Artists Open Houses Brighton 2026 returns this May — and in its 45th year, the festival has never been more expansive.
Taking place across four weekends — 2–4, 9–10, 16–17 and 23–25 May — the festival features 197 venues and over 1,000 artists, transforming Brighton and Hove into a city-wide gallery unlike anything else in the UK.
A Different Way to Explore Brighton
Unlike traditional exhibitions, Artists Open Houses invites visitors directly into creative spaces.
From private homes and studios to unexpected locations — including a hayloft, coffee roasters, a tennis club and even a garden designed by Gertrude Jekyll — the experience is as much about discovery as it is about art.
You’re not walking through a gallery. You’re walking into someone’s world.
What to Expect at Artists Open Houses Brighton 2026
This year’s programme is genuinely wide-ranging:
Meet Fatboy Slim through a collaboration with Art of Pepita — one of the most talked-about highlights of the 2026 programme.
Plunge Creations opens its prop-makers’ workshop — the studio behind costumes for The Masked Singer and props for The Traitors.
BioArt Transformations at Regency Town House features works made with bacteria, DNA and innovative technology — one of the more unusual artistic experiences you’ll find in Brighton this spring.
Mandeep Dillon brings inflatable sculpture to the festival, while Boogaloo Stu offers something stranger still: talking ceramics.
Make It at 11 Rugby Road is the open house of a Great Pottery Throwdown finalist — worth visiting for the work and the conversation.
Elsewhere across the city: multi-generational exhibitions, interactive installations, and pop-up experiences including flash tattoo sessions at The DOG SHOW.
Art Across Every Neighbourhood
One of the defining qualities of Artists Open Houses Brighton 2026 is its geography.
Rather than concentrated in one venue, the festival spreads across Brighton and Hove — from seafront studios and North Laine houses to village halls and creative spaces in Hove and Kemptown. It is, genuinely, a reason to explore parts of the city you might not otherwise visit.
The Secret Garden venue offers one of the most atmospheric settings — sculptures in a walled garden, people lingering over coffee while art surrounds them. The sort of afternoon that doesn’t feel like an event at all.
Practical Details
📍 Across Brighton & Hove
📅 Weekends: 2–4, 9–10, 16–17, 23–25 May 2026
🎟 Free entry at most venues
Pick up a printed guide at venues across the city or plan your route online before visiting.
The Verdict
Now in its 45th year, Artists Open Houses Brighton 2026 remains one of the city’s most distinctive cultural events — and one of the most genuinely rewarding ways to spend a May weekend in Brighton.
It offers something rare: the chance to step inside creative spaces, meet the people behind the work, and discover the city at a different pace.
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