Urban Wilderness CIC is a community arts organisation based in Stoke‑on‑Trent. This archive highlights key projects and events that illustrate our practice, partnerships and impact. During this period, the organisation was led by founding co-directors Laurel Gallagher, Isla Telford, and Jenny Harper. Our flagship annual events — Pig Walk Parade and Winter Gathering — are included here as recurring anchor entries, alongside other major commissions and collaborations.
Towards an Urban Commons brought together academics, artists, activists and community organisations to explore how brownfield land could be reimagined as community-managed urban commons. The Urban Commons Network was established on 20 April 2020 to develop principles, frameworks and shared visions for future governance.
Read MoreTomorrowland supported young people in Stoke-on-Trent to imagine and build better futures through hands-on construction workshops and a 2021 pop-up shop offering £200 bursaries for youth-led environmental and community projects.
Read MoreUrban Wilderness CIC delivered photo walks with CAFAG youth club as part of English Heritage’s national Reverberate programme, supporting young people to explore how heritage shapes their lives in the shadow of an abandoned coal mine.
Read MoreMining Migrations was a collaboration between Urban Wilderness CIC, Keele University and Chatterley Whitfield Friends exploring hidden migration histories connected to Chatterley Whitfield Colliery. The exhibition was first presented at Chatterley Whitfield Nature Reserve during the Being Human Festival 2020.
Read MoreUrban Wilderness CIC worked with Canal & River Trust to consult young people on their perceptions of Manchester’s canal system and their hopes for its future. Through photo walks, discussion and model-making, the project explored safety, identity and new possibilities for neglected
Read MoreA series of artist commissions exploring how lockdown reshaped our relationships with local green spaces across Stoke-on-Trent — turning wastelands into places of imagination and possibility.
Read MoreYouth-led canal-side transformation at Tinsley Marina, Sheffield — shaping place, confidence and connection through creative action.
Read MoreA community-led project empowering families and young people to reclaim public parks for play, creativity and connection through collaboration and trust.
Read MoreA co-created wooden vessel rising from the earth — a public art sculpture made with young people and artist David Bethell for the Forest Worlds Festival 2019.
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