Head along to the DaDaFest hub to chat with the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society’s Artist Services team about all things Fringe. In 2026, they plan to open a new, year-round artist hub in Edinburgh, and want to hear from Dadafest artists on what they’d like to see happen in this space.
The drop in will allow you to find our more about how to bring a show to the Fringe, and offer an open discussion where the team who want to hear about the things that both excite and challenge you at the Edinburgh Fringe.
This drop in welcomes anyone with an interest in learning more about the Edinburgh Fringe and the different ways to get involved.
About DDFI40:
DaDaFest International returns 8th-31st March 2025 to celebrate DaDa’s 40th Anniversary and this time they are coming with ‘RAGE: A Quiet Riot’.
DDFI40 will showcase work by disabled artists that captures all shapes and sides of rage. From the internal quiet frustrations and righteous rage, to overt injustice and activism, DDFI40 will explore disability rights, disability arts, access, ableism and ‘Rage’ in an explosion of creativity.
Aged 14-21? Interested in working in music but don’t know where to start? Come to the Music Industry Careers Fest at Liverpool Philharmonic Hall!
Learn more about the wide array of opportunities in this field, meet leading industry professionals and kick start your musical career. Liverpool Philharmonic’s Careers Fest is packed with hands-on workshops, fascinating demonstrations and talks from industry experts, covering everything you’d want to know about working in the music industry.
Disabled people are impacted more directly by global issues such as the cost of living, the rise of the right, and the Climate Crisis is no different.
Using Artist Lois Weaver’s Long Table format, we will be inviting disabled artists and cross-sector professionals to participate in a carefully held discussion at Metal to discuss the climate crisis. Hosted by Liverpool Artist Dora Colquhoun, with contributions from disabled artists Liz Crow (UK) and ZU-UK, (UK/Brazil), they will explore climate change and disability from local and global perspectives.
About DDFI40:
DaDaFest International returns 8th-31st March 2025 to celebrate DaDa’s 40th Anniversary and this time they are coming with ‘RAGE: A Quiet Riot’.
DDFI40 will showcase work by disabled artists that captures all shapes and sides of rage. From the internal quiet frustrations and righteous rage, to overt injustice and activism, DDFI40 will explore disability rights, disability arts, access, ableism and ‘Rage’ in an explosion of creativity.
Join Cultivate (Halton’s Cultural umbrella Organisation) for an engaging evening as they prepare for Halton’s Cultural Year in 2026. This event is an opportunity for local creatives, organisations, and community members to connect, share ideas, and explore how arts and culture can thrive in Halton.
What to Expect:
Inspiring Performances: Experience live music, theatre, and poetry showcasing the talent and creativity in our community.
Introduction to Culture 2026: Hear from cultural leaders about the vision for Culture 26 and how you can get involved.
Networking and Consultation: Meet fellow creatives, share your views, and help shape the future of culture in Halton.
Light Refreshments: Enjoy a buffet and informal conversations throughout the evening.
Special Art Exhibit: See “Mars”, an artwork by Luke Jerram and the latest of his creations to be displayed at Norton Priory.
Why Attend?
Discover new opportunities, connect with like-minded individuals, and contribute to shaping Halton’s cultural legacy in 2026.
Admission is Free—don’t miss this chance to be part of the journey to Culture 26!
10.15 – Welcome by Dr Kate Walchester, Director of Research Institute of Literature and Cultural History, LJMU and Steve Lyus, Chair of the Liverpool Botanic Trust
10.30-11.30 – Axel Dalberg Poulson, Zingiberales Taxonomist, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh: ‘The Diversity of Gingers of the World’
11.30-12.00 – Tea break.
12.00-1.00 – Steve Lyus, Chair of the Liverpool Botanical Trust: ‘“Roscoe’s Baby”, The first Monograph for the Gingers’;
Donna Young, Curator of Herbarium, World Museum, Liverpool: ‘The Liverpool Herbarium and its Gingers.’
