Wigan arts Festival: igniting the borough’s creative spirit
Wigan Arts Festival returned in March 2026 with an ambitious borough-wide celebration of creativity, culture and community.
Produced by The Old Courts, the Festival brought artists, venues, education providers, community organisations and local businesses together for two weeks of visual art, live music, theatre, spoken word, film, workshops and participatory events. Audiences encountered creative work in venues including The Old Courts, Wigan Pier, Grand Arcade, The Brick Community Stadium, independent record shops, bars and hospitality venues. Together, these activities attracted a total of over 125,000 attendees.
Supporting artists was central to the Festival. Participants received paid commissions, performance and exhibition opportunities, professional development and access to new audiences. Artists reported increased confidence, new collaborations, media exposure, sales, commissions, and invitations to perform or exhibit elsewhere as the main benefits of the Festival.
A major success was the return of Wigan Live, the grassroots music festival last held in 2019. The Old Courts worked with its original promoters to introduce a more sustainable model in which both organisers and musicians were paid for their work. A refreshed identity and artist call-out generated an overwhelming response, leading to a carefully curated town-centre programme.
The Festival also created career pathways for young people. The Wigan Open Exhibition was reimagined as a talent-development project in partnership with Wigan & Leigh College and professional artists alike. Students learned about artwork selection, gallery design and exhibition production before helping to assess submissions, install the exhibition and invigilate it at Wigan Pier. The experience gave them practical insight into creative careers while building their confidence, networks and professional skills.
Equality, diversity and inclusion were embedded throughout the programme. The festival worked with Sheba Arts, Everything Human Rights and iCAN, while 29% of artist survey respondents identified as disabled or as having a long-term health condition.
Audiences reported that the experience made them happy, uplifted, inspired and more connected to their community, while they discovered new artists or ideas and were encouraged to attend more cultural events. The Festival showed how culture can animate town centres, strengthen local businesses, support creative careers and bring communities together.
“It made me feel proud and encouraged to perform original music in a culturally important Wigan venue, with enough space to properly show what I do as an artist.” - Jordan Madani, aka Jo Jaleel
Spirix Retold at the engine room
An original, youth-led contemporary dance and multidisciplinary performance, Spirix Retold marked the launch of Spirix Collective and was the culmination of six months of artistic development for Spirix artists, creatives and young people.
Participants worked alongside leading professional artists to explore new approaches to choreography, performance and making work. This included a week-long residency with two professional dancers from Hofesh Shechter Company, an internationally renowned contemporary dance company. The residency gave Spirix artists and young people an insight into the company’s creative process, exploring how movement is generated, developed and shaped into performance.
The choreographic team was mentored by Helen Linsell from Dance United Yorkshire, who provided an external professional perspective throughout the development of the work and supporting artists to strengthen their choreographic practice.
This six-month process culminated in December 2025, when a cast of 80 dancers aged 7–35 performed at The Engine Room in Trencherfield Mill. The cast brought together people from very different dance backgrounds and stages of development, from children dancing for the first time through to early-career and professional dance artists from Spirix Creatives. Bringing these dancers together within one company created a genuine progression pathway within the production, with participants learning alongside and from artists at different stages of their creative careers.
Based on modern folklore rooted in Wigan, the work was developed collaboratively, with dancers and creatives contributing ideas to shape the final piece. An original score was composed by electronic music producer Tom Hodgson (Tom2Trax), bringing together classical, ambient, breakbeat, techno and industrial influences. A full performance film was also created, bringing together dance, music, live performance and film. The project gave participants experience of an ambitious multidisciplinary creative process while developing the skills, confidence and professional practice of Spirix’s emerging artists and choreographic team.
The Thin Sonic Line Poetry show
Maria Byrne, also known as Deaf Wigan Poet, is an emerging artist. She is a disabled artist, with an interest in spoken word and performing arts. In music and the teaching of music, she is committed to ensuring access for all in the arts.
