Location: Art + Grind

Opening Times: 8:00 - 17:00 (Thursday, Friday, Saturday) 9:00 - 17:00 (Sunday)

An exhibition of Jazz Photographs at the Art and Grind Cafe on Guildford High Street, featuring works by John Lyons, Winner of the 2022 Abbey Road Studios award for Live Music Photography , also by Pete Johnson and local photographers.

Free entry, just pop in during opening hours for a coffee and cake and a wander through the gallery. The displayed photographs are also available for sale, please enquire at the cafe desk for details.

If you’d like some live jazz with your artworks, please visit on Sunday 28th September! Click here for details

Location: Art + Grind

Opening Times: 8:00 - 17:00 (Thursday, Friday, Saturday) 9:00 - 17:00 (Sunday)

Digitali is a collective of four enthusiastic local photographers who share a passion for capturing the world through diverse perspectives. This is their fourth exhibition together, and each member brings a distinctive style and area of interest, making the show both varied and dynamic.

The collection includes street photography, abstract photography, land and seascapes, and tiny highspeed water drops. Visitors can expect to move from sweeping natural scenes to striking glimpses of everyday life.

Digitali’s aim is to celebrate photography in its many forms, and to share with the community the joy of seeing the world through different lenses.

https://www.digitali.click/home

The exhibitors are:                 

Peter Merry

Christina O’Shaughnessy

Gachou Pletts

 Marilyn Taylor

Location: New House Art Space

Opening Times: 9:00 - 17:00 (Thursday, Friday) 9:00 - 16:00 (Saturday, Sunday)

Cafe: 8:00 - 18:00 (Thursday, Friday) 9:00 - 16:00 (Saturday, Sunday)

The Guildford Festival of the Arts sent out an Open Call for artwork to feature in our inaugural exhibition and the artist community answered in abundance! Over three hundred submissions were received, from which our panel of judges has selected pieces from ninety-seven artists from the local area and beyond to showcase across three vibrant venues in the heart of Guildford.

Newhouse Art Space - Fays Passage, Guildford GU1 4SQ

More than just a collection of artist studios, Newhouse is a vibrant creative hub for the Guildford community. Throughout the year, it hosts exhibitions, events, and workshops, welcoming people from all walks of life to come, explore, and get involved.

Our exhibition takes over every inch of the ground floor. Expect a dynamic mix of paintings, drawings, and photographs, alongside a diverse selection of sculptures and prints.

Guildford Baptist Church - Baptist Church, Millmead, Guildford GU2 4BE

Nestled next to the river, Guildford Baptist Church is a beautiful space where community lies at its heart. For the festival, we’ve partnered with the church’s Open Grounds Café to showcase an array of paintings, prints, photographs, and drawings. Come in, relax with a coffee or tea, and enjoy the artwork around you in a welcoming, peaceful setting.

Jigsaw - 132–134 High Street, Guildford GU1 3HJ

Above Jigsaw, three formerly empty rooms have been brought to life as a fully-fledged gallery for four days. Two rooms will be filled with an exciting mix of sculpture, paintings, prints, drawings, and photographs, transforming the space into a lively hub of creativity where art spills from walls and easels alike.

The third room is being transformed into a dedicated screening space. Here, you can enjoy film works from our partners and makers at Sustain Film Festival, alongside captivating film pieces from talented artists selected through our open call.

Location: Tunsgate Quarter

Opening Times: 9:00 - 18:00

For information about the festival, come find us here!

Here you can collect brochures highlighting all our events as well as our art trail map!

Our art trail is especially exciting this year as we have teamed up with the Shepard Neame pubs in Guildford (the Star Inn and the Britannia pub) to offer you the opportunity to receive a free drink by taking part in our art trail. Make sure you get on of our stamps at our art trail locations in order to receive your free drink.

Community Art Project

Charlie Cluff, co-founder of Guildford Festival of the Arts, is a photographic/installation artist who grew up in Guildford. She studied photography in New York before moving back to the UK in Covid to finish her studies at the London College of Communication (UAL). Charlie has recently been inspired by the use of Art as a therapy and the archiving of photography. Her thesis, Photographic Memory: Exploring the relationship between therapeutic and archival practice looks at her grandfather’s archive, looking at how he balanced his life in dentistry alongside his creative practise, establishing a connection between his photographic work and her own. 

More information about the project can be found here.