1.00-2.00 – Lunch and exhibition, featuring contributions by botanical artist Sue McHugh, LJMU graduate Anna John and Athena Nursery
2.00-3.00 – Richard Baines, Curator at Logan Botanic Garden: ‘Growing Gingers in Great Britain.’
3.10-3.40 – Rebecca Bailey, Senior Lecturer in English Literature: “What’s ginger, I pray ye?”: an exploration of ginger in early modern England’.
3.40-4.00 – Conclusion, tea, and evaluation.
After the roaring success of the first ARTS FOR SOCIAL CHANGE SHOWCASE in September 2021 and again in February 2022, Collective Encounters is delighted to be programming another fascinating night of presentations exploring participatory arts projects, practice and passions.
Join them for an evening of quick-fire presentations by people passionate about using the arts for social change. The showcase is a great way to grow your ideas, share and celebrate your achievements, rage about something or highlight something that needs to change. Presenters will show up to 15 slides about their theme, project, issue, community, infatuation and/or themselves. Each presentation will last no more than 5 minutes.
This event is a great opportunity to connect, network, get feedback and generate new ideas. Presenters can be theatre-makers, producers, participants, funders, community groups, charities…anyone with a curiosity or passion for arts & social change.
There will be up to ten presentations, with opportunities to ask questions of the contributors throughout.
Although it’s very important to maintain the distinction between art and therapy, participatory artists are often in positions where they need to support their participants’ mental health. This training is specifically for artists and facilitators and takes a person-centred approach to understanding trauma and incorporating this understanding into your creative practice.
This training will:
Provide an overview of the physiology of trauma and an insight from the perspective of a clinical psychotherapist;
Unpick popular perceptions and misuse of language around trauma and PTSD;
Offer practical tips for creating safe spaces for participants and avoiding practices which may retraumatise participants;
Create a space to explore problem solving using real-life scenarios.
This event is aimed at artists working in communities, theatre-makers and activists interested in using the arts as a tool for positive change.
Online Event: This training will take place online using Zoom. You will receive an email with the link.
**Please note: we do not record the sessions because of the sensitive nature of the topic.
Length: 3 hours
For attendees supported by their organisations the full price of a ticket is £55.00. For freelancers and individuals from non-regularly funded organisations attendees the price of a ticket is £35.00. For those on low or no income the ticket price is £18.00. They also have a small number of bursary places available for those with limited funds, please email info@collective-encounters.org.uk
Against the backdrop of their archive display of music posters, Tomorrow’s Music Yesterday, this discussion event looks at key performances and music programmes from across the decades to consider the role the Bluecoat has played in the city’s musical life and how this might inform future developments.
With Roger Hill, Jayne Casey and Benjamin D Duvall.
Tue 25 Feb, 6-8pm
Free, booking required
West Kirby Bookshop are thrilled to welcome debut novelist Ferdia Lennon to the bookshop, to celebrate the paperback publication of his award-winning book, Glorious Exploits.
Join them on Thursday 13th March, 7pm when Ferdia will be reading from the book, before being in conversation with Jordan from the bookshop, answering questions from the audience and signing copies of Glorious Exploits.
Tickets are £6/ £13 (including a copy of the book) and complimentary drinks will be provided.
Tickets are non-refundable and if you can’t make the event and would like to reserve a signed/ dedicated copy of Glorious Exploits, do get in touch.
Chris Shaw’s photographic series captures the battle between nature and the urban landscape in his hometown of Wallasey. The images show the resilience of plants as they break through tarmac and emerge from the water of the docks. Making the weed his subject, Shaw takes a traditionally unwanted and invasive species and shows the beauty in overlooked places.
Tate Liverpool’s display The Plant that Stowed Away takes its title from one of these photographs. The display looks to the series as a starting point to explore ideas of migration and the movement of people. Starting in Liverpool and its surroundings, we travel across time and geographies through works from the Tate Collection.
Join curator Christine Eyene and Chris Shaw for an exciting discussion. They will discuss the agency of plants and the importance of maritime enterprise in Liverpool. Looking closely at Weeds of Wallasey, they will explore the importance of natural forms to the development of the city.
