24/06/2026
Behind every costume, every float, every dance and every moment of carnival joy is a community of people working together.
This year without Arts Council funding, Inspiration Arts was made possible through the generosity, creativity and determination of volunteers, artists, makers, supporters and local organisations who believed in what we were creating 🦋
Inspired by the theme Unity in Masquerade, Many Stories One Parade, our workshops explored the stories we tell ourselves, each other and the world around us. We reflected on how our individual stories are woven together, like threads in a tapestry and how through creativity we can imagine and create the future we want to see. 📖 Stories of freedom, equity, peace, love and belonging. Stories that celebrate our differences while recognising what unites us.
Over the weeks leading up to carnival, our workshops became places of creativity, learning, laughter and collaboration. Together we cut, stitched, printed, painted, built, decorated and transformed ideas into costumes, props and performances ready for the streets of Northampton. Pages from donated books became wearable stories, willow was transformed into lion heads, print blocks were carved and reclaimed silver and purple accessories from the EMCCAN Carnival Swap Shop found new life in our Wings of Peace 🪽
A huge thank you to everyone who joined us along the way, to The Barn at Bradlaugh Fields and Park Ranger Vikki Maloney for providing a welcoming creative space, to Heyford Books for donating books for our Mandala costumes, to local artist Helna Woodpecker for her beautiful pattern work, to EMCCAN for supporting sustainable carnival making through their Carnival Swap Shop, to The Grosvenor Centre for providing a gathering space, and to every person who donated materials, time, skills and encouragement.
Carnival may only last a day, but the community behind it lasts all year ❤️🦋✨🎨
