Taking place Thursday 17th to Sunday 20th September, Blackhorse Creates will bring together makers, artists, designers and creative businesses for workshops, panel talks and behind-the-scenes opportunities across the Blackhorse Collective Creative Enterprise Zone
If you’ve ever wondered what goes on behind the workshop doors and studio spaces around Blackhorse Lane, Blackhorse Creates will give you the opportunity to find out.
Taking place Thursday 17th to Sunday 20th September, Blackhorse Creates will bring together makers, artists, designers and creative businesses for workshops, panel talks and behind-the-scenes opportunities across the Blackhorse Collective Creative Enterprise Zone.
A Design District of London Design Festival 2026 and part of Open House Festival, the event celebrates the creative work happening on our doorstep – and invites everyone to get involved.
Blackhorse Creates is delivered by Blackhorse Workshop, a social enterprise dedicated to making, and Blackhorse Collective, Waltham Forest’s Creative Enterprise Zone, one of twelve zones designated by the Mayor of London.
The weekend programme has a strong focus on young people and routes into creative careers. The festival kicks off on Thursday 17th September, with a panel discussion at Switchboard Studios, bringing together artists, makers and creative businesses helping the next generation find their way into creative employment.
Friday 18th September is dedicated to local schools, colleges and alternative provisions, with creative businesses opening their doors to give young people a taste of life in the industry.
Talks, tours and hands-on workshops will help young people discover careers in architecture, heritage crafts, fashion, design innovation, museum work, product design and more.
The weekend then opens up to everyone, with young people delivering creative workshops across the area.
There’s puppet making at Blackhorse Workshop, photobatik at Walthamstow Wetlands and the chance to create concrete poetry with Turner Prize-winning artist Jasleen Kaur and young people from Higham Hill Hub at Big Penny Social.
There’s also plenty to discover through exhibitions, installations, panel talks and open studios. Blackhorse Workshop will open its maker spaces and studios and present We Lift Each Other, an exhibition of makers work, alongside hosting a community party showcasing music from young local artists.
Barbican Arts Group Trust Artist in Residence Nicola Morrison will host an exhibition of her work and a residency open day at the studios.
At Switchboard Studios, Chroma Waste Lab x Colour of Saying will explore waste-derived pigments, while Big Penny Social will host Collider, a mixed-reality sound installation by Signal to Noise.
Back at Blackhorse Workshop, visitors can see heritage blacksmithing in action, experience an interactive sound installation by artist Marianna Glykofridi or book onto a special edition of Queer Metal Club.
For anyone interested in the creative life of Waltham Forest, Blackhorse Creates will be a great opportunity to explore, meet local creatives and try something new. The weekend offers a glimpse of the people and ideas shaping the borough’s creative landscape – and invites local residents to be part of it.
To find out more visit blackhorseworkshop.co.uk, Instagram @blackhorsews @blackhorsecollective
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