From 3-26 May the annual Oxfordshire Artweeks festival bursts into life, with bright flags and bunting popping up in unexpected rural spots across the county. They signal the many art spaces where artists and makers are welcoming you to discover their art and their studios. It’s a chance to see the creative talent that’s often hidden away to meet the artist, to see what they create, their materials and methods, and chat about their work and inspiration. You might even get the chance to have a go yourself. It’s completely free, so all you need is a touch of curiosity.
The venues include manor houses, magnificent churches, historic barns with quirky beams, gorgeous gardens, and hidden spots with spectacular views of the Oxfordshire landscape. Across the county you’ll find a mixture of open studios and pop-up exhibitions. Pop-up exhibitions are an easy way to discover the hidden talent of a collection of artists in a single space, whilst a visit to an artist’s studio can offer a more in-depth insight into an artist’s practice and it’s a more intimate experience.
Entering a studio is like opening a window into an artist’s world to see the way they work, their materials, their tools, their processes, sketchbooks and their work in progress. In this almost mythical space the real and the imagined, great ideas and quiet reflection are drawn together with an artist’s chosen craft and incredible skill. You can see incredible creations in all kinds of materials, on canvas, through a lens, from the traditional to the contemporary and multidisciplinary, and you’ll find beauty, both aesthetically and in the way that art can makes us feel or think.
The festival isn’t just about painting and decorative wall art; it encompasses everything from fashion to furniture. There’s glimmering glass art and tactile textiles, ceramics and sculpture, wood-carving, silversmithing, printmaking, photography, mosaics and more. Simply check the opening dates and times and then drop in to see what treasure you can find.
To help you get started – although it was no mean feat to choose – we’ve cherry-picked a mixture of great secret studios and amazing venues, from the little to the large, and all of them have other crackers nearby…
Week One: Oxford
1) Venue 68: 18 Walton Street, Jericho OX1 2HQ: A secret Jericho studio where three figurative painters and print artists (Ruth Swain, Claire Venables and Artweeks first-timer Carole Grant-Garwood ) showing their work from still life to the delightfully quirky.
Venue 68: 18 Walton Street, Jericho OX1 2HQ
2) Venue 69: 156 Walton Street, Oxford OX1 2HD: Opposite you’ll find a hidden Jericho gallery, run by curator Akiko Nakaji, who is presenting striking and thoughtful mixed media works by popular local artist Emma Davis.
3) Venue 124; Robin Wilson (see below), Richard Lawrence and Rosie Fairfaz-Cholmeley, 50 Hurst Street, Oxford OX4 1HD: Packed with prints, books, maps, cards and more, 50 Hurst Street, is a charming working print studio with archaic machinery on show hidden away in the heart of East Oxford
4) Venue 138; 7 Tree Lane, Iffley, OX4 4EY: Exquisite etchings, relief prints and pastel drawings by Sally Levell, Morna Rhys and Lizzie Wheeler in an off-the-beaten track basement gallery in Iffley village.
5) Venue 144: 140A Oxford Road, Littlemore (within the ring road) OX4 4QP:In a garden studio, and in pen and ink, Lorraine Berkshire-Roe invites you to step into an Oxford populated with the imagination.
6) Venue 127-129: 74-77 Magdalen Road, East Oxford OX4 1RE:On nearby Magdalen Road, three artists are exhibiting in the event room at Caper Bookshop which is accessed – like Narnia - through a door hidden in a wardrobe. Once inside, you’ll find ceramics by Lucy Ballard, designer jewellery by Chloe Romanos and Karina Tarin’s painting inspired by our mythical past.
7) Venue 83: 14a Osney Lane, OX1 1NJ: OVADA is a cool edgy warehouse gallery tucked away close to the river beyond Oxford castle. They are hosting an exhibition called Queue, the result of an open call where artists were asked to ‘get in line.’
8) Venue 84: Pembroke College JCR Art Gallery, 5 Brewer Street OX1 1QN:With fifty photos chosen from over 1,000 entries, the photography exhibition What is your Oxford at Pembroke College, Oxford offers a fascinating snapshot of what people who live here feel represents their city.
