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 2025
Friday 20 June to 29 July 2025
The theme for 2025 is ‘Play’. More news coming soon.
‘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?
Open for Art 2024 - Highlights
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
Thank you to venues who hosted art work in 2024
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.
Highlights from Open for Art 2023
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
