Light Works – Lead Light Artist & Fabricator Comission

Working alongside local communities, artists and creative partners, you’ll co-design and create a series of inspiring light installations for Workington and Mid Copeland. Rather than delivering a finished artwork, you’ll collaborate with local people through workshops, creative making sessions and shared design processes, creating work that reflects the places and people involved.

This is an exciting opportunity for an artist who enjoys working collaboratively and believes communities should be creative partners, not just participants. We’re particularly interested in artists with experience in socially engaged practice, public art, installation, fabrication or community-led projects.

The Opportunity

The successful artist will:

Work directly with local communities to generate ideas.
Facilitate creative workshops across multiple locations.
Support participants to explore themes, stories and creative concepts.
Develop designs collaboratively.
Lead fabrication processes with local people.
Create opportunities for communities to physically make elements of the work.
Support trainees.
Deliver final instillations, art work, structures for presentation within Light Works 2026.
Most importantly, we are looking for someone who enjoys making work with people rather than for people. This will require responsive, quick, chaotic, creative ways of making and being and doing light art.

Sustainability & Environmental Ambition
Light Works 2026 will place environmental responsibility at the centre of artistic production.
We are particularly interested in proposals that explore:

Solar-powered artworks
Battery-powered installations
Up-cycled materials
Sustainable fabrication processes
Low-energy lighting systems
Circular production approaches

The Light Works take place on the 28th and 29th November in Workington and 5th and 6th December in Seascale with workshops being delivered from mid August onwards in our hubs across both sites.