Upcoming UK Art Festivals in 2022
Art festivals, street fairs, open studios and small exhibitions provide the public with excellent cultural events to view and buy art work, with the bonus of being a lovely day out.
They are a great way to buy art directly from the artists themselves and having so many artists in one place means there is a wide variety of art to view and choose from.
Each art festival caters for a different audience, from local art festivals held in villages and small towns to the large-scale events, hosting international works. Some include live music, or workshops, whilst others are more focused on talks or exhibitions.
What all festivals have in common is that they are a celebration of art and involve a mix of events spread out over a number of days, often held in a variety of venues in the area.
Art festivals differ from art fairs as they are usually more informal events, held across multiple locations, and can include outdoor and street spaces. These events tend to be cultural events aimed at the general public to bring them in closer contact with artists. By contrast art fairs are usually shows where art businesses, consultants, curators and collectors come to see new art, new artists and trends. These events tend to be held in one indoor venue. Art fairs are great events for the public to view multiple works and collections held by galleries in one space and are excellent events for artists to network with both public and industry professionals alike. Please see my blog post about upcoming UK art fairs to find out more.
In this blog post I have listed the main noteworthy art festivals throughout the UK in 2022. Dates and ticket prices are correct at the time of writing, but please check the Art Fair’s website for current details.
March - Art Festivals
Sonica Glasgow 2022, Scotland
10th to 20th March 2022
Sonica is an 11-day biennial festival dedicated to visual sonic arts, presenting over 85 international and UK-based artists in a series of venues throughout Glasgow. There will be over 200 events, with a particular focus on contemporary French artists, alongside established and emerging Scottish talent.
Tickets can be purchased here
May - Art Festivals
Fringe Arts Bath (FaB), Somerset
27th May to 12th June 2022
The Fringe Arts Bath (FaB) festival is a two-week festival of contemporary visual art exhibitions, events and workshops. This festival seeks to provide opportunities for early-career and emerging artists. FaB is free to attend and is held in a number of unusual places across the city, including empty shops, and open-air streets around Bath.
More details will be published here.
Upfest 2022, Bristol
5th May to 29th May 2022
Upfest is a street art festival held in Bedminster, Bristol. Expect to see some amazing murals emerge throughout the streets, with Tobacco Factory and Ashton Gate Stadium acting as a focus for a number of activities and events, such as live art painting and music, with an excellent range of festival food, crafts and clothing stalls.
More details can be found here
June - Art Festivals
Aldeburgh Festival, Suffolk
3rd June to 26th June 2022
Held at Snape Maltings, Aldeburgh Festival, is one of Europe’s leading classical music events that is now in its 73rd year. Alongside the music events, this festival is also a celebration the arts. This year includes the ‘Britten and Women’ talk and exhibitions by Paul Benney, Laurence Edwards, Kiki Smith Benney and others, with a common theme centred on the environment and the human form.
More details can be found here.
Leeds Arts University End of Year Show, Yorkshire
7th June to 11th June 2022
Leeds Arts University End of Year Show is not an art festival as such, but is a great celebration of the universities art students and is a unique opportunity to go behind the scenes at Leeds College of Art to explore the artworks and open studios. Much of the student’s artwork is also available for sale. More details can be found here.
The Leeds Arts University End of Year Show is not the only university to have an end of year show. RCA, Goldsmiths, Chelsea College of Art, and Glasgow School of Art all have such events and it is worth keeping an eye on dates for their equivalent events.
EA Festival, Castle Hedingham, Essex
11th June to 12th June 2022
The EA Festival is a cultural festival held in the historic setting of Hedingham Castle in rural Essex. This festival presents the leading performers from a number of cultural mediums, including, music, visual arts, moving image, poetry, media and books. This includes talks from the renowned artist Maggi Hambling and Frances Morris, the Director of Tate Modern.
Tickets can be purchased here.
Burnham Art Trail, Essex
18th June 2022 to 25th June 2022
The Burnham Art Trail is held at the Burnham Museum, shops, studios and quayside and other venues throughout this historic riverside Essex town. Artworks cover a number of genres including painters, photographers, sculptors, potters, carvers, jewellers, textiles and print makers.
More details will be made available here closer to event.
The Harwich Festival of the Arts 2022, Essex
22th June to 3rd July 2022
The Harwich Festival is a 10-day arts festival in Harwich, Essex. This festival is held at venues such as the Harwich Arts & Heritage Centre, St Nicholas’ Church, the Bandstand at Cliff Park and other smaller venues throughout the town. The festival will include a range of artworks, public art installations and Art Trails, together with music, and dance events.
Further details will be published here.
Southwold Arts Festival 2022, Suffolk
25th June to 2nd July 2022
The Southwold Arts Festival is an 8-day celebration of the arts in this picturesque seaside town. This festival includes events focused on music, drama, poetry, visual art, photography, dance, talks and literature. This festival will include works from emerging and established artists.
More details can be found here.
