Announcing Oxfordshire Artweeks 2026: Over 1000 artists to open their studios & showcase their art in 350 venues this May

Oxfordshire Artweeks, the UK’s oldest and biggest open studios and pop-up exhibition event, returns this year for three weeks in May (2nd-25th). The festival showcases the art of over local 1000 artists, including more than 200 who are new to the festival for 2026. These range from world-class painters, sculptors, ceramicists, photographers and silversmiths to the talented and enthusiastic members of many Oxfordshire community groups. For 2026, artists include two competitors from Sky Arts Landscape Artist of the Year and a finalist from Sky Arts Portrait of the Year.

As the county’s creatives open their doors and offer a warm welcome, visitors are invited to explore art, for free, in 350 artist’s studios, potteries and galleries, houses and gardens, churches, and several schools. Other fascinating venues include Pitt Rivers Museum, the University of Oxford’s new Schwarzman Centre for Humanities, Dorchester Abbey, The Vale and Downland Museum, and Oxford Brewery. Visitors might expect to find a hidden studio in Hurst Street, East Oxford that’s home to 200-year old printing presses, a workshop in Banbury dedicated to bringing the magical Victorian photographic processes to life and a (converted) pigsty packed with dramatic paintings inspired by the Renaissance.

Artists and makers working with paint, clay, textiles, fabric, glass, metal and more will be showcasing their talents, explaining their materials and, often, demonstrating their methods. Visitors will be able to see, touch and talk about tens of thousands of pieces of art and craft, and uncover the stories of their inspiration.

The work on show will include Oxfordshire landscapes from Otmoor to the 4000-year old Rollright Stones whilst other art that delve into the county’s history. Amongst Oxford scenes, gargoyles and grotesques, a series of photographs delve into Bartlemas Leper Hospital’s past and its continuing impact on the local landscape and society to celebrate the 900th anniversary of its founding.

Taking visitors further afield, visitors can travel further afield to the Outer Hebrides and Paris, Morocco, China, and even Atlantis through the eyes of Oxfordshire artists. It’s an opportunity to explore eco-pigments from the local landscape and revel in the colour of architectural stained glass, be wowed by optical illusions designed into furniture, revisit the animals of the Ashmolean in the clean lines of an Oxfordshire printmaker and discover comical cats infiltrating William Morris’ designs. There’s even a series of work, the history of art as told by toothbrushes!

There’s so much to see whether you’re an art expert, enthusiast or simply curious. Where will you go first?

Notes to editors: Oxfordshire Artweeks 2 -25 May 2026

Each week is different:

SOUTH OXFORDSHIRE 2 – 10 MAY

NORTH & WEST OXFORDSHIRE 9 – 17 MAY OXFORD CITY 16 – 25 MAY

The Artweeks festival is Oxfordshire’s largest visual arts festival and the UK’s oldest and biggest artist open studios and pop-up exhibitions event. In May each year, this three- week not-for-profit celebration of the county’s artistic and creative talent encompasses the visual arts in their broadest sense. Including those participating in commercial galleries and community groups, around 2000 artists, makers and designers open the doors to their homes and studios or take part in pop-up exhibitions and welcome the public to see their creations and watch them work – over 100,000 people visit Artweeks exhibitions each year, an estimated £1,000,000 of art changes hands, and tens of thousands of pounds are generated for a whole host of charities.

 

For further press information, high res images, area-specific details within Oxfordshire, feature ideas, and a swift response, contact Festival Director Esther Lafferty [email protected]