Culture

The idea for an open studios event was brought from the US four decades ago and the first Artweek in the UK was held in Oxford, simply as a small local event. Since then, millions of visitors have enjoyed the friendly welcome of local artists: now the festival encompasses the whole of Oxfordshire and it is a model which has been copied across the country.

Boni Adeliyi stands at the front of The Theatre Chipping Norton stage, reeling off a plethora of names from Black history. It’s possibly the most transfixing moment from Katori Hall’s

Eat, drink, shop exquisite British craft and get involved in craft workshops, demonstrations and talk programs in the historic setting of Waterperry Gardens.

This week sees a new adaptation of Austen’s novel Persuasion coming to Oxford and it looks set to follow in the tradition of awesome updates of the author’s classic works.

Actress and singer Clare Grogan has enduring appeal. As an actress, her cross-generational fanbase was established by appearances in both 80s classic Gregory’s Girl, and in the 2010s by her role in the seminal C4 show, Skins.

Mental health has been prominent subject matter within the film industry, often exploited and stigmatised to drive a story, mental health was a misunderstood trope that amounted to nothing more than people going mad and doing bad things.

I was fortunate to watch Paul Oz creating one of his dramatic, textural oil paintings a few years ago at the Cheltenham Food & Drink Festival.

After stepping back from the day-to-day running of Amazing Face, following a severe injury to her head, Emma Hardie has continued to flex her considerable creative talents and is now to be found in a small studio, just up from Summertown’s leafy main shopping area.