Talkaoke is returning to Blackburn! The National Festival of Making is a unique celebration of UK making, from the kitchen table to the factory floor. Presenting a programme of work that combines Art, Manufacturing, Making and Communities, we commission international and national artists to create world class works, a year round programme and a participatory FREE FAMILY festival for all to enjoy.

If you’re wondering what Talkaoke is…..

…it is a live, television-style talk show by The People Speak art collective from East London. Talkaoke can enliven any event, festival, club, gallery, conference or a street. Talkaoke is a unique way to hear the latest ideas people are talking about and to discover new ones together. The conversation is a creative medium and a journey from one unexpected subject to another. It can be topical, funny, deep, surreal, or something else. The participants generate the subjects and the host in the middle keeps everybody engaged. The format is simple: the host sits in the middle of an illuminated round table, and you sit around the outside and talk about whatever comes up. Just grab the microphone and air your views.