Art takes centre stage this July as Holmfirth Artweek returns Holmfirth Artweek returns to Holmfirth promising to be another successful year for this popular volunteer run event.
The annual art exhibition, a firm favourite in the calendar, welcomes visitors from across the Holme Valley and beyond. Holmfirth Artweek, is a week long event dedicated to visual art. The event includes a main exhibition featuring over 400 exhibitors with over 2,000 individual pieces of art. There are also fringe venues across the local area, that showcase more artists with thousands more pieces of art and crafts, creating a real buzz in the local area.
As well as supporting local artists, a percentage of sales from Holmfirth Artweek are donated to charity each year. This year this will be split between local charity The Kirkwood and long-standing partner Macmillan Cancer Support.
The event which has been a staple in the calendar since 1966, brings together a variety of artists across all mediums of art – from sculpture to paint, to photography and beyond. It remains one of the UK’s largest and longest running open art exhibitions welcoming artists and visitors from the local area, as well as across the country.
This year, the event will run from Sunday 6 th July to Saturday 12 th July. The main exhibition, at Holmfirth Civic Hall, will be open from 10am – 9pm Monday – Friday and until 5pm on Sunday and Saturday.
One particular point of interest of the main exhibition is the top floor. Each year one or two artists are specially invited to feature a larger selection of their work, creating a wonderful space to visit. This year we will welcome local artist abstract Emma Oughtibridge. Emma has been a Holmfirth Artweek favourite for a number of years with her colourful and textured pieces always being favourites for our visitors. This work will be alongside woodwork artist Roger Green. Roger’s work, using a variety of woods creates visually beautiful and tactile items. Some of these are useful for the home and some for more recreational pastimes such a chess boards and pieces. Across the event there will be a wide variety of art from both professionals and amateurs, providing something to suit everyone’s taste and budget. There are also demonstrations on the stage in the Civic Hall, showcasing a selection of artists at work so you can see behind the curtain on how pieces are made.
In addition to the Civic Hall, businesses and venues around the area also participate in the Holmfirth Artweek Fringe by exhibiting and selling the work of even more artists. This helps to bring Holmfirth Artweek into the community and to raise extra funds for the charity partners.
This year over 40 venues will be taking part in the Fringe – allowing visitors the opportunity to explore the local region. The venues range from bars and cafés to churches and community spaces, as well as open art studios which will offer visitors special access into the artists’ workspaces.
Holmfirth Artweek is a truly open art exhibition and presents an important outlet for artists, especially after a difficult couple of years for the industry. It also aims to raise much needed funds for charity. Last year, the event raised £45,000 which was split equally between The Kirkwood and Macmillan Cancer Support.
Chair of the Holmfirth Artweek team, Lynne Onyskiw said.
“We are thrilled to be back again in 2025 for Holmfirth Artweek. Places to this year’s main exhibition sold out in 24 hours which is a new record. We are very pleased that artists are so keen to sign up and take part. I am always excited to see the art arrive and love looking out for new and emerging artists and discovering something new each day I visit. The event truly has a wonderful atmosphere which is driven by our volunteers. From our small volunteer committee who plan and run the event, to the trusty group of volunteers who help us set up the boards and hang the paintings and market. Plus of course the great team who come in during the week and keep the event running including selling tickets, manning the sales desk and of course making lots of cups of tea! “
For further information please visit the website: www.holmfirthartweek.org.uk or follow Artweek on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.
For those who can’t wait until the main exhibition opens, there will be a Preview Evening held on Saturday 5th July for ‘Friends of Artweek.’
For anyone who would like to become a ‘Friend’ and attend the Preview to get the first look at the exhibition and exclusive opportunity to buy before it opens to the public you can find out more information on the website.
