Purbeck Art Weeks Festival 2026: 23 May – 7 June
It’s Festival time again! Across Purbeck open studios, concerts, workshops and a talk are on offer showcasing exceptional local and international talent. All the details are here on our website and in our Festival Brochure.
Open Studio artists, new and more established, are ready to welcome you with their paintings, sculptures, glass work, textiles, prints, ceramics and more. Rollington Barn (near Corfe Castle) is the festival hub. Here you can explore our huge eclectic Collective Exhibition and the Pop-Up Studio tent where different artists are in action every day. The Courtyard Café serves delicious food, cakes and coffee – and is the ideal place to plan your itinerary and work out which open studios you’d like to visit, and which concerts and events you’d like to book. Across the way, in The Byre, is an imaginative display of work based on the theme of ‘birds’ by young people involved in our Purbeck Young Artists scheme, with links to The Whispering Dome event.
Do visit our new INFORMATION POINT at Rollington Barn where you can find out about all our concerts, talks, workshops and other activities.
In Corfe you will find a specially curated exhibition of Purbeck artists in the Castle View Welcome Centre, developed in partnership with the National Trust. This is during the second week of PAW only.
Music abounds – with an exciting mix of concerts both instrumental and vocal. We’re thrilled that I Fagiolini are back to open the Festival singing the best of the best from Elizabethan madrigals to brand new modern compositions (May 29). Our famous mini music fest is over the middle weekend – do check out the details. On the last weekend don’t miss The Whispering Dome, Mowlem Theatre (June 5) – an award-winning, cross-cultural, performance based on the migration of nightingales and involving local schools and choirs. The Festival closes with Guy Cutting, tenor, singing Handel arias with period instruments (June 6). There’s something for everyone!
We are delighted that Dr Gill Clarke is coming to give us an illustrated talk on Creative Relationships: Artists in Purbeck 1900-1950 (May 26) – she is an expert on twentieth century art and passionate about Purbeck’s artistic heritage.
The Purbeck Poets are once again offering their friendly open mic poetry evening. Free to all.
We have workshops you can get involved in too – a singing workshop for all levels with Grace Newcombe (May 30), and a Flying Beasties workshop for children (4-8yrs) with Nick Jubber in Wareham (May 28).
We hope you all find something that excites and inspires you during our celebration of the arts and community in Purbeck!
This is my last festival as PAW Chair but not my last as a Trustee, and I would like to say what a great pleasure and privilege it has been to be part of such an enthusiastic team of music and art lovers and practitioners. With Ian Godfrey ready at the helm, we are looking forward to marking our 25th Anniversary next year!
Charlotte Heath
Chair, Purbeck Art Weeks Festival