July - Art Festivals
Patchings Festival of Art, Craft & Design, Nottinghamshire
July 14th to 17th July 2022
The Patchings Festival of Art, Craft & Design is a long-established event that is now in its 29th year. This event is held at the Patchings Art Centre in Calverton, Nottinghamshire over 4-days. The event hosts over 250 artists, photographers, craft makers and designers and includes a number of workshops.
Tickets can be purchased here.
Edinburgh Art Festival, Scotland
28th July to 28th August 2022
The Edinburgh Art Festival is a month-long programme of events centred on the city’s leading galleries, museums, production facilities and artist-run spaces. The festival showcases international and UK artists alongside emerging artists. This event includes a special programme of newly commissioned artworks that respond to public and historic sites in the city. It also includes bespoke tours, workshops and projects for community groups and organisations. The majority of events are free to attend.
More details can be found here.
August - Art Festivals
Pittenweem Arts Festival, Fife, Scotland
6th August to 13th August 2022
The Pittenweem Arts Festival in East Neuk of Fife is a visual arts festival held in a variety of venues from galleries, homes, studios and other spaces throughout the village of Pittenweem. This festival hosts around 100 artists from all over the UK, and alongside the exhibitions, includes workshops, talks, children’s events and evening performances.
More details can be held here.
Freedom Festival 2022, Kingston-Upon-Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire
26th August to 4th September 2022
The Freedom Festival is held around the Streets and venues of Kingston-Upon-Hull. This festival hosts artists from across the world, and includes circus performances, visual arts exhibitions, digital arts, debates, talks, street theatre and music. This festivals is aimed at all age groups.
More details can be found here.
Arundel Festive of Arts, West Sussex
August 2022
The Arundel Festive of Arts is a festival of visual arts, drama, music, dance, comedy and street entertainment from both local and national artists. The festival also includes the Arundel Gallery Trail, which has been running for over 30 years.
Further details and dates will be confirmed here.
September - Art Festivals
Leigh Art Trail, Essex
3rd September to 11th September 2022
The Leigh Art Trail will be celebrating its 25th year in 2022. This 8-day art trail seeks to promote the artworks of its members, guest artists and that of the wider community, through events held in shops, galleries, studios and cafes throughout Leigh-on-Sea in Essex. The genres on display range from painting, sculpture, photography, embroidery, and mixed media.
More details will become available here.
Wirksworth Arts Festival, Derbyshire
9th September to 18th September 2022
Wirksworth Arts Festival is a contemporary art festival in the Derbyshire Dales that has been running for over 25 years. This festival is held in over 70 venues across the town, featuring over 150 artists and designers.
More details can be found here.
London Design Festival
17th to 25th September 2022
London Design Festival has been running since 2003. This festival has over 600,000 visitors and brings together artists and designers from across the world. This festival will feature a number of exhibitions across the City, including Tin Drum’s new installation, Medusa, in The Raphael Court at the Victoria & Albert Museum. Also the ‘Bring London Together’ public art project that unleashes colour onto pedestrian crossings around Tottenham Court Road and in the City, and Faye Greenwood's Designpost, which celebrates the Walthamstow’s design and craft community, its wetland and relationship with William Morris and the Arts and Crafts movement.
More details can be found here.
The Royston Arts Festival, Hertfordshire
23rd to 25th September 2022
The Royston Arts Festival has been running since 1982. This festival provides an opportunity to view and purchase paintings from local artists in the Hertfordshire, Essex and Cambridgeshire area. The festival includes family activities, art exhibitions, crafting, photography and live music and is often based around a theme. The theme for this year’s festival is ‘Circle of Life’.
More details about this festival can be found here.
Somerset Art Weeks
24th September to 9th October 2022
The Somerset Open Studios and Festival Events are an annual countywide celebration of the variety and quality of contemporary visual arts and crafts that can be found in Somerset.
Somerset Art Weeks has been running since 1994 and showcases the work of over 300 local artists, with a variety of venues and pop-up locations across Somerset hosting a number of exhibitions. The venues include galleries, studios, and creative spaces. Each year there is festival theme, which for 2022 is ‘Sanctuary’.
For more information about the events, please read here.
Bournemouth Arts by the Sea Festival, Dorset
30th September to 2nd October 2022
Arts by the Sea festival is an annual arts festival held in Bournemouth. This festival is a carnivalesque celebration across the town, covering many forms of art, including a diverse programme of music, art and dance and site-specific installations.
More details can be found here.
October - Art Festivals
Canterbury Festival, Kent
15th October to 29th October 2022
The Canterbury Festival is a two-week international visual arts festival programme covering music, talks, family events, and science events. All forms of art are represented, including traditional media, photography, sound, video, ceramics, digital art, amongst others.
The events are focused on Canterbury, with events in Whitstable, Faversham and Margate. Venues range from Canterbury Cathedral to artist studios.
More details will be made available here.
I hope you have found this blog post helpful. If you know of an Art Festival you think I should include, you can email me at [email protected].
