Bristol's Window Wanderland aims to bring hope in 2026

As we enter 2026, it’s difficult to imagine what hope is made of. For some communities, it turns out to be made of paper and tissue. That’s because they’re taking part in a Window Wanderland festival that aims to help people to create moments of hope using the windows of their homes and businesses and to love where they are.  

Image: One of the displays at a previous Window Wanderland event in Bristol

Born in a suburb of Bristol in 2015,  these inclusive walking festivals have sprung up in almost 300 locations from Alberta to New Zealand over the past decade, with many neighbourhoods repeating the fun for several years. 

This year, Window Wanderland CIC is ringing the changes by inviting participants to unite under a shared theme of Hope.  

The festival’s founder, artist Lucy Reeves-Khan, says “Wanderlands are implicitly hopeful, because they light up neighbourhoods during darker months, and remind us of our shared humanity. I wanted to make that message explicit for 2026.” 

One of the touchstones of the organisation is that anyone can be a maker. To facilitate this, artist Tracey English has designed a template of a simple image, called “A Thing with Feathers,” after the poem by Emily Dickinson. It is designed to be easy for people who are not confident art makers to create something really beautiful. 

Image: Bristol Window Wanderland, credit Khalid Khan 

Festivals will take place on various dates from January to March 2026 in communities across England, and even in the Netherlands. 

In keeping with the theme of Hope, Lucy and a group of students from Bristol City College’s Creative Therapeutic Practice degree course have collaborated with Bristol Mind to bring creative workshops to people seeking sanctuary in temporary accommodation in the city. Sparks, the sustainability, creativity & education hub, in Central Bristol will be playing host to a collaborative window display made during those workshops. Community Interest Company, One Green Kitchen and family workshops will lead to a co-created piece to be displayed at the Watershed. 

As part of the project, which is partly-funded by Arts Council England, Lucy and the small team at Window Wanderland are bringing together organisers from five communities in England  (Meanwood, Alcester, Eastcott, Shepton Mallet and Bishopston) for a series of meetings and mentoring sessions to share their experiences, support each other under the guidance of the Window Wanderland team and create their own trails for Hope under the shared banner. The project is all about celebrating co-created culture and making art accessible to everyone.

One of these organisers, Jaine Blackman from Eastcott Community Centre in Swindon said, “When I put it to our trustees that we would be theming this year’s festival around Hope, they agreed immediately. It’s such a positive message to take forward and share.” 

The trail is not only a nation-wide campaign, but will have international representation in the Netherlands. Dawn Heuff, organiser of the Leidschendam, NL, festival said “I love the idea of Window Wanderland festivals all over the UK and beyond, bringing communities together to shine a collective light in the darkness of a winter evening. It’s such a positive event!” 

You can find out more at www.windowwanderland.com, where there are full instructions for making a Window Wanderland happen in your street, block of flats, school or community of any size.