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Festival of Industry is a blockbuster cultural and capacity building programme funded by the Arts Council’s Place Partnership initiative.
The Festival of Industry programme celebrates Enfield’s industrial heritage and explores its future industrial identity through specialist art commissions, participatory workshops, open studios, exhibitions, public artworks, and an immersive museum project and community theatre co-produced with local people.
Festival of Industry will be delivered in collaboration with Enfield’s creative sector and in partnership with Dugdale Arts Centre (DAC), our newly refurbished flagship arts centre, and the project’s hub.
The programme will run until 31 March 2024.
Programme - What's On
Click here to download the October to December 2023 Programme.
EXHIBITION: Enfield’s Industrial Evolution: Past, Present, Future
22 July - 3 March 2024
Dugdale Arts Centre
From market gardening and small arms to electrical engineering and invention, Enfield’s industrial heritage is staggering. Enfield Museum’s flagship exhibition will explore just some of the industries to have flourish in the borough. This borough wide celebration will be based at DAC, but also incorporates an outdoor touring exhibition and satellite displays in our hub libraries.
Click here for more information including the Outdoor Touring Exhibition Schedule.
THEATRE: Woolly Mammoth's of Enfield by Chickenshed
Saturday 25th November, 1pm, 2.30pm, 4pm - SOLD OUT
Dugdale Arts Centre
Award winning children’s theatre company Chickenshed present an immersive, interactive and fun theatre performance for all the family as part of Enfield Council’s Festival of Industry.
Join in with this interactive performance, told using song, dance, mime, recordings, animation, and everything in between. As we make the connections and power the engine, that is Enfield’s industrial past and future in a creative and accessible newly created musical theatre extravaganza!
Join the waiting list here.
AiR's Exhibitions & Artist Talks
The Valley Room, AiR, Unit A29, Hastingwood Trading Estate, N18 3HT
AiR is an artist-led studio based on the Hastingwood Trading Estate. They have a long-term practice of ‘staying’ in the everyday of a place to support the making of artworks in response. Their staying in the Lea Valley explores distribution, community and making during climate and social crisis.
The Valley Room considers artist-making in the Lea Valley through a gathering of artefacts, films, objects, maps and books. Monthly openings highlight one artwork with the artist making an intervention or exhibition.
EXHIBITION Hilary Powell, ‘Legend: An A-Z of the Lea Valley’, 2014,
Visit the Valley Room to see artist Hilary Powell's exhibition as she revisits her work Legend: An A-Z of the Lea Valley. Ten years ago the artist made fifty-one beautiful pop-up books as she documented the moving history of the area as it transformed to stage the London 2012 Olympics. In the Valley Room she will reflect on this work, presenting the finished book alongside the book-in-parts, source material and films.
Visit by appointment on Thursday's until 30th November. Email anna@airstudio.org.uk to arrange.
EXHIBITION & ARTIST TALK: Henrietta Williams, ‘The Secret Security Guard’, 2012 - Saturday 16 December 12-4pm - More details coming soon.
EXPLORE ONLINE : Festival of Industry Poems
Poems written by members of Enfield Poets for the Festival of Industry have been curated in words and sound on the Poetic Voices website.
Listen and read here.
EVENT: Code Ninjas Interactive Workshops
Saturday 9th December - SOLD OUT
Dugdale Arts Centre
Join Museum of Enfield for a range of exciting coding and STEM workshops suitable for 7-13 year olds from August to December including Coding in Minecraft, Game Design with MakeCode Arcade, Robotics with Lego, Stop Motion Animation, Roblox Workshop, and Code Your Own Cartoons.
Join the waiting list here.
This page will be updated throughout the programme with upcoming events. If you require more information, please contact Festival of Industry Cultural Producer, Sophie Thompson-Semple on sophie.thompson-semple@enfield.gov.uk
PAST EVENTS
Enfield Industry Past and Present Walking Tour
Part Two: 7 October 2023
Meet at Brimsdown Station, Green Street at 10am
On our second exploration of Brimsdown we uncover the birth of electricity in Enfield and what happens there now, the factories that flourished on the back of new technology and how our High Streets are serviced from here.
