UNION Events 2026
08 Jan 26Happy New Year from everyone at UNION!
We’re excited to share the events and activities we’ll be hosting (and co-hosting) throughout 2026. Whether you’re already part of the UNION community and want to stay connected through our meet-ups, or you’re new to UNION and want to get involved via a day workshop, a weekend training programme, or our flagship year-long UNION residency, there should be something here for you. Most of our events are free or pay-as-you-can. We’re committed to making everything we do at UNION as accessible and inclusive as possible, so if there’s anything we can do to support your participation, please get in touch.
Below you’ll find a list of our upcoming events, including a summary of each, key details, and links to register. If you’d like more information about anything listed, email us at union@unionarts.org.uk, and Adrian or Sarah will get back to you.
We look forward to seeing you soon!
JANUARY – MARCH 2026
Tough Times: Refresh and Revitalise
Date and Time: Friday 16th January 2026, 10.30 am to 4 pm
Venue: Birmingham Museums, Thinktank Events Suite
“The situation is hopeless. We must take the next step,” Pablo Cassals.
Working with ArtWorks Alliance, UNION is bringing artists and activists together to recognise and name the challenges we are facing, to share thoughts and ideas,
and to consider possible ways forward. A day of creative work and open space discussions to refresh and revitalise; to inspire our own next steps.
Tough Conversations
Date and Time: Friday 20th February 2026, 1 to 3 pm
Venue: online
Hosted by UNION North East alumni, the first in a series of explorations of how we deal with the tough times we are in,
how we recognise the polarising world we live in and find the space between; how we engage in those difficult conversations.
Shared Ground: The Our Patch Gathering
Date and Time: Wednesday, 25 February 2026, 10 am to 4 pm
Venue: Bradford Arts Centre
UNION has been working with a great team of artists and producers who developed the Our Patch initiative for Bradford 2025,
a massive range of co-created creative activity across all the districts of Bradford.
This gathering will encourage the team to share some of the highs, lows and lessons of the work, and respond to the question:
How do we sustain this way of working beyond 2025 and beyond Bradford?
Tough Times (2)
Date and Time: Friday 20th March 2026, 10.30 am to 4 pm
Venue: Walk the Plank Cobden Works, 37–41 Cobden St, Salford M6 6WF
“The fierce urgency of now”, Martin Luther King
This time in the North West, UNION and ArtWorks Alliance are coordinating another opportunity
to bring artists and activists together to recognise and name the challenges we are facing,
to share thoughts and ideas, and to consider possible ways forward.
A day of creative work and open space discussions to refresh and revitalise;
to inspire our own next steps.
APRIL – JUNE 2026
Tough Places: How do we work in ‘flagged’ communities?
Date and Time: Friday 17th April 2026, 10.30 am to 4 pm
Venue: Chapel FM Arts Centre, 1081 York Road, Leeds, LS14 6JB
What are the realities and opportunities of working in some of the divided communities around Yorkshire,
the communities that, in large part, are now targeted by those putting up Union Jack and St George flags?
An opportunity for artists and activists from different places to come together
to talk about the realities of the work, and how they might go forward.
UNION Facilitators’ Training
Date and Time: Friday 15th to Sunday 17th May 2026
Venue: TBC
An intensive training weekend for UNION alumni who are interested in being part of the delivery team for future UNION weekends.
An opportunity to come together and share skills, understanding, and ways of holding reflective space.
Activism In Our Communities
Date and Time: Friday 22nd May 2026
Venue: Bradford TBC
Following on from the Our Patch work in Bradford during 2025, UNION and Bradford Producing Hub invited artists,
activists, and community producers to consider their work in the current climate, and what might be the next steps.
UNION 2026 Welcome Weekend
Date and Time: Friday 5th to Sunday 7th June 2026
Venue: Chapel FM Arts Centre, 1081 York Road, Leeds, LS14 6JB
UNION will be taking on a new cohort of early- to mid-career artists and activists from across the north of England
for this extensive training programme. This will be the opening weekend for UNION 26: a 12-month programme comprising
5 co-created training weekends plus individual coaching and reflective learning projects.
JULY – SEPT 2026
UNION Festival of Community
Date and Time: Friday 3rd to Monday 6th July 2026
Venue: Green & Away Bransford, Worcester WR6 5JB
UNION will be back at the fabulous Green & Away outdoor events space for a Festival with a difference.
One created by the very community that we’ve grown together.
UNION alumni, friends, family, colleagues, interested others…
UNION Youngers
Date and Time: Thursday 20th to Sunday 23rd August 2026
Venue: The Beeches Water Ln, Bamford, Hope Valley S33 0DA
We started the year with UNION Elders, so we thought we should do something similar
for young artists and activists: a summer residential.
