9 June 2025
FestivalsNews

Young People Help Develop New Art Commission for East Midlands Festivals

A group photo shows six children and two adults standing and sitting around a table covered with art supplies, colourful sticky notes, pens, and small cardboard model buildings. The adults are wearing black T-shirts with a colourful logo. The children are smiling, and some are seated in front of the models. Behind them is a cream wall with a tall window made of glass blocks that let in natural light.

Babbling Vagabonds with members of Boza Youth set to work on developing P.O.P. Image credit: Junction Arts

This summer, a playful and poignant new artwork will arrive at two major East Midlands festivals, inviting young people and families to play, explore, and connect in fun and unexpected ways. 

Commissioned by Junction Arts and First Art, the Post Office of Possibilities (P.O.P.) is a mobile, interactive art installation that blends street theatre and community engagement.  The piece will premiere at the Chesterfield Children’s Festival (26–27 July 2025, Queen’s Park) before travelling to The Full Shebang Festival in Mansfield town centre on Saturday 6 September 2025.

The P.O.P. is a nostalgic reimagining of the classic British post office and is being created by Buxton-based outdoor theatre specialists the Babbling Vagabonds, in collaboration with young people from Boza Youth. It will be packed with tactile, hands-on features such as drawers to explore, noticeboards to read, and compartments brimming with surprises. Visitors will be invited to pen postcards of positivity and letters to their future selves, with playful prompts that spark conversations around hope, wellbeing, aspirations, and what it means to live a good life.

Colourful, costumed characters from the “Department of Dreams” will roam the festivals, animating the space with skits, games and interactive encounters. Phil Coggins from The Babbling Vagabonds said:

The Department of Dreams and their Post Office of Possibilities is here to deliver joy, curiosity, and connection. This pop-up show will blend playful performance with hands-on creativity. We want to reignite the joy of slow, tangible, human connection in an increasingly digital world.”

The installation promises to be theatrical and thoughtful, shaped by the views and hopes of young people from Bolsover. The Babbling Vagabonds will work closely with Boza Youth, Bolsover’s volunteer-run youth club for 11–17-year-olds, over the coming months to co-create the piece.

The P.O.P. is the result of a public call-out, with the commission decision guided by Boza Youth.

Jemma Burton, Project Manager at Junction Arts, said:

The young people were instrumental in selecting The Babbling Vagabonds and shaping the direction of the project. They wanted something that spoke to their age group — something fun, creative, and inspiring. The P.O.P. is all of that and more: a space for positive expression and joyful interaction.”

Steph Andrews, Project Coordinator at First Art, said:

We can’t wait to see what the combined imaginations of the young people and Babbling Vagabonds create and look forward to bringing the work to The Full Shebang. It’s so important to have artwork that is relevant to local communities, that represents local voices.”

The Chesterfield Children’s Festival is a free, family-friendly celebration of arts and culture, now in its third year, showcasing storytelling, theatre, music, dance and hands-on activities for children aged 0–16.

Here a group of children and adults are at the Children’s Festival, shown gathered in front of a park bandstand. A man with dark hair and a light-coloured shirt stands among them, holding a microphone. The background includes greenery and a part-timbered black and white building.

Chesterfield Children’s Festival © Lamar Francois

Now in its sixth year, The Full Shebang Festival brings some of the UK’s best outdoor arts to Mansfield town centre. A free one-day arts festival for all ages, the event has a strong emphasis on accessibility and inclusion and aims to delight and surprise with a mix of outdoor performance, circus, dance, street theatre and more.

A giant, opened red and yellow beach umbrella is in the foreground with a woman performing an acrobatic trick from it's frame. This is from the show Everywhere's A Beach at The Full Shebang Festival. The performer is dressed in a turquoise/green top and a skirt. She is positioned diagonally beneath the umbrella, mid balancing act. Behind, numerous spectators are seated on benches watching the performance in Mansfield Market Place. There are also many people standing watching the show. The background shows a portion of the market place, with buildings, trees, and a prominent monument (the Bentick Memorial). The sky is a clear blue with a few clouds visible, suggesting a sunny day. The scene depicts a public festival or performance.

The Full Shebang Festival © Lamar Francois