PRESS RELEASE June 2026 For immediate release
This year's Buxton Fringe visual arts category gives art fans of all ages the chance to admire a vast range of works by a raft of artists, as well as getting stuck in themselves.
Shows featuring more than one artist include Art in the Octagon where audiences can meet award-winning creatives and makers from the High Peak Artists group plus special guest artists Rob Wilson and Clare Allan. There will be demonstrations in oils, pastels, watercolours, silk painting, stained glass, wood turning, photography, printmaking, jewellery, ceramics, textiles and more.
Meanwhile Peak District Artisans are celebrating their 35th year with their new flagship event, Summer Showcase. With contemporary artworks from some of the best professional artists and makers in the Peak District, this award-winning exhibition in the Pavilion Gardens is an opportunity to meet the artists and purchase something totally unique.
New entrant More Care Design Collective is bringing I.D.A 26 Inclusive Design + Art Expo, a four-day curated event at the Palace Hotel showcasing fabulous Inclusive design and art and also exhibiting original hand-made outlandish 'Samurai' costumes, Let Your Imagination Fly Hats and more!
For all those amateur and budding artists there are lots of opportunities to have a go yourself. Draw Buxton is a one-day, town-wide creative challenge for artists of all ages. Register at The Crescent, then head out to sketch, draw, collage, or paint Buxton. Return by 3pm to exhibit your work and enter the public vote. There are prizes to be won!
Buxton Photo Challenge 2026 is Buxton's own photomarathon - a photography challenge to take six photos on six themes in six hours. Participants need only to bring a camera with an empty memory card or phone.
More relaxed artists will enjoy Sit, Sip and Sketch as during the Fringe, the Pump Room transforms into a sketcher's haven. Buy a drink and borrow sketching and painting materials to capture the moment.
Those who like to be hands on should head to Piano Pieces: Dismantled and Displayed at The Bungalow on Lightwood Road. On their way to the scrapyard, these seven pianos, which were once a regular presence in British households, are now redundant. The component parts show us an age of skilled manufacture. Come and handle, explore and reconfigure the pieces.
And for younger (or young at heart) art lovers, Fringe regulars the Buxton Flower Pot Trail run by Funny Wonders returns with this year's theme of children's stories. Can you find the flowerpots? Family fun around Buxton.
Stephanie Billen, Fringe Marketing Officer says, "I'm really excited by the range of events in this year's Visual Arts category. I can't wait to see what our Fringe talented artists have produced - and what members of the public create as well!"
To find out more, Fringe-goers can pick up a programme, see www.buxtonfringe.org.uk or download the free Buxton Fringe App.
The Fringe wishes to thank High Peak Borough Council, its Fringe Friends and the town’s many Fringe supporters and venues.
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