Week 2: South Oxfordshire and the Vale of White Horse
9) Venue 195: 82 Grove Street, Wantage, OX12 7BH: In the heart of Wantage, interior designer Bahar Murphy’s garden studio is a fascinating small space with bursting with big ideas and bright colours.
10) Venue 201: Lime Tree Cottage, Garford OX13 5PF: In the quiet village of Garford, between Abingdon and Wantage, find giant heads and other sleek sculpture in bronze by Beatrice Hoffman as well as ceramic works produced by the students at her Oxford sculpture workshops.
11) Venue 204: Pear Tree Cottage, 7 Packhorse Lane, Marcham, OX13 6NT: In the centre of Marcham, Phillipa Stacey’s two-storey white-washed studio is an Aladdin’s cave of colourful kiln-fused glass, mostly inspired by the natural world.
12) Venue 209-215: 30 East St Helen Street, Abingdon OX14 5EB: St Ethelwold’s House in Abingdon, is an old sanctuary with a garden that leads down to the Thames. For Artweeks it is hosting nine different artists in several art spaces, over the ten days.
13) Venue 228: 8 The Green, Culham OX14 4LZ: Charlotte Storr’s work (below) can be found in a rural pottery studio and greenhouse gallery in a garden inspired by Dutch garden designer Piet Oudolf.
14) Venue 242: Clumps Orchard, Little Wittenham OX14 4RE: In an orchard at the foot of the Wittenham Clumps, Liz Gascoigne’s glorious barn galley will be bursting with large contemporary abstracts in rich and spring colour.
15) Venue 318-324: Westfield House, 31 Shirburn Street, Watlington OX49 5BU: In Watlington, we suggest starting at the home gallery of Alexandra Browne whose hand-painted ceramic tiles ooze the elegance and sophistication. She has invited six other artists to join her.
16) Venue 271: Aldworth, nr Goring-on-Thames: In St Mary’s Church in Aldworth you’ll find a lovely variety of art amongst the ‘Aldworth Giants’, nine life-size stone statues that lie like sleeping knights of the Round Table.
Week 3: North and West Oxfordshire
17) Venue 458: Barn Studio, Lindsell House, Sheep Street, Charlbury OX7 3RR: Di Gold’s studio can be found in the heart of Charlbury – a popular Artweeks walking trail. Here, too, you’ll find ceramics by Mary Ann Robertson.
18) Venue 509: Little Owl Studio, Horton Lane, Milcombe OX15 4RG: In Milcombe, Ronny Loxton’s historic studio alongside her pretty cottage is a real find. It’s the perfect spot for her paintings and it smells delicious because Ronny also makes natural soap.
19) Venue 487: Dower House Cottage, Dunthrop Road, Heythrop, Chipping Norton OX7 5TL: Over in Heyford near Chipping Norton, ceramicist Tamsin Levine, painter Jane Cassidy and jeweller Elly Dunford-Wood are exhibiting sweeping abstracted paintings stylish Raku ceramics and quirky delicate jewellery.
20) Venue 465: Ranger’s Lodge, Hatching Lane, Charlbury OX7 3HL: For exquisite and unusual gold and silver jewellery (see below), often with gemstones, Sarah Pulvertaft’s initimate studio is hidden amongst the trees on the Cornbury Park estate.
21) Venue 401: 7 Pigeon House Lane, Freeland OX29 8AG: The countryside garden gallery of engaging brother and sister duo Jane and Paul Tomlinson (Freeland near Eynsham) is a breath of fresh air. Packed with colour and charm, animals and architecture, landscapes and maps, and even jigsaws.
22) Venue 415-417: 100 High Street, Witney OX28 6HL: New for 2025, The Old Blanket Hall in Witney will host three artists exhibiting their very different textile art – from exquisite wildlife brooches to felted Cotswold view - alongside the old machinery in this historic building.
23) Venue 524: Church Lane, Cropredy OX17 1NQ: Also new for 2025, St Mary the Virgin Church in Cropredy, a listed 14th century building, is hosting artists working in many different media.
24) Venue 528: Warden Hill Farm, Banbury, OX17 1AJ: Nestled right up close to the county boundary at Warden Hill near Banbury, the very last venue in the Artweeks festival guide is Cool Contours, a stunning spot with sweeping rural views and great art by seventeen local artists.
For more information on these and hundreds of other venues, visit artweeks.org
