Dorset Art Weeks 2026
Artists from across the whole of Dorset are busy preparing for the ever popular Open Studio event in May. Dorset Art Weeks is a popular bi-annual event celebrating the best of fine art, craft and making across the county. This 16 event day running from 23 May -7 June 2026 attracts both locals and visitors from all over the UK.
Across the county over 500 artists exhibiting, with a great many based around the far west of Dorset in the towns and villages surrounding Lyme Regis and Bridport.
Tucked away along the leafy lanes creative havens await.
Some venues feature groups of artists, others are going solo and opening their homes and studios to visitors.
Meet the Artists
Visitors can take the opportunity to see how artists are inspired, start a piece of work and experience a creative working environment. Engaging with the artists, the tools of their craft and works in progress is fascinating.
You can take the opportunity to engage with an artist, get a sense of their viewpoint and where the ideas for these pieces of art came from. An insight into the artist’s mind is a very interesting experience for many people, especially if they are not so creative themselves.
“To be able to meet artists and immerse yourself in their world is fascinating and thought provoking. To understand where the ideas come from is really interesting to me” says one visitor from 2021.
Christine Allison is seen here at work in her Lyme Regis studio. Christine explores ways of bringing together her passion for drawing, oil painting and colour with new subject matter.
Enjoy a Variety of Art
A lot of effort goes into making sure visitors have a really interesting time during the Art Weeks and hopefully come away with memories and perhaps a card or work of art.
The art on view includes painting, printmaking, ceramics, jewellery, sculpture, woodwork, glass, photography, modern crafts and so much more.
How To Access Dorset Art Weeks
The full colour directory of all artists is available to pick up across the county which complements the website which has practical information. The brochure is also available to view online or to download.
The shelf life of the brochure now far exceeds the event as many people keep it for years and use it as a directory for finding Dorset artists.
There is also a very easy to use App for your phone which even shows you the closest venues to where you are with opening times, a map and description of the venue. Search for Dorset Art Weeks on Google Play and the App Store, and is ideal for navigating to venues, creating a favourites list or finding nearby venues.
Discover Rural Dorset!
Some of the venues are down typical west country lanes and Sat Navs can be a bit misleading. All participating artists are given yellow signs with the Dorset Art Weeks logo and will have the venue number written on, so getting lost is almost impossible – just look out for the red and yellow logo.
Find Out More
Dorset Art Weeks 23rd- 7th June 2026
To see all the artists taking part head over to www.dorsetartweeks.co.uk
Instagram: @dorsetartweeks
Facebook: DorsetArtWeeks
Art Weeks in Summary
Dorset Arts Weeks is one of the largest Open Studio Events in the country with studio events across Dorset. Featuring around 1000 artists it contributes largely to the economy of Dorset and beyond. Dorset Art Weeks celebrates Dorset’s diverse visual arts scene and its community of artists in unique locations across the county.
The arts scene in West Dorset is characterised by a richness of individual studios tucked down the many lanes which nestle between encircling hillforts and the sweep of Lyme Bay, with many mediums and practices to explore.
If you enjoy art then neighbouring counties also offer similar events so take a look at Devon Open Studios held in September and Somerset Art Weeks in September and October which a few years ago led me to these fabulous Somerset coffee shops!
Thank you to Jools Woodhouse for contributing this guest post.
Hi! I am Clare and I live in glorious East Devon with my family.
Join me in finding new places to explore in the West Country as well as further afield.
I hope you enjoy reading and taking inspiration from this website. 
