Returning for the first time as a biennial, Plymouth Art Weekender 2026 promises to be three days of ingenious creativity and artistic exploration as artists from across the city put on events and exhibitions in the most likely and unlikely of spaces. Since 2015, Plymouth Art Weekender (PAW) has been bringing artists and audiences together to celebrate the city’s bustling creative sector through hard times and prosperity, and this year is no different.
After relaunching as a biennial in 2024, local partners The Box Plymouth, Plymouth Culture, and KARST have supported Plymouth Art Weekender’s voluntary board, Visual Arts Plymouth CIC, to build the foundations for 2026. And thanks to the support of Arts Council England, PAW can bring audiences a weekend that celebrates local talent and Plymouth’s cultural organisations.
PAW 2026 (Friday 16 – Sunday 18 October) will see an impressive display of artistic talent from Plymouth and further afield, in established, new, and unexpected venues. Working with partners, Plymouth Culture, the Weekender has been able to support work in response to David Cotterell’s Intertidal, one of the Sea for Yourself major commissions that responds to Plymouth Sound National Marine Park, which will also be on display throughout the festival.
Quote from Plymouth Art Weekender co-director and coordinator, Rhys Morgan:
“Beryl Cook, probably the city’s best-loved artist, would have been 100 this year – and it feels very fitting to be hosting our celebration of Plymouth artists during such a landmark anniversary for an artist who made the city her home and most enduring subject. Indeed, it has been a landmark year all round, and it is exactly the pertinacious cultural endeavor of Plymouth that fosters the perfect conditions for The Box Plymouth’s incredible recognition as Artfund Museum of the Year.
Whilst, as ever, it hasn’t been without challenge, delivering PAW in 2026 feels more vital than ever as artists, organisations and institutions face some very real existential challenges. The support from our partners, Plymouth Culture and The Box Plymouth, has been crucial in enabling us to bring as much of the best of PAW to you as we can. We would like to say a huge thank you to them, as well as to all of those who contributed to our crowdfunding campaign, and of course to all of the people who give up hours of their lives to make this festival happen – we do it for you, but we couldn’t do it without you. Here’s to another incredible year in the peninsula’s creative heartland!”
In 2026, PAW is highlighting the creative excellence of the scores of artists living and working in the city and wider UK, offering new ways of looking at the city’s wider cultural programme. Highlights include:
- Luke Hall The Shallows at Fotonow 107 Cornwall Street, Plymouth, Devon, PL1 1PA – Daily 11:00 – 17:00
- Larry Achiampong Relic 4 at KARST 22 George Place, Millbay, Plymouth, PL1 3NY – Friday & Saturday 11:00 – 17:00
- Take A Part There is No New Water – Toolkit for Ocean Citizen Activism at The Sherwell Centre Sherwell United Church, North Hill, Plymouth PL4 8ER – Saturday 12:30 – 15:00 (booking essential)
- Still Moving x QDC at Sappho’s Cafe Sappho’s Cafe CIC, 55 Bretonside, PL4 0BD – Friday & Saturday 11:00 – 19:00
- The Concsious Sisters ADRIFT at Melville Building Royal William Yard Melville Building Royal William Yard, Stonehouse, Plymouth, PL1 3RP – 11:00 – 17:00
- molmor & The Deep Aether Engine <DREAMxHUNTERS> (The First Farewell) at sites across the city Locations across the city, including The Box Plymouth, viewable 24hrs a day
- Artemis X Cafe Momus Cafe Momus, 14 – 17 Manor Street, Plymouth, PL1 1TL – Saturday & Sunday 12:00 – 17:00
- Otherwise at Hyphae House 31 Seaview Avenue PL4 8RU – Daily 10:00 – 17:00
You can find more information about the festival and all the events taking place this year on the Plymouth Art Weekender website www.plymouthartweekender.com or on our social channels:
Instagram @plymartwkndr
