As many as 50 artists in and around Wantage are part of a group of 1,000 artists and designer-makers who are preparing to turn the whole county into a giant art gallery for the Oxfordshire Artweeks 40th anniversary, between 7-29 May. With twenty venues in a six-mile radius over a two-week period, there’s ever so much to see.
You are invited to visit artists’ open studios and pop-up exhibitions – all for free – in interesting and welcoming venues where you’ll find paintings and photos, sculpture, pottery, woodcarving, jewellery and more. And not only that, but you’ll also have the chance to talk to the makers about their methods, their materials, and their inspiration. Just drop in; no appointment necessary.
Bahar Murphy of BahARTS
(Artweeks venue 217) 82 Spring Cottage, Grove Street, Wantage, OX12 7BH
A newcomer to Artweeks in the last year, Bahar is opening her garden studio in which you’ll find large and colourful paintings inspired by the structure of the built world and the details within it.
14-22 May, 11am-6pm (Also open by appointment from 7-13, 23-29)
John Gunter
(Artweeks venue 216) 4 Segsbury Road, Wantage, OX12 9XR
John promises a cuppa and a chat viewing work on driftwood/canvas/tiles/slate/aluminium. Expect colour and variety.
14-22 May, 11am-6pm
Patsy Jones and Jill Smith
(Artweeks venues 218 and 219) Sheep Studio, 8 Bryan Way, Wantage, OX12 7EH
This well-established artist duo present contemporary and traditional oil/watercolour/acrylic paintings and hand-printed pictures: landscapes, seascapes and more, plus prints and cards in a gazebo/garage gallery.
14-15 and 19-22 May, 11am-5pm
Jill and Fi Cooper
(Artweeks venue 220) 16 Lark Hill, Wantage OX12 8HW
Textile artist Jill Cooper and ceramicist Fi Cooper are presenting a joint exhibition of Jill’s incredible delicate ‘paintings’ of people and places made from fabric and striking, and fresh ceramics influenced by the natural world and tradition.
14-22 May, 12pm-5pm
Four places to explore in Stanford-in-the-Vale (all on the 67 bus route)
Here you can explore the work of two talented groups of artists in two popular venues and meet two more artists in their own homes/studios all within a gentle stroll of one another.
Studio 10
(Artweeks venue 213) 10 Spencers Close, Stanford in the Vale, SN7 8NG
At this garden studio, enjoy a charming selection of beautiful stained-glass art, stunning jewellery designs, contemporary ceramics, and bespoke concrete creations.
14-22 May, 11am-4.30pm
The Garden Studio
(Artweeks venue 214) 53 High Street, SN7 8NQ
Just a moment’s walk away with a warm welcome presents a great variety of work in ceramics, beautiful delicate collaged landscapes, wood for the home and more.
14-22 May, 11am-6pm
Anne Mills
(Artweeks venue 211) 22 Bow Road, Stanford in the Vale, SN7 8JB
Anne Mills is also showing her handcrafted wood pieces – in the form of beautiful bespoke bellows – and a quirky mix of digital art from local legends to Spitfires and sports.
14-15 and 19-22 May, 11am-5pm
Lawrence Ward OAS
(Artweeks venue 212) 25 Chapel Road, Stanford in the Vale, SN7 8LE
An established local artist who works in a traditional style invites you to enjoy a wide selection of new landscapes and more.
14-27 May, 11am-6pm
Adelaide and Ben Hinton of a+b Furniture
(Artweeks venue 215) Unit 7 W&G Estate, East Challow, OX12 9TF
Adelaide and Ben fuse contemporary design with traditional craft to create beautiful handmade furniture and homeware to commission or simply to carry away.
14, 16-17 and 19-21 May, 11am-5pm
Fired: Clay & Glass’
(Artweeks venue 222) The Cobb, Muster Point, Featherbed Lane, East Hendred OX12 8JF
In East Hendred, you’ll find a large exhibition Fired: Clay & Glass’ by a group of ceramicists and other artists with demonstrations, outdoor firings, and lots to see. You can discover more about clay with Oxford archaeology, join a clay or glass taster session, or sit in the sunshine and soak up the festival-style atmosphere.
14-22 May, 10am-6pm
Take an art trail in Milton
(Artweeks venue 226) Saint Blaise Church, High Street, Milton OX14 4EW
You’ll find art by six talented local artists: painters, printmakers, a weaver and a potter at St Blaise Church. St Blaise is the patron saint of hand weavers and Angela Pawlyn will be demonstrating her weaving techniques on different traditional hand looms and displaying her beautiful woven designs. Expect also colour and flair in paintings of local scenes and Africa, portraits, colourful prints alongside stylish pottery.
14-15 18-22 May, 11am-5pm (Sun 12pm-5pm; 21)
You are also invited to join their Meet the Artists session on Saturday 14, 11am-1pm.
Sarah Keogh, Karen Lewis, and Debbie Sutcliffe
(Artweeks venue 227) Chestnuts, School Lane, Milton OX14 4EQ
Just a few hundred metres away in a glorious garden setting, you’ll find three artists, Sarah Keogh, Karen Lewis and Debbie Sutcliffe and their beautifully crafted ceramics with linocuts and wood engravings exploring the strength and beauty of line.
14-22 May, 12pm-6pm
Bees in the Meadow featuring Sally Stern, Sophie Long and others
Bee House, 140 Eastern Avenue, Milton Park, OX14 4SB
Also, in a new contemporary co-working space with café, Bee House, Milton Park, enjoy a varied exhibition Bees in the Meadow featuring Sally Stern, Sophie Long & others for World Bee Day on 20 May.
16-20 May, 11am-5pm
Diamond Light Source
(Artweeks venue 490) Diamond Light Source, Fermi Avenue, Harwell Science & Innovation Campus OX11 0DE
To celebrate their 20th anniversary and 15 years of research and innovation, Diamond Light Source present an outdoor photography exhibition including a series of striking pictures giving viewers an insight into what goes on inside their iconic building and the UK’s national synchrotron.
14-22 May Daylight hours (parking at weekends)
Jo Marshall, Lisa Wallis and Lin Kerr
(Artweeks venues 222 and 223) 41 Limetrees, Chilton OX11 0HY
There are also three artists inspired by the local landscape and earth elements exhibiting colourful handmade stoneware ceramics, bespoke handcrafted silver jewellery by Lisa and expressive Oxfordshire landscape paintings and sparkly watercolours in Lin’s studio. Browse and chat!
14-15 and 20-22 May 11am-5.30pm
Johannes Von Stumm
(Artweeks venue 221) Studio in South Fawley Farmyard, South Fawley, OX12 9NL
A former President of the Royal Society of Sculptors who exhibits internationally invites you to visit his farmyard studio. Here you can see his ‘Immaterial Figures’ with which he sculpts the human body out of nothingness “filled with light and darkness, with rain and snow, with sunshine and stars.” Johannes also brings together the apparently conflicting materials of metal, stone and glass fusing the strong and the fragile, the solid and the liquid, the dark and the transparent to create abstract or reduced figurative works. It’s a venue well worth a visit.
14-15 and 18-22 May, 11am-5 pm
For more details on these open studios and exhibitions and dozens more towards Didcot, Faringdon and Bishopstone, visit artweeks.org to see further details or to browse an online art showcase.