As part of Wigan Arts Festival and with grant funding from Wigan’s Place Partnership Fund, Maria created and delivered a live performance at Trencherfield Mill. In front of a live audience, Maria’s spoken word show was about family, working class values and accessibility. The performance was followed by a panel discussion with other working class and disabled artists about breaking down barriers to succeed in the arts.
The experience has been a springboard for Maria to access other opportunities. Since March, she has toured the show and performed at Act Festival in Preston and the Morcombe Bay Fringe Festival. Maria has also compared the poetry fringe event at the Civic Centre as part of Wigan Diggers Festival and gained confidence to create more shows.
Maria said of the opportunity: “ I am a fledging and emerging artist. The idea was to give me experience putting on a show, and what entails creating and writing for a show, and help with performance.”
what the walls remember: plantation gates at Haigh hall
A new digital art installation by Leo Mercer and James Hooton, inside the refurbished lodges at Plantation Gates, opened in July 2026. The artists worked with young people, local residents, hospital users and staff, and individuals with personal connections to the site, to create an immersive experience of animation, oral histories and music.
Participants explored archival records, oral histories and local historical research to develop a deep understanding of life at Plantation Gates and the wider Haigh Hall estate. They also engaged with lesser-known histories, including the experiences of former lodge residents, and the social and environmental heritage of the site. The engagement process established valuable relationships between people and partner organisations while generating community-led content for the art work.
The project was designed with local people as active contributors. Their stories, ideas and creative responses are part of the digital installation and the process has created a stronger sense of ownership, representation and connection to the heritage of Haigh Hall.
Leo Mercer and James Hooton reflected that the contributions of residents, volunteers, historians and partner organisations helped strengthen the quality, authenticity and emotional impact of the final work. Lauren Craig’s (a direct Lindsey Family ancestor) contribution was particularly valuable in informing content and ensuring historical accuracy.
The final installation has been praised for its high-quality animation, emotional impact and sensitive storytelling. It shows how contemporary creative practice can connect audiences with local heritage and foster pride in place. At the civic opening event, Lisa Nandy, Secretary of State for Culture, Heritage and Sport gave an impassioned speech about the value of projects such as this in their ability to celebrate local people and history. Nandy added: “Everybody needs to go and see the installation. It tells the story of why this place is so special, of who we are and most of all the ordinary, extraordinary men and women who make this place what it is.”
Housed at The Turnpike Gallery in Leigh, two exhibitions across 2025-26 of the Drumcroon Collection demonstrated the continued relevance, impact and value of placing original artworks at the centre of young people’s learning.
The exhibition was designed by curators, artists and young people from across the borough. Embedding young people as active contributors to the curatorial process resulted in a more dynamic, inclusive exhibition, particularly through the prioritisation of Global Majority artists represented in the Drumcroon Collection. This approach strengthened the gallery’s commitment to co-creation and demonstrated that giving young people a voice can shape cultural activity in ways that are both thoughtful and impactful.
In addition, the Drumcroon Schools Loan Scheme has been rebooted where works of art can be borrowed by schools. Evidence from teachers shows that up-close access to art deepens engagement, critical thinking and creative confidence within the classroom. It also supports teachers to deliver richer, more diverse cultural education. The Schools Loan Scheme will continue to benefit schools across the borough, strengthening infrastructure for engagement, and supporting young people to gain skills and explore careers in the arts.
The project reinforced the value of sustained partnerships between cultural organisations, schools, artists and wider communities. The exhibition shows how the Turnpike Gallery is a welcoming, creative space for young audiences and families, and raises the profile of Wigan’s cultural offer regionally and beyond. It has also reignited awareness of Drumcroon’s pioneering legacy, advocating for the ongoing importance of investment in arts education and access to culture for all young people.
Reviving the spirit of Drumcroon and a Pioneering approach to art education.
Wigan and Leigh College’s Centre of Excellence in Creative Arts end of year exhibition took place in June 2026 at The Edge.
The exhibition is a celebration of the creative output of the Creative Arts department across the 2025-26 academic year with learners showcasing their most ambitious work. In addition to displaying their work to a professional standard, the students are also prepped to discuss their work with attendees, including buyers, collectors, and representatives from across the creative industries.
