Super Slow Way

What Super Slow Way does

Super Slow Way is a community-led arts organisation founded in 2015 and headquartered in Blackburn, United Kingdom. It operates as Arts Council England's designated Creative People & Places lead body for East Lancashire, delivering creative, collaborative projects along a 20-mile stretch of the Leeds & Liverpool Canal corridor covering Pendle, Burnley, Hyndburn, and Blackburn. The organisation's purpose is to engage people with little or no prior experience of subsidised arts, using Community Assemblies as the primary mechanism for shaping local programming alongside commissioned artists. Since founding, it has delivered more than 100 projects engaging over 400,000 participants.

The organisation's core offering is a portfolio of artist residencies, community events, neighbourhood creative initiatives, and the British Textile Biennial festival (a sub-brand founded by Director Laurie Peake in 2017, which has scaled to 32 exhibitions across 19 venues). It does not develop technology products and has no proprietary software or AI components; the 'product' is human-curated community programming. Distribution is direct through in-person delivery along the canal corridor and via a website (superslowway.org.uk), social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram), and email newsletter.

Super Slow Way is a non-profit funded primarily through Arts Council England grants (£1 million awarded in 2017 and a further £1 million in October 2025 for the 2026-2029 period), supplemented by National Lottery, UK Government, and local authority funding (Blackburn with Darwen, Burnley, Hyndburn, Pendle, Lancashire County Council). Participation in programmes is free of charge; the organisation does not sell services. Governance is provided by a Consortium of local partners under Super Slow Way Ltd with an Independent Chair. The team of approximately 15 is led by founder and Chief Executive Laurie Peake, who received an MBE in January 2026 for services to the community.

Name

Super Slow Way

Legal name

Super Slow Way Ltd

Website

https://superslowway.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Super Slow Way is a UK non-profit arts organisation in Blackburn delivering Arts Council England's Creative People & Places programme along the Leeds & Liverpool Canal corridor in East Lancashire, serving communities with low arts engagement through artist residencies, community events, and the British Textile Biennial.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Arts and Cultural Development

NAICS

Historical Sites (71212), Nature Parks and Other Similar Institutions (71219)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Museum & Landmark Guided Tours (Skip-the-line/Docent-led) (THAJAAAC)

Keywords

• Community arts programmes
• Arts council funding
• Cultural development
• Artist residencies
• Community engagement

Headquarters

HQ city

Blackburn

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Arts Council England Funding: Primary funding from Arts Council England as part of the Creative People & Places programme. Awarded £1 million to continue the programme from 2026-2029. Additional funding from National Lottery and UK Government.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Super Slow Way is a non-profit arts organisation that delivers community-led creative projects, artist residencies, Community Assemblies and cultural events along the Leeds & Liverpool Canal corridor in Pennine Lancashire. It runs the Creative People & Places programme for East Lancashire on behalf of Arts Council England, commissions artists to work in local neighbourhoods, and operates related initiatives such as the British Textile Biennial and canal-side placemaking projects like Making The Slow Way Super! and the Exbury Egg. Programmes are provided free to community participants and funded primarily through Arts Council England grants.

Product overview

Super Slow Way is an arts programme based in East Lancashire, founded in 2015 as one of Arts Council England's Creative People & Places projects. It is not a technology product company but rather a cultural/organizational programme that delivers creative, collaborative, constructive projects in neighborhoods. The organization operates a portfolio of projects and initiatives including artist residencies, community events, the British Textile Biennial, and environmental installations along the Leeds & Liverpool Canal corridor. The core offering consists of community engagement through arts and culture, rather than a software or technology product.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• British Textile Biennial: A major arts festival inspired by Lancashire's textile legacy, founded by Laurie Peake in 2017, delivering exhibitions across multiple venues in the region.
• Creative People & Places
• This is Nelson

Products and services

• Creative People & Places Programme The flagship community-led arts programme funded by Arts Council England under the Creative People & Places banner, delivering creative, collaborative, constructive projects in neighbourhoods along the Leeds & Liverpool Canal corridor in Pennine Lancashire. Aimed at people with little or no experience of the traditionally subsidised arts sector in Pendle, Burnley, Hyndburn and Blackburn.
• Artist Residencies

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 400,000 participants engaged across projects over 10 years
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.

• British Textile BiennialcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRelated organisation founded by Super Slow Way Director Laurie Peake in 2017. Delivers exhibitions and events celebrating Lancashire's textile legacy. Most recent edition: 32 exhibitions across 19 venues with 100+ artists.
• In-situflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-commissioned artist Dana Olărescu's Taste of Transformation project as part of This is Nelson initiative.
• Youth WorkscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with young people from Marsden Heights hosting community meals as part of Dana Olărescu's Taste of Transformation residency.
• idle womencoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTouring arts centre navigating the Leeds & Liverpool canal in partnership with Super Slow Way, working with women between Blackburn and Barrowford. Hosts artists-in-residence, workshops and events.
• Canal & River TrustcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership supporting the development of Leeds & Liverpool Canal corridor.
• Creative People & Places ConsortiumcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorConsortium of local partners guiding strategic direction and governance of the Creative People & Places programme. Super Slow Way serves as lead body under Super Slow Way Ltd.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Activate (Corby): One of the original Creative People & Places projects alongside Super Slow Way, delivering community-led arts in a similarly economically deprived area. Highly comparable as a sibling CPP programme with the same funder relationship and community engagement model.
• Helix Arts: UK arts charity focused on community engagement and creative placemaking in the North East of England. Comparable as a regional non-profit arts organisation delivering participatory programmes to underserved communities, with similar grant dependency and community-assembly-style engagement.
• Heart of Glass: St Helens-based community arts organisation focused on collaborative artist-led projects with local residents. Comparable model of commissioning artists to work with underserved communities and delivering cultural programmes as a non-profit with public funding.
• People United: Kent-based arts and social change charity using creative practice to build community cohesion. Similar non-profit community arts model with grant funding, focus on underserved populations, and artist-residency delivery model.
• metal (Southend): Arts organisation based in Southend-on-Sea delivering artist residencies, community programmes, and cultural events. Comparable as a place-based UK arts charity running residencies and participatory programmes with public funding.
• Curious Arts: North East England arts charity producing arts programmes and festivals for communities. Comparable community-focused arts non-profit with grant funding and participatory delivery.

Broad incumbents

• Canal & River Trust: The charity that cares for the Leeds & Liverpool Canal and other UK waterways. Comparable as a partner organisation with shared geographic focus on the same canal corridor, though its scope (2,000 miles of waterways) and core mission (heritage and wellbeing) are much broader than Super Slow Way's arts-led programming.

Others

• Arts Council England: Primary funder of Super Slow Way through the Creative People & Places programme. Not a peer but the key ecosystem stakeholder whose funding strategy directly determines Super Slow Way's operating model and trajectory.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Superslowway
• Facebookfacebook.com/superslowway
• Instagraminstagram.com/superslowway
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/super-slow-way

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Super Slow Way