Open for Art 2025 - Play
Friday 21 June to Tuesday 2 July 2024
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
Click here to download our Open for Art 2024 map
or pick one up from any of the following venues
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
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
Open for Art - Festival Highlights
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Breakfast with an Artist
Friday 21 June 8.30am to 10.00am
Location: Jelly
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Knit Night with the Outcasts
Wednesday 26 June 5:00pm to 7:00pm
Location: Jelly
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Stitch Up - Social sewing
Thursday 27 June 9.30am to 11.30am
Location: Reading Museum
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ThoroughFayre - Urban Fete
Saturday 29 June 11.30am to 4.30pm
Location: Hosier St and Düsseldorf Way
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Broad Street Mall Jam with Dance Reading
Saturday 29 June 2:30pm to 4:30pm
Location: Broad St Mall Hosier Street
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Urban Sketchers
Sunday 30 June 12.30pm to 3.30pm
Location: Jelly
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 in Open for Art please get in contact by 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
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