As part of the community art project, Charlie would like to build a similar installation to that of the one she built in memory of her grandfather. She hopes to build a photographic house from the memories of those who have photographed Guildford. The installation contains over 10,000 35mm slides and encourages those who have them at home (who don’t know what to do with them now we have entered the world of technology and instagram) to contribute them to this art installation.

If you would like to be involved feel free to contact Charlie directly: info@charliecluff.com

Location: Guildford Baptist Church

Opening Times: 9:00 - 16:00 (Thursday, Friday, Saturday) 9:00 - 16:30 (Sunday)

Cafe: 10:00 - 16:00 (Thursday, Friday) 10:00 - 14:00 (Saturday) CLOSED (Sunday)

The Guildford Festival of the Arts sent out an Open Call for artwork to feature in our inaugural exhibition and the artist community answered in abundance! Over three hundred submissions were received, from which our panel of judges has selected pieces from ninety-seven artists from the local area and beyond to showcase across three vibrant venues in the heart of Guildford.

Newhouse Art Space, Fays Passage, Guildford GU1 4SQ

More than just a collection of artist studios, Newhouse is a vibrant creative hub for the Guildford community. Throughout the year, it hosts exhibitions, events, and workshops, welcoming people from all walks of life to come, explore, and get involved.

Our exhibition takes over every inch of the ground floor. Expect a dynamic mix of paintings, drawings, and photographs, alongside a diverse selection of sculptures and prints.

Guildford Baptist Church, Baptist Church, Millmead, Guildford GU2 4BE

Nestled next to the river, Guildford Baptist Church is a beautiful space where community lies at its heart. For the festival, we’ve partnered with the church’s Open Grounds Café to showcase an array of paintings, prints, photographs, and drawings. Come in, relax with a coffee or tea, and enjoy the artwork around you in a welcoming, peaceful setting.

Jigsaw, 132–134 High Street, Guildford GU1 3HJ

Above Jigsaw, three formerly empty rooms have been brought to life as a fully-fledged gallery for four days. Two rooms will be filled with an exciting mix of sculpture, paintings, prints, drawings, and photographs, transforming the space into a lively hub of creativity where art spills from walls and easels alike.

The third room is being transformed into a dedicated screening space. Here, you can enjoy film works from our partners and makers at Sustain Film Festival, alongside captivating film pieces from talented artists selected through our open call.

Location: Solar Sisters

Opening Times/Cafe: 10:00 - 17:00 (Thursday, Friday, Saturday) 10:00 - 16:00 (Sunday)

Solar Sisters are excited to showcase several local artists displaying and selling a wide range of works including vibrant botanical Gelli prints, beautiful watercolour greeting cards, adorable miniature needle felt animals, bold soulful acrylic paintings, uplifting flower crochet collages and Scandinavian functional ceramics. Come in, browse & shop, and sample our delicious menu!

Location: The Mill Studio

Opening Times: 10:00 - 17:00 (Thursday, Friday, Saturday), 11:00 - 16:00 (Sunday)

Guildford Arts and Lockwood Studios takeover the Mill Studio at Yvonne Arnaud, showcasing the wonderful work that their resident artists create as well as hosting a verity of drop-in workshops so be sure to come check out the space as well as try your hand at something new!

Location: Jigsaw

Opening Times: 10:00 - 18:00 (Thursday, Friday, Saturday) 11:00 - 17:00 (Sunday)

Open Call Exhibitions

The Guildford Festival of the Arts sent out an Open Call for artwork to feature in our inaugural exhibition and the artist community answered in abundance! Over three hundred submissions were received, from which our panel of judges has selected pieces from ninety-seven artists from the local area and beyond to showcase across three vibrant venues in the heart of Guildford.

Newhouse Art Space, Fays Passage, Guildford GU1 4SQ

More than just a collection of artist studios, Newhouse is a vibrant creative hub for the Guildford community. Throughout the year, it hosts exhibitions, events, and workshops, welcoming people from all walks of life to come, explore, and get involved.

Our exhibition takes over every inch of the ground floor. Expect a dynamic mix of paintings, drawings, and photographs, alongside a diverse selection of sculptures and prints.

Guildford Baptist Church, Baptist Church, Millmead, Guildford GU2 4BE

Nestled next to the river, Guildford Baptist Church is a beautiful space where community lies at its heart. For the festival, we’ve partnered with the church’s Open Grounds Café to showcase an array of paintings, prints, photographs, and drawings. Come in, relax with a coffee or tea, and enjoy the artwork around you in a welcoming, peaceful setting.

