August 28, 2025Learning & Participation – How Artichoke Engages Communities Across the UK

Michaela Alagbala, Communications Assistant

Tasnim Mahdy and a young participant collaborate to create street art on a colourful, graffiti-covered wall. One wears a mask as they spray the stencil with red spray paint. The scene is lively and expressive.

We work all over the UK producing free art events, but did you know we also engage local communities through Learning & Participation projects?

Here at Artichoke, we believe in art that extends beyond galleries and institutions – art that meaningfully engages communities whilst encouraging local people to explore their imagination. Our Learning & Participation (L&P) team have been hard at work planning and delivering workshops and programmes across the country to help us achieve our goal of making art more accessible to the communities that stand to benefit from it most.

 

CONTENTS:

• Get Involved

• We’re Hiring

• Upcoming

• Past

 

Get Involved

For each edition of Lumiere, L&P activities are integrated into the artistic programme, touching lives and leaving a legacy of skills and newfound creativity. Over the last twelve years, our producers and artists have worked with over 12,000 local people.

This year, our L&P team worked with students from Durham Sixth Form Centre (DSFC) to plan, deliver and share “Celebrating Lumiere’s Brightest Moments”, a regional photography exhibition which invited Northeast locals to send in their favourite photos of the light art biennial.

Produced by DSFC arts students with support from the Lumiere team, the project enables participating students to gain valuable experience within the creative industries and events management.

“It’s really good to see modern applications of art and design [in the creative industries] – I’m excited to see our work pay off in the curation process.”

~ Beatrice Johnston, a Graphic Design Student at DSFC ~

This competition closes soon! We welcome photographs from everyone, from smart phones or fancy cameras to professional photographers, amateurs or anyone who has just taken one, great photo of Lumiere.

Find out more and submit your photos at Lumiere-Festival.com/CallForPhotos.

 

We’re Hiring

As part of our commitment to create meaningful employment and training opportunities, we’re recruiting for two enthusiastic individuals to join the Marketing and Communications and Production departments as Trainees.

Each day is different at Lumiere, from gathering on-the-ground audience feedback to facilitating community artworks with our L&P team; Trainees play a crucial role in bringing Lumiere to life.

These traineeship roles have been created to support young people in County Durham to gain hands-on experience in promoting and producing a large-scale outdoor event.

Find out more and apply below:

 

Upcoming

As part of an upcoming Lumiere artwork, around 400 lanterns will be crafted by primary school pupils and community groups across Durham and Shildon, inviting people of all ages to take part.

The lanterns take inspiration from a larger installation that will be at Durham Cathedral during Lumiere. Each person will design a lantern with a collage of colour and then inscribe it with a message: a wish, a memory, a hope, a grief to release, or a truth to be carried off. These words will gently glow within the lanterns, making them both creative expressions and vessels for reflection. They will be showcased at Crook Hall in Durham and at Locomotion in Shildon, forming part of Lumiere’s satellite programme.

Alongside the community made lanterns, we will be using the large hall at the Locomotion Museum to create an immersive and exciting light based installation which celebrates 200 years of the modern railway. Artist, Hannah Fox, and 60 students from Durham Academy will be working together to make a rail inspired soundscape and interactive signal boxes that have hidden stories inside them for audiences to find.

A group of smiling older women hold decorated paper lanterns with positive messages. They stand in front of a mural depicting trains and a bridge. The atmosphere is joyful

As well as working with a professional artist, the students will take part in STEM activities run by the Durham University Science Engagement team and  get an exclusive tour of the museum to learn more about the industrial revolution and how civil engineering plays a part in the railway.

In collaboration with New College Durham, our L&P team have been recruiting members of the public to participate in a film to commemorate and celebrate Lumiere over the years. From volunteers to long-time Lumiere visitors, personal stories of the light biennial’s 16-year history will be shared and showcased at our fundraising gala.

The film will serve as a tribute to the impact Lumiere has had on the community, capturing the essence of creativity and connection that the festival brings to Durham. Through these personal narratives, viewers will gain a deeper understanding of the significance of Lumiere in the lives of those who have experienced it firsthand.

Keep up to date with the latest Lumiere news by signing up to our Lumiere newsletter.

 

Past

Earlier this year, our Head of Learning & Participation, Beth King, headed to Durham Academy, alongside Kromek Group’s Head of Product Design, John Atkins to deliver careers talks to Year 9 and Year 10 students.

They touched on what a typical day looks like in their roles, how they entered their respective industries and the broad range of career opportunities in the creative and engineering sectors. With perspective from both the arts and STEM, the department heads encouraged students to think beyond traditional career paths and explore the full spectrum of possibilities open to them.

Artichoke works across the UK producing free events for the public, but our home is in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. With arts education facing unprecedented challenges, we recognise more than ever the importance of young people’s engagement with the arts. It’s our aim to ensure that we can provide free access to the arts and a safe, creative space for young people to explore.

Painting of a colourful Scarlet macaw on canvas material. Its wings are opened wide

We’re delighted to have run Artichoke’s Summer School for the third year running, a week-long programme of exciting creative workshops designed to help young people discover their inner artist.

Participants explored different artistic mediums, many experimenting with new materials for the first time. The week of art-making culminated in a group sharing, where parents and guardians got the chance to view the artwork that was made over five days.

The Summer School not only provided a platform for artistic expression but also fostered a sense of community among participants. It is our hope that this experience will inspire a lifelong love and appreciation for the arts in these young individuals.

“I’ve learnt so much this week! I’ve never really done clubs before and it was a really cool experience for me.”

~ Amelia, Summer School Attendee 2024 ~

As well as our Summer School programme, in 2026 we’re looking to engage London secondary schools in an A Level art and design programme, to further promotes the positives of a life as a creative and help up-skill them to support their studies.

Artichoke would like to thank Aldgate Connects, Childhood Trust, Big Give Org, Whitechapel Gallery and everyone who donated to our Christmas Challenge in 2024 for helping make the Summer School possible.

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