Overview

Hacky Racers is a series of Hackathon-style events that blend puppetry, animatronics, and semi-autonomous rovers. Hacky Racers is for young people aged 12-18 years old.

The programme will consist of a one-day intensive workshop on 22 November 2025, supported by three 1.5-hour online evening sessions.

These sessions will explore:

3D printing
Puppetry and animatronics, and
The design and construction of semi-autonomous RC rovers.

Hacky Racers will finish with a public race event on 29 November 2025 which showcases participants’ creations.

About the project partners

CoCreate+

CoCreate+ is a social venture led by Leon Barker that originated at University of Arts London with the aim of creating experiential learning modules for people of all ages. CoCreate+ was founded in 2025, and Leon Barker has previously presented work at Venice Bienalle, and worked with London Fashion Week, Punchdrunk, Les Enfants Terribles, Hitatchi, Science Museum London, Google, and more.

What are Micro-Commissions for Newham?

In December 2024 Culture Within Newham launched a new micro-commissioning scheme for grants of up to £1,000. The first round offered commissions to artists and organisations in the Green Street, East Ham, Manor Park, and Little Ilford areas. The second round of commissions was for Custom House, Beckton, and Royal Albert/North Woolwich. The third round offered micro-commissions of up to £3,000 to projects in all of the areas listed above.

The micro-commissions aim to support new ideas, providing an opportunity to build experience in delivering artistic or creative projects. Meet the rest of the Micro-Commissions on their dedicated project page.