography, craft, creative writing, children’s drama and heritage talks.
With over 3,500 visits throughout the year, the project helped us to better understand our people and our place, identifying and celebrating Burnley’s strengths, what locals take pride in, and what they want to see in Burnley’s future. Photography was highlighted as a strength, and we look forward to delivering more photography projects in the near future.
If you would like to find out more you can visit: Burnley Pride of Place Project Facebook group and The Caravan Gallery website
Also check out the tours of the exhibition on the first and last days on YouTube:
Opening Day 18 May
Final Official Day 20 June
Images courtesy of The Caravan Gallery