Over 150 students studying art & design, games design, photography, fashion, graphic design, media, and music production from across the Wigan borough exhibited to an audience of approximately 500 people. Attendees included friends and family of those exhibiting, college alumni, a wide range of VIPs and various scouts from the creative industries and professions. Throughout the exhibition students were also able to sell their work and secure commissions.
Each year Wigan & Leigh College strives to be more ambitious, refining their approach to the development of the exhibition and fashion show. In terms of legacy, the students end the year on a high - with a show larger than many degree shows - ready to start university with confidence and a real sense of achievement.
celebrating the achievement of young creatives in Wigan
Generator is ThickSkin’s ambitious Young Company. It is shaping a creative future that is fearless, collaborative, and driven by diverse voices.
In November 2025, Generator created a brand-new piece of theatre – devised from the ground up, in collaboration with ThickSkin’s Artistic Director, Neil Bettles, and Jerwood Associate Artist, Anna Berentzen. Developed and performed at The Engine Room in the heart of Wigan, the show gave a spotlight to raw talent, local stories, and ThickSkin’s trademark visual and physical style.
Over two weeks, ten talented performers aged 18-25 immersed themselves in ThickSkin’s innovative creative process to create a piece of theatre and perform it to live audiences. The performers were paid for their time and received other perks such as headshots, industry advice and the opportunity to network with industry professionals.
Generator combats the dearth of professional development activities offered to Young Artists in Wigan and surrounding areas. Research shows that there is a lack of representation of working-class people in the arts, low prospects for Wigan young artists due to economic inequalities, limited training initiatives outside London, and lack of opportunities for career development in physical theatre and multi-disciplinary practice in the North.
“I truly believe this was one of the best experiences of my life, it was a privilege to be a part of this company, and this is coming from the heart, there was so much knowledge I learnt in the short span of 2 weeks, and I can’t wait to see what I do with it in the future.” 2025 Generator Young Artist
launching the next generation of theatre-makers
Wigan’s Voice was a temporary exhibition at Wigan Museum that piloted new ideas and new ways of working with artists and residents.
The exhibition gave a voice to Wigan’s people, communities and collections, representing Wigan’s past, present and future.
Key museum objects, artworks and stories were used as a starting point for newly commissioned artwork looking at Wigan’s heritage, culture and changing landscape. These new perspectives from artists, residents and creatives revealed new stories about Wigan and what it means to live here.
The key aim of the exhibition was to highlight new perspectives on Wigan’s heritage, culture and landscape. This was achieved by commissioning local artists and working with residents to explore collective identities and to honour local roots and traditions. Increasing community participation in the co-curation of the exhibition has instilled local pride and wellbeing in participants.
It was also an opportunity to showcase Wigan Culture Team’s ongoing diverse creative engagement, including artworks from previous community-focused co-created projects.
“I was instantly excited at seeing this opportunity as a way of meeting other artists and creating within my home town that I adore so much, and honouring my roots and our strong historical community. I had little experience exhibiting my work within a museum context, but it is an absolute honour to see my work within this environment and alongside the beautiful works of others”. - Abi Kerner, Artist
using creativity to explore heritage
clay club on tour
Between November 2025 and March 2026, Everyday Wigan delivered creative pottery sessions for people living with dementia and disabilities in residential homes across the borough.
Sessions were designed to bring participants together to explore creativity, reduce social isolation, and improve their mental health and wellbeing.
The artist who led the sessions adopted accessible approaches to memory and storytelling to ensure that all participants felt included and could engage with clay making - regardless of their ability. Residents in the later stages of dementia, responded strongly to indirect expressions of memory, such as texture, repetition, rhythm, shapes and patterns.
Careworkers noted that residents with mobility and dexterity issues felt brighter after taking part and expressed pride in what they had made. This sense of accomplishment and increased self-confidence had a direct impact on their mood and wellbeing long after the session had finished.
Health professionals and cultural organisations all recognise the role that creativity has on our health and wellbeing. Creativity nurtures residents’ wellbeing, it sparks connection, and supports a borough where everyone thrives.