HOLD SPACE POETRY FESTIVAL

The Crypt Gallery & Make Poetry Weird Again present

HOLD SPACE FESTIVAL

Seven days of experimental poetry in a Church of England crypt during Holy Week

Venue:  The Crypt Gallery, 165 Euston Road, London NW1 2BA

Dates:  1–7 April 2026  ·  Holy Week

Entry:  Free throughout  ·  Workshops free with booking

Presented by:  The Crypt Gallery & Make Poetry Weird Again

Make Poetry Weird Again will take up residence at The Crypt Gallery for seven consecutive days across Holy Week 2026. The programme brings together evening performances, experimental writing workshops, live podcast recordings, open mic sessions, and a collective risograph zine built page by page across the week; launched at a closing show on Easter Tuesday. Entry is free throughout.

The festival is an exercise in holding space: for work that much like Saint Pancras for voices that refuse to be quiet, and for the irreducible strangeness of making poetry in the vaults of a working church.

THE VENUE

The Crypt Gallery sits beneath St Pancras New Church on Euston Road; a working Church of England site, Grade I listed, designed by William and Henry William Inwood and completed in 1822. Until 1854 it served as a burial ground. During the Second World War it was an air raid shelter. Its vaulted stone chambers, extraordinary acoustics, and charged history make it one of London’s most unusual arts venues, and a fitting home for a week of poetry that refuses easy comfort. The space is shared with the remain of 557 of the departed.

THE RESIDENT POETS

Following an open submissions period, five poets have been selected to work in the space across the full seven days. They will have uninterrupted access to the crypt to develop new work for the page and for performance, make films and recordings, and present in the evening shows. The public will be present throughout the residency is not a retreat but an exposure.

The resident poets will be announced on the 22^nd March 2026 across The Crypt Gallery and Make Poetry Weird Again Social media platforms.

THE PROGRAMME

The dates coincide with Holy Week. Good Friday falls on 3 April, Holy Saturday on 4 April, Easter Sunday on 5 April. The programme does not shy away from the significance of the timing. Good Friday is zine day and an open mic. Easter Sunday is Queer Voices Day.

Opening Times 10-9pm

Day 1  —  Wed 1 Apr  Residency opening · set-up and intentions · evening social

Day 2  —  Thurs 2 Apr  Residency · podcast recordings · Wordspace workshop · evening performance

Day 4  —  Fri 3 Apr (Good Friday)  Residency · live podcast recordings · Zine Day· Good Friday Open Mic

Day 5  —  Sat 4 Apr (Holy Saturday)  Residency · penance tea ceremony and penance workshop · podcast recordings · · evening performance

Day 5  —  Sun 5 Apr (Easter Sunday — Queer Voices Day)  Residency · Alexia Chrysostomou workshop podcast recording · Saying the Unsayable workshop

Day 6  —  Monday 6 Apr  Residency · zine workshops · podcast · Good Friday open mic

• Voices of Ukraine evening charity fundraiser

Day 7  —  Tues 7 Apr (Easter Tuesday)  Closing · podcast recording · zine assembly and distro · closing performance · set-down

All evening performances are free and open to the public with some of the most boundary pushing and exciting poets, performance artists and spoken word legends coming. Workshops are free with booking required (capacity 12–15 per session). The collective zine will be risograph-printed in two colours and launched free at the closing show on Tuesday 7 April.

ABOUT THE ORGANISERS

The Crypt Gallery

The Crypt Gallery is an independent arts space located beneath St Pancras New Church, 165 Euston Road, London NW1 2BA. It hosts contemporary and experimental work across visual art, performance, and live events. Their vital work has been taking place for decades, quietly becoming one of London’s secret gems.

Make Poetry Weird Again

Make Poetry Weird Again is a queer and experimental poetry podcast based in North London, founded in 2025 by Nols Nathankski poet, performer, and podcast producer. The podcast champions surreal, formally adventurous, and sublime poetry that refuses to ask for permission. It has approximately 80 episodes since it’s inception, entirely focusing as a microcosm of the London Poetry Scene and was featured in Stars and Stripes in March 2026. Hold Space Festival builds toward the podcast’s first full festival, planned for September 2026.

NOTES TO EDITORS

• High-resolution images and further information are available on request.
• Interview requests and press enquiries: nols@makepoetryweirdagain