Open for Art is Reading’s largest town centre celebration of visual art, showcasing established artists as well as groups we work with throughout the year. There will be 12 days of creativity giving you the opportunity to try out one of our workshops, many of which are free and discover art throughout the town. We encourage everyone to get involved.

‘Impact’ is the theme for this year's festival.

How does art impact you?

Do you know what your environmental impact is?

How will you impact your town?

What impact can your art have on the local and global community?

As always, we will be bringing together a diverse range of artists to share their work with you, highlighting many unusual spaces in the town and how they can be used creatively.

Funded by Arts Council England

Friday 21 June to Tuesday 2 July

We will be announcing more news and ways to get involved soon about our Open for Art Festival. In the meantime make sure you are signed up to our newsletter to get updates straight to your inbox - click here to sign up to our newsletter

More info coming soon…

Highlights from Open for Art 2023

In 2023, we created an Open for Art map to highlight our trail of 14 venues hosting 16 artists' work and 16 events including walks, talks, exhibitions, residencies and workshops.

Exhibiting artists were Associate Artists members and our Jelly workshop leaders.

If you are a venue in Reading town centre and would like to be a part of Open for Art in the form please get in contact b y filling out our form below

ThoroughFayre on Saturday 1 July 2023 was a day filled with free art activities celebrating our town's heritage and culture that took place during Jelly's Open for Art festival 2023.

The events took place on Düsseldorf Way and Hosier St - the thoroughfare connecting two of Reading’s High Street Heritage Action Zones: Oxford Rd (from the IDR Bridge to the Bridge at Lidl), St Mary’s Butts, and Castle St Conservation Area.

Art workshops led by photographer John Angerson and artists Julie Calce, Laura de Moxom, Kit Yan Chong, Cheri Clayton and Pat Lewis were inspired by Reading's High Street Heritage Action Zones. The event also featured an art market with Reading Indie Market, showcasing the artwork by local artists and designers, a Reading Urban Sketchers @rdgUrbansketchers workshop and a Dance Jam with Dance Reading - a charity passionately committed to making dance accessible to all.

We extend our thanks to the amazing sponsors, supporters and venues who made this event possible: Blue Collar Corner, Broad St Mall, Dance Reading, Reading Borough Council, Reading Indie Market, Reading Urban Sketchers, and the generous funding from Arts Council England, HM Government, Historic England, and National Lottery Heritage Fund.

We are incredibly grateful for the collective effort that made ThoroughFayre such a success,

Flimed by Matt Hulse Photographs by John Angerson