Jigsaw, 132–134 High Street, Guildford GU1 3HJ

Above Jigsaw, three formerly empty rooms have been brought to life as a fully-fledged gallery for four days. Two rooms will be filled with an exciting mix of sculpture, paintings, prints, drawings, and photographs, transforming the space into a lively hub of creativity where art spills from walls and easels alike.

The third room is being transformed into a dedicated screening space. Here, you can enjoy film works from our partners and makers at Sustain Film Festival, alongside captivating film pieces from talented artists selected through our open call.

Location: Guildford House

Opening Times: 10:00 - 16:30 (Thursday, Friday, Saturday) CLOSED (Sunday)

Lucy Pass, top prize winner of the Guildford House Open 2024, unveils her highly anticipated first solo exhibition Invisible Things. The exhibition will feature a striking selection of drawings and paintings exploring the delicate balance between representation and abstraction. Pass's work is an introspective journey into the complexities of human emotion, aiming to "capture the invisible things within us." 

About Guildford House

Guildford House was built in 1660 for Guildford lawyer and later 3 times town mayor, John Childe. The house stayed with the family until 1726 when it was purchased by John Martyr, also a lawyer. It remained in his family until 1850 when it was bought by Frank Aptd as a shop. It was a stationers and a book shop from 1914 - 1928. In 1929 it was converted into a restaurant, Nutalls, which operated until 1956.  It became the town’s art gallery in 1959. Today it also houses the visitor information centre and courtyard craft shop with changing exhibitions in the gallery, throughout the year.

Location: Guildford Institute

Opening Times: 10:00 - 17:00

Hosted by: Guildford Arts

As part of a long established partnership, see the latest Guildford Arts exhibition featuring the stunning work of photographer Sue Roche and painter Louisa Hannah.

Louisa Hannah

Louisa’s inspiration comes from beach scenes and landscapes using vibrant colours and beautiful shapes and aims to spark joy through her paintings.

Sue Roche

Her collections reflect her passion for travel photography, capturing the simple beauty or intriguing juxtapositions of people, landscape and architecture.

The exhibition will be open throughout the festival in The Guildford Institute's historic Assembly Room (home to V Café).

Location: The Lighthouse Guildford

Opening Times:

Esther is an oil painter from Surrey, specialising in seascapes and portraits. Esther produces striking images, capturing a single moment in a much bigger, vibrant story. Esther’s motivation to paint is to produce art that people respond to emotionally, whether that be through nostalgia, peace or anticipation of hope. Working in layers of oil paint, Esther enjoys playing with texture and light to create atmosphere on the canvas. Esther was a finalist in Surrey Artist of the Year 2022 and enjoys being part of a rich creative community.

Faye Campbell is a contemporary mixed media abstract artist who creates with spontaneity and soul. Her pieces are built in layers, using found and repurposed materials—often with a history of their own, passed on from vintage collections. You’ll notice her love of colour right away. Spray paint features alongside other mediums, bringing a subtle street art energy and a playful, graffiti-inspired edge. Lately, nature—especially flowers—has been a fresh source of inspiration, adding a gentle botanical feel to the work. Faye hopes her art brings a smile to your face and a sense of positivity to your space.

Location: Yvonne Arnaud

Opening Times: 10:30 - 16:00

A John Walmsely Exhibition

John Walmsley has always photographed people doing what they do, everyday life.  In 1973, he lived and worked alongside the Salisbury Playhouse company photographing how they put on a play and what it was like to be an actor in those days.  The exhibition is taken from this body of work and shows rehearsals, sourcing props, learning lines in their ‘Digs’ and days off.  In the 70s, each town had it’s own rep theatre and the actors and audiences got to know each other because they went to the same pubs after performances.  Sadly, the rise of TV and government cuts proved too much and rep died out. 

Location: Yvonne Arnaud

Opening Times: 10:30 - 16:00 (Thursday, Friday, Saturday), CLOSED (Sunday)

Designing for our stage:

Sketches, sets, costumes and photographs of Yvonne Arnaud original productions.

See how designers have created concepts for our productions, and how they’ve been brought to life on stage.

Location: Growlers

Opening Times: 16:00 - 23:00 (Thursday, Friday, Saturday) 14:00 - 18:00 (Sunday)

Oxford University Graduate turned Wildlife Photographer, Alexander started selling his artwork in galleries while still at school at age 13. Trapped in a balancing act of academia and his dream throughout both school and University, he is now able to focus 100% of his attention on his photography, using social media as a means to repair society’s relationship with the natural world.