Finishes at Enfield Island Village
Walk will last for 2 hours max.
For more information and to book, click here
HELLO WORLD
7 October 2023, 12-6pm
81A Pretoria Road North
This event intends to showcase the work of its resident artists, reflecting the cultural diversity and range of artistic disciplines as a studio collective. Hive Curates seeks to celebrate the cohort of artists for 2023 that will go on to shape and influence Enfield’s growing art scene.
HELLO WORLD is where art transcends boundaries and fosters positive change. Meet our artists, designers and curators. Take part in a free workshop and enjoy global music throughout the day.
Tiger Monkey
Tiger Monkey will be making a documentary short film which highlights the impact of partnerships with local artists: Kareen Cox, Amaechi Anolue and Jenni Allen in the industries of graphic design, muralism and printmaking. Workshops are taking place after school with pupils and staff as well as families.
Friday 20 October
Black History Month Celebration with Jenni Allen and Platinum Performing Arts.
Museum Spotlight Talk - Industry
28 October - 25 November 2023, 11-1pm
Dugdale Arts Centre
A member of the Museum Team will be on site at Dugdale Arts Centre to talk about the exhibition and answer any questions you might have. Each session will also feature a spotlight talk about a particular aspect of the collection.
Sir Jules Thorn: The Man and His Empire
22 November 2023
Dugdale Arts Centre
Museum of Enfield presents an engaging talk on Sir Jules Thorn and his electrical empire. Delivered by Dr Jim Lewis, an author, researcher and broadcaster specialising in the Lea Valley, as well as being a former Thorn EMI Ferguson employee.
Festival of Industry @ BLOQS
16-17th September 2023
Bloqs, 2 Anthony Way, London N18 3QT
A weekend of activities that also tie-in with regional events: Open House and London Design Festival. The programme of events and activities include interactive workshops across multiple disciplines; a ‘make Your Own Pizza Cutter’ engineering workshop; machine demos; workshop tours; an exhibition of our members works & designs created at Bloqs; activities for families & children; Food & Drink provided by acclaimed chef and food author: Marianna Leivaditaki. Bloqs will also be collaborating with Chickenshed theatre to host a brand new ‘Industrial Musical’.
Faith in Industry
Saturday 16 September 2023, 12-8pm
Fore Street Living Room Library, N18 2XF
Local community organisation Fore Street For All presents 'Faith in Industry' at the Fore Street Living Room Library as part of the Open House Weekend 2023. The event explores the rich industry of Angel Edmonton past & present, unearthing its fascinating history, whilst looking at how the industrial landscape has changed over the past 150 years to welcome new businesses catering to emerging communities.
The event will include an exhibition of artefacts & objects from local industries, poetry, recipe sharing, and a textiles workshop for visitors to learn embroidery and design their own Edmonton Industrial Coat of Arms.
Enfield Industry Past and Present Walking Tour
Part One: Saturday 16th September
Meet at Ponders End Station, South Street at 10am
This walk investigates locations of Enfield's historic industry, traditional industry and sites where new factories and warehousing continue Enfield’s industrial development.
Finishes at Brimsdown Station.
Walk will last for 2 hours max.
Colours & Industry from Colour Your City
Saturday 16th September 2023, 3-6pm
Sunday 17th September 2023, 12-5pm
BLOQS, 2 Anthony Way, London N18 3QT
Watch a lucid documentary exploring Enfield’s industry through an audio-visual collage of colour. Participate in creating a giant collage about colour and industry. Bring your views, swap colour stories and make art.
This is part of an evolving project researching the colour landscape of industry and industrial futures in Enfield. Brought to you by Colour Your City – a locally-based multidisciplinary practice that uses colour to explore place, transform space, activate creativity and connect community.