Every October we throw open to the doors to our buildings for our annual Fun Palaces event, filling our spaces with a huge family-friendly programme of free activities, tours, workshops and more, for everyone to enjoy.

Since making our first Fun Palace in 2014, we’ve welcomed thousands of people of all ages and from all corners of the city, to discover, create, make and play together.

Fun Palaces is so much more than a one-day event. It’s an ongoing international campaign for cultural democracy that celebrates art, culture and community, and anyone can join in. The weekend of action uses the combination of arts, craft, science, tech, digital, heritage and sports activities, led by local people for local people, sharing their own passions and skills, as a catalyst for community-led transformation, with active participation for all ages.

We’ve been involved from the start, now hosting a Fun Palaces Ambassador, Bev, who works directly with communities to:

• Develop local networks
• Build and enable links between individuals and organisations
• Encourage large venues to co-create with local people
• Support small groups to shout about their value as grassroots community activists

We’ll be announcing the programme for the next Fun Palaces Action Weekend on our website nearer the time, so keep an eye out for updates.

Tiny Revolutions of Connection

Fun Palaces have launched Tiny Revolutions of Connections - sharing practical suggestions that anyone can take to connect a little more in their local community or simply pass time creatively in self-isolation. People across the UK are sharing their ideas including our very own Fun Palaces Ambassador, Bev.