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Northstowe Art Show

preview 16 October 6:30-8:30pm

Exhibition 17 & 18 October 2026

Sat 10am - 5pm Sun 10am - 4pm

Main Hall, Unity Centre, Pathfinder Way, Northstowe, CB23 1FD

Northstowe Art Show – Show it. Share it.

This summer, Northstowe Arts is once again partnering with South Cambridgeshire District Council to showcase creative talent in Northstowe at the Northstowe Art Show — a friendly, local celebration of creativity that’s open to everyone.

And for 2026, it’s bigger than ever.

This year, the exhibition will run across two days — Saturday and Sunday — and for the first time will welcome crafts as well as art, celebrating the many different ways people create, make and express themselves. Whether you paint, doodle, sew, sculpt, build, print, photograph, stitch, sketch or simply enjoy making things because it feels good, this is for you.

For artists and makers at every stage, this is the perfect opportunity to exhibit your work — whether it’s your first time or your fiftieth.

The Young People’s Art Show for anyone aged 17 and under will once again take place at Northstowe Secondary College (NSC). This year, it will also be joined by a performing arts showcase on the Saturday stage at NSC, celebrating even more of the creative talent across Northstowe through music, performance and the arts.

The Northstowe Art Show is all about giving people the chance to try something creative, share it with others, and feel proud of what they’ve made. No pressure. No judgement. Just a space to have a go, connect with others, and celebrate creativity in all its forms.

How it works

Get support

For anyone new to exhibiting, we’ll run friendly advice sessions to explain how shows and exhibitions work and help you prepare your piece. There's a group session 7-8pm on Wednesday 24 June at the Unity Centre or if you prefer 1:1 help email paula@northstowearts.co.uk to meet up for coffee and a chat. You can also check out these information sheets full of advice and tips to get you started with exhibitions.

Make something

Use the summer to create your piece in your own time. It can be anything, painting, collage, photography, sculpture, craft, digital art… whatever feels right to you. Or if you create regularly choose your favourite pieces to share.

Submit your work

Send in your submission form online from the 26 June (or request a paper copy). Get it back to us by the 21 September for a chance to be included in the exhibition. Don’t worry if it’s your first time, we’re here to help. You just need a clear photo of each artwork along with their size (weight for 3D pieces).

We'll let you know which pieces are going to be included by the 6 October and selected artworks will need to be delivered to the Unity Centre, ready to hang/display with a label (and any business cards you want to display), in the evenings on Wednesday 14 or Thursday 15 October between 5-7pm or the morning of Friday 16 October between 9am - 12noon.

You can find all the information you'll need at the end of the submission form in the T&C's. Sounds boring I know, but you'll need to read them. Don't panic, we've kept them short!

Information sheets

Key dates:

9 June Mindful Photography workshop with Ruth Beech - find inspiration in this relaxed photography walking workshop 7-8:30pm at Unity Centre
19 June Art workshop 7-8:30pm at the Unity Centre
24 June First time exhibiting? Free advice session to explain everything and answer your questions 7-8pm at the Unity Centre
26 June Submissions open for the Art Show & Young Person's Art Show
21 September Submission closes
6 October Find out what pieces will be part of the exhibition
14, 15 & 16 October Drop of artworks selected for the exhibition to the Unity Centre (times on email)
16 October Young Person's Art Show opens at Northstowe Secondary College
16 October Celebration Preview for artists, friends and family 6:30-8:30pm at the Unity Centre
17 & 18 October Art Show open to the public 10-5pm Saturday & 10-4pm Sunday
17 October Performing Arts Showcase at Northstowe Secondary College
17 October Life as an artist - talk by international artist Emily Gillbanks at the Unity Centre
18 October Collection of artworks from the Art Show 4-5pm at the Unity Centre

Show it off

If your work is selected, it’ll be displayed in our Northstowe Art Show at The Unity Centre, with a special preview event on Friday evening for artists, friends and family with public opening on Saturday & Sunday.

Come along, invite your friends, and celebrate what you’ve made!

...and For under 18's

We’d love children and young people across Northstowe to take part in this year’s Young People’s Art Show at Northstowe Secondary College (NSC). If you’re 17 or under and enjoy being creative in any way — drawing, painting, making, crafting, building, sewing, photography or anything in between — we want to see what you’ve made. You don’t need to be an “artist” to join in. This is all about celebrating imagination, creativity and having a go. The exhibition opens on 16 October, with more details about how to submit your artwork and crafts coming soon.

Calling All

Young

Artists & Makers

Make it - show it - share it

And if you love it?

If taking part gives you the creative bug, we’ll help you keep going. After the exhibition, we’ll share simple advice on things like:

How to get your work ready for display
What to expect when applying to other shows and exhibitions
How some artists start selling their work

This art show isn’t about selling, it’s about sharing and celebrating. But if this gives you the confidence to take your creativity further, we’ll make sure you know how.

What to expect

It’s completely free to take part
You don’t need experience or fancy equipment
There’s no right or wrong way to do it
We’ll help with anything you’re unsure about
You’ll be part of something fun and welcoming

Want to be part of it?

Keep an eye out for the submission link, or sign up to our newsletter and we’ll let you know when it’s live.

The Northstowe Art Show is growing, and we’d love more people to help shape it with us.

We want this to be a true community event — one that celebrates Northstowe and the people who live, work and spend time here — so we’re looking for local residents, creatives, supporters and enthusiasts to join the organising group. Being involved could mean joining meetings and email discussions, sharing ideas and opinions, helping spread the word, encouraging people to enter and visit the exhibitions and showcase events, or acting as an ambassador for the Art Show at local networking events and community activities. We’d also love people who can bring fresh ideas for growing and improving the event, or who are happy to help with practical tasks like leaflet dropping, creating social media content, supporting promotion, or lending a hand wherever needed. Whether you can offer lots of time or just a little, we’d love to hear from you and help make the 2026 Art Show the biggest community celebration of creativity yet.

This project is supported by the Homes England Community Activation Fund which is administered by South Cambridgeshire District Council. Our aim is to make creativity accessible for everyone, whether you’ve never done anything like this before or you’re just getting back into it.

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