Open for Art
Open for Art is Reading’s largest town centre celebration of all things creative. Making, dancing, painting, filming. We are open to all of it.
During the festival we showcase creative groups and organisations that we work with throughout the year. We celebrate individual artists and creators, working with businesses to host pieces of artwork for all to see, creating an artist trail for the town. The festival is the perfect time to try out one of our workshops, many of which are free, we encourage everyone to get involved.
As always, we will bring together a diverse range of creators to share their work with you, highlighting many unusual spaces in the town and how they can be used creatively.
Save the Date - Open for Art - Friday 20 June to 1 July 2025
The theme for 2025 is ‘Play’. We will have more news coming soon about our exciting timetable of events but in the meantime here is how you can get involved:
Open Day - Sunday 18 January 11am to 1pm
The Open Day will be a chance for artists to explore our festival theme 'Play' in collaboration with the Jelly team and other artists. It is a chance to find out more about Open for Art festival and the opportunities available, to meet other artists, and develop ideas. Bring yourself, any ideas, enthusiasm, and find out how you can get involved!
📍Jelly studios Broad Street Mall Reading
Open for Art ‘Play’ theme residencies
For our next round of artist residencies, we are inviting artists to consider responses to the idea of Play, which is the theme for our 2025 Open for Art Festival. Applications for residencies are currently OPEN. Click here to find out more and how to apply
How does play influence your creativity?
How can play create connection?
How can you inspire others to play in your town?
What role does play have in the local and global arts community?
We encourage you to explore the joy, experimentation, and possibilities that emerge through play in all its forms. Whether through playful processes, reimagining spaces for play, or exploring the deeper meanings of playfulness, we welcome proposals that reflect on the power of play in creating meaningful art.
These residencies will take place between June 2025 and September 2025. Residencies are for a two week period, starting on a Tuesday and finishing on a Monday.
The deadline for applications is 9pm Wednesday 19 February 2025
Open for Art 2024 - Highlights
‘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?
Thank you to venues who hosted art work in 2024
Rise - 4 Chatham Place
Castle Tap - 120 Castle Street
Coffee Under Pressure Speciality Coffee & Tea - St Mary’s Butts
John Lewis - Broad Street
Jacobs the Jewellers - Douglas Jacobs House, 25 King St
Nylon - 7 Duke Street
58 Barbershop - 58 Kings Road
Thames Lido - Napier Road
Simon Dowling Bespoke - 8 The Forbury, Sussex House
Picnic - 5 Butter Market
Eclectic Games - 5 Union Street
Shed and Milk - The Old Forge, 8 Merchants Place
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.
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
If you are a venue in Reading town centre and would like to be a part in Open for Art please get in contact by filling out our form below
For all our other workshop and events happening at Jelly and in our community please see our eventbrite page for FULL listing
Our regular workshops
