Fun Palaces

Fun Palaces is a UK-based movement and campaign promoting cultural democracy through community-led participation in arts, science, and culture. It encourages people and groups to create their own free, hands-on events called Fun Palaces, run by and for local communities across the UK and internationally. The annual Weekend of Celebration, held on the first weekend of October, sees thousands of volunteers and grassroots organisations independently host Fun Palaces to share skills and creativity. The campaign challenges traditional ideas about culture and aims to make arts and sciences accessible to everyone, emphasising inclusivity and collective agency. Inspired by a concept developed by theatre director Joan Littlewood and architect Cedric Price in the 1960s, the modern Fun Palaces campaign was launched in 2014 by Stella Duffy and Sarah-Jane Rawlings.