Opening Times
Tuesday – Saturday 10:00 – 16:00
August
Urban Canvas – Interactive 3D Street Art
Tuesday 5 and Wednesday 6 August, 11am to 3pm
Come and watch a demonstration of The Urban Canvas – a huge 3D chalk artwork being created by Fool’s Paradise!
On the second day, once it’s finished, you’ll have the opportunity to take photos with this amazing 3D piece. We’ll also have chalks available so you can create your own artwork alongside it!
Free to Attend, No Booking required
Lenny and Whale – Tower of Totem
Thursday 7 and Friday 8 August, 10 am to 4pm
Come and explore Fabric Lenny’s latest creation – The Tower of Totem!
This bright, bold and playful sculpture is popping up exclusively at 20-21 Visual Arts Centre – and it’s like nothing you’ve seen before! You can bring it to life using your phone and even help decorate it by adding your own patterns, characters, and doodles to the different parts.
Get creative, get colourful, and make your mark on this exciting, interactive artwork!
Play! Under 5’s Event
Saturday 9 August, 10am to 4pm
A big day out for little ones! Get crafty with eco-inspired makes in ARTivity, then jump into interactive cardboard city play with Dancing Tiger Scrapstore. Enjoy giant outdoor games, and take part in a playful circus skills workshop, messy hands and feet painting, and even make your own vegetable critters. There’s also giant LEGO for big builds and even bigger fun!
Free to attend, no booking required.
Steel/Plant – Metal and Vegetable Music Making
Tuesday 12 and Wednesday August, 11am to 3pm
Ever made music with a carrot? Or a piece of steel? Now’s your chance!
Join artists Tony Wade and Helen Thomas for a brilliant hands-on workshop where everyday objects become amazing sound machines. From vegetables to steel, you’ll discover how to create music in the most unexpected ways!
As we celebrate our proud heritage as a steelworks town, this session brings art and industry together, feel free to bring in any objects from the steelworks to try and make music from!
Once the sounds are flowing, you’ll help turn them into wild visual creations — drawing, doodling, and decorating the windows and floor to show what sound looks like.
It’s loud, creative, and totally unique — come join the fun and make some noise with us!
Dom Heffner Workshops
Wednesday 13 August- Stuffed Crust (SEND and Home Ed session)
Thursday 14 August – Antennae Art
Looking to spark your creativity or try something totally new? Join acclaimed international Hull based painter Dom Heffer for a series of FREE workshops – open to all and perfect for anyone who loves to get hands-on with art!
Free to attend, booking required. Book Here
Blocks & Beyond Fest!
Friday 15 August, 11am to 3pm
Blocks & Beyond is packed with LEGO builds, Minecraft magic, 3D printing, and creative fun! Get your face painted, take on LEGO mazes, explore real-world Minecraft geology with StemPunx, and jump into action with Team Reality Parkour. Little builders can also get hands-on at the Minecraft-themed ARTivity craft table. It’s a day stacked with fun for all ages!
Free to attend, no booking required.
Dom Heffner Workshops
Wednesday 20 August- Antennae Art
Thursday 21 August – Stuffed Crust
Looking to spark your creativity or try something totally new? Join acclaimed international Hull based painter Dom Heffer for a series of FREE workshops – open to all and perfect for anyone who loves to get hands-on with art!
Free to attend, booking required. Book Here
Science by Luxmuralis – Opening Event
Friday 22 August, 7pm to 9pm
Be the first to see the draw dropping exhibition Science by Luxmuralis. We’ll be opening late to celebrate this spectacular immersive visual experience which is designed to enable people to explore science and the understanding of the physical world around us. Luxmuralis is the name of an artistic collaboration between sculptor Peter Walker and composer David Harper. Their jaw-dropping fine art, light and sound installations have been enjoyed by millions of visitors at sell-out shows across the UK and abroad.
Free to attend no booking required.
20-21 @Scunthorpe Pride
Saturday 23 August, 11am to 7pm
Join us for Scunthorpe Pride in Church Square – we’re right next to the action with a full day of fun at 20-21.
Celebrate the main gallery reopening with Luxmuralis: Science – an awe-inspiring light and sound show.
Sing your heart out at our karaoke party with Elsie Diamond.
Be wowed by hula hoop legend Chi Chi Revolver.Get creative in our cosplay workshops with Community Vision. Don’t miss the colourful cosplay workshop and grab some tasty festival treats from our café.
No booking needed – just turn up and enjoy!
Playworks – Heard Theatre Company
Friday 29 and Saturday 30 August
Join The Herd Theatre Company for a magical experience filled with imagination, creativity, and play. Their pop-up play spaces are specially designed for children and families to explore, build, and dream together — with fun themes like construction and road safety.
Friday: Enjoy a brilliant outdoor theatre performance the whole family will love!
Saturday: The kids take over! Build wild characters, design crazy sculptures, and invent brand-new games.
Come play, create, explore — and make memories that last!
Free to attend, No Booking required
Reoccurring Events
ARTivity Table
Daily: Tuesdays – Saturdays, 10am to 4pm
Arts and Crafts activities for the whole family based around our current exhibitions.
Free to attend no booking required
Get Crafty
Every Wednesday, 1.30pm to 3pm
Craft sessions for age 16+ with a disability.
Free to attend no booking required
Our Exhibitions:
Here at 20-21 Visual Arts Centre, we have multiple exhibition spaces showing a range of contemporary art and craft from local, regional, national and international artists.
Please note that the main exhibition space is currently closed for the final stages of restoration and will reopen on 22 August.
Current Exhibitions:
28 June to 20 September
Ruth Calland – This Is All the Treasure We Can Have or Hold
We are delighted to present a new solo show by acclaimed London-based painter Ruth Calland. The exhibition explores important contemporary themes around self-transformation, and the elusive but joyful reward of authentic self-expression. Born in Scunthorpe, Calland sees this exhibition as a homecoming: a turning towards their roots within the backdrop of the alchemical steel town landscape.
For more information head over to our dedicated Exhibitions page.
