Derbyshire Makes 2026 - Programme Announcement

Derbyshire Makes 2026 - Programme Announcement

We’re delighted to share that Derbyshire Makes returns in 2026, and it’s shaping up to be bigger, bolder and more connected than ever.

Derbyshire Makes is a countywide celebration of making in all its forms - from heritage craft and industry to contemporary creativity and future skills. Inspired by Derbyshire’s extraordinary history of invention and manufacturing, the programme is designed and delivered here, by the people, places and communities that make this county what it is.

This isn’t a touring festival dropped into place. It’s a programme grown from Derbyshire - rooted in local stories, shaped through partnerships, and open to everyone.

At its heart is the Derbyshire Makes Festival, returning this spring, alongside a wider programme of projects and events unfolding throughout the year.

Across April and May, we’ll be delivering an ambitious programme of free and low-cost events in six Festival Hub locations, as well as libraries, museums, community venues and outdoor spaces right across the county.

Wherever you are in Derbyshire, there will be something to discover, try, make or experience.

You can expect:

• Hands-on workshops for families, young people and adults - from textiles and traditional craft to digital making and future-facing skills - delivered with trusted partner venues and community organisations.

• Showcase performances and interactive experiences from nationally renowned arts organisations, bringing energy and inspiration to our Festival Hubs.

• Creative and heritage displays in libraries across the county, from object spotlights and mini-exhibitions to community-curated showcases celebrating local talent and stories.

• An extended tour of Derby Museums’ mobile makerspace, the Makory, alongside an exhibition spotlighting Derbyshire’s inventors and inventions, past and present.

• Grant-supported activities through Derbyshire Makes, new projects and public events created and delivered by groups and organisations during the festival period.

The 2026 programme builds on the momentum and inspiration of 2025, deepening collaboration through a dedicated countywide partnership of creative, cultural and heritage organisations, curators and practitioners.

Derbyshire Makes is coordinated by the delivery team at Arts Derbyshire, Local and Derbyshire County Council, working together to shine a light on the makers, places and possibilities that define this county.

Below, you’ll find more detail about what’s coming, ahead of the full programme announcement in March 2026.

We can’t wait to welcome you.

The Festival: a springtime celebration of making

Throughout April and May, Derbyshire Makes Festival unfolds across the county - from town centres to historic mills and market squares, transforming familiar places into lively spaces of hands-on making, performance, creativity and shared experience.

At the heart of the celebration are six vibrant Hub Festival Days. Each one is shaped by the character, history and stories of its place, designed with and for the communities who call it home.

Festival Hub Dates & Locations

Cromford Mills – Saturday 11 April

Chesterfield – Saturday 18 April

Swadlincote – Saturday 25 April

Heanor – Saturday 2 May

Glossop – Saturday 9 May

Bolsover – Saturday 16 May

You might find yourself stepping into a drop-in workshop, pausing for a large-scale outdoor performance, chatting with a local maker, or following a parade as it winds through the streets. Stay for an hour, or make a whole day of it - the invitation is open to everyone.

The festival begins at Cromford Mills, birthplace of the factory system. Here, the theme of wheels turns through the day - water wheels, spinning wheels, dance wheels - celebrating movement, ingenuity and the power of ideas in motion.

In Chesterfield, creativity unfolds live in public space. Artists work in real time, ideas take shape before your eyes, and the town centre becomes a studio - full of energy and possibility.

Swadlincote brings South Derbyshire’s heritage to life through playful, participatory making that centres community, connection and collective creativity.

In Heanor, guided by the spirit of Make Do & Mend, repair, reuse and resourcefulness transform everyday and preloved materials into acts of care, imagination and shared skill.

Glossop welcomes the arrival of spring through folklore, storytelling and seasonal making, weaving landscape, myth and community together in creative celebration.

And finally, in Bolsover, the festival draws to a joyful close with a town-wide celebration of local talent, performance and shared moments of discovery.

Across every place, the invitation is simple: discover, make, share and celebrate - together.

Showcase performances

Across the six hub festival days, audiences can experience standout work by acclaimed UK artists alongside locally led activity, creating moments of spectacle, participation and shared experience in public space.

These showcase performances are woven through the festival days and are designed to be welcoming, playful and open to all.

Festival highlights include Thingamabob Show by Matt Pang, a joyful, inventive street show built around handmade machines, physical performance and comic timing. Giant Wheel Parade by Autin Dance Theatre brings together large-scale design, movement and community participation in a powerful outdoor procession.

Audiences can also encounter MakeLAND by John Whall, a participatory digital project that invites people to collaborate, play and create together, and The Living Room by Maison Foo, a warm, welcoming space for conversation, creativity and community connection.

Together, these works sit alongside workshops, demonstrations and locally programmed activity, creating festival days that feel lively, generous and rooted in place – where making is something you experience together, not from the sidelines.

Making across Derbyshire

Derbyshire Makes extends far beyond the festival days.

Alongside the hub festivals, a wider programme of projects, commissions and events takes place across Derbyshire – offering more opportunities for people to take part, connect and make at their own pace.

The Makory, Derby Museums’ mobile makerspace, tours town centres, schools and communities during the festival period. Home to exhibition displays and artist-led, drop-in workshops, The Makory brings making and heritage directly to you.

Shaped around the theme of Derbyshire’s innovators, the tour shines a light on local inventors and inventions from the past and present – offering hands-on opportunities to explore skills, ideas and processes that have helped shape the county, and inspiring future innovators along the way.

Year-round projects

As well as the annual spring festival, Derbyshire Makes includes a growing programme of year-round projects that create space for creativity, connection and shared experience across the county.

Dare to Dream encourages conversations about heritage, place and aspirations for the future, Derbyshire Makes’ signature mass participation project invites people of all ages to take part in a series of community sewing bee events throughout the year. Join a sewing bee session, or with a group or on your own, create a flag or banner from repurposed materials, featuring your hopes and dreams for a better future. And when thousands of dreams meet, something powerful becomes visible. Be part of the finale in 2027.

Women Who Make is an invitation to slow down, show up and make space – for creativity, connection and the women shaping Derbyshire’s cultural future. Through talks, guided walks, creative gatherings and collective making, the programme explores themes of value, care, courage, circular futures, enterprise and belonging. It is co-curated by a small cohort of women who make across Derbyshire and includes festivals, creative women’s networks, webinars, creative workshops and women-only walks.

Derbyshire Makes History celebrates Derbyshire’s remarkable heritage of making and manufacturing that has shaped its landscapes, livelihoods and communities for generations. With funding from the National Heritage Lottery Fund, Derbyshire Makes History will bring these stories to life through six newly commissioned films. It will champion heritage craft skills through hands-on activities in the Makory and bursaries for craftspeople, while also supporting Derbyshire’s heritage organisations with grants, training and events to help them thrive. Derbyshire Makes History is a two-year programme with an exclusive heritage focus, complementing the wider three-year Derbyshire Makes programme.

Join in

Derbyshire Makes is for everyone – from families and young people to artists, makers and the simply curious.

Come for a moment or stay for the day. Most events are free to attend, with some activities requiring booking or payment. Full programme details will be announced next month.

Find out what’s coming, plan your visit and join the conversation by signing up to our newsletter and following @DerbyshireMakes.

Discover. Make. Share. Celebrate Derbyshire.