Swindon's Summer arts bonanza

Artists are uniting with curators and venues unite to bring a festival of creativity to Swindon's town centre this Summer.

Swindon Arts Fringe Festival (SWAF) returns to Swindon Town Centre for a second year and hopes to be even more successful. 

The Fringe Festival focuses on inclusivity for curators and artists, giving opportunities for artists to find their place in Swindon’s vibrant creative scene and supporting them to freely exhibit, some for the first time. 

SWAF24 saw over 95 artists involved in the festival and drew over 1,000 visitors to the exhibitions.

The Fringe is a truly collaborative event created by Theatre Square-based Artsite. As well as exhibitions there will be events and workshops to bring the arts to a wider audience. The ‘As Time Goes by’ exhibition at Artsite will feature a performance by Rinky Dink, the bicycle powered sound system, and a talk by artist Stephen Wright from The House of Dreams Museum will complement the ‘Outsider Art’ exhibition by SLART in Museum & Art Swindon.

Lisa Lowe, who curated an exhibition based around the menopause for SWAF24, said: “Being part of the Swindon Arts Fringe Festival has been one of the best things for me creatively. Curating and exhibiting is something I've never done before so was completely out of my comfort zone, but I loved every minute. 

"The Artsite team are so supportive and I’m very excited to be taking part again this year."

SWAF24’s collaboration with the Carriage Works was a huge success and the use of the building as an exhibition space prompted a lot of positive discussions and reactions. One visitor commented: “Fantastic use of Armstrong’s Carriage works. A wide range of works from Swindon’s diverse and talented artistic pool. All showcased in an awesome venue. Well done to Artsite and everyone involved.”

This year, 14 curators have come up with a variety of creative themes and have invited artists to submit work. 

‘Miniature Swindon’ curated by Leah Bevan-Haines asked artists to create tiny items that represent things, places and people in Swindon, while ‘Broken Britannia’ exhibition curator, invited artists to express their unique perspectives – good or bad – on life in Britain 2025.

Venues this year include the Wyvern Theatre, Artsite in Theatre Square, Swindon Central Library, Mams Gallery, Museum & Art Swindon, Bert's Books, Swindon Hub and the Carriage Works. Entrance to all exhibitions and events is free.

The Festival runs from 16–29 June with the Launch event at Mam's Gallery, Eastcott Hill, on Friday 13 June at 7pm.

For more information and a full list of SWAF25 exhibitions and events, people can visit www.swindonartsfringe.co.uk

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