Novus + QEST + Craft Festival Wales 2026: Crafting New Pathways

Craft Festival Wales | Cardigan Castle | 11–13 September 2026

This September, Craft Festival Wales returns to Cardigan Castle, bringing together makers, artists and audiences for a weekend celebrating creativity, craft and community. Alongside an exciting programme of exhibitions, demonstrations and events, this year’s festival will also showcase the work of prison learners who have been exploring craft as a meaningful pathway into creative careers.

For the second year running, QEST has collaborated with Craft Festival Wales and prison education providers Novus Gower, Novus Cambria to champion the craft sector as a route into employment for prison learners. The collaboration reflects a shared belief in the power of making to develop skills, encourage self-expression and open up new possibilities for the future.

Over the summer, learners at HMP Parc and HMP Berwyn took part in creative projects designed to introduce them to the possibilities of careers in craft. Working across Art and English classes, participants were encouraged to explore a range of themes, from myth and legend to historical figures and the Welsh landscape. The projects invited learners to think about heritage, identity and place, while developing their own creative responses through hands-on making.

A key part of the project has been the opportunity for learners to work alongside practising craftspeople and gain an insight into creative careers. QEST Scholar Justyna Medon, founder of Addicted to Patterns, has played an important role in the programme. Justyna is a surface designer specialising in custom hand-printed wall hangings, textiles and artefacts, and has shared her knowledge of creative processes, pattern and making with prison learners.

The latest work created through the programme will be presented as part of Craft Festival Wales 2026, giving the learners’ work an opportunity to be seen by festival audiences alongside the work of established makers. Following the success of the 2025 festival, which welcomed more than 4,000 visitors from Wales, across the UK and overseas, Craft Festival Wales returns to Cardigan Castle from Friday 11 to Sunday 13 September 2026.

For QEST, the festival provides an important platform to celebrate the achievements of the learners and highlight the potential of craft as a pathway to creative careers. If you’re visiting Craft Festival Wales this year, come and say hello to QEST. Our Education and Partnerships Manager, Lala Thorpe, will be attending across the weekend and would be delighted to meet festival visitors and talk more about our work supporting the future of craft.

We are proud to continue working with our partners to champion craft as a meaningful route into employment and to ensure that more people can experience the opportunities that a career in craft can offer. We look forward to sharing the learners’ work at Craft Festival Wales 2026 and celebrating their creativity alongside makers from across Wales and beyond.

Come along, discover exceptional contemporary craft and visit the QEST team.