Plymouth Art Weekender Returns for 2024

11th October 2024

Plymouth’s flagship arts festival is back and bigger than ever for 2024, promising to be a transformative cultural moment for the city. Plymouth Art Weekender (PAW) is a celebration of Plymouth’s rich and diverse creative community and this year’s theme, Do it yourself, help each other out, captures the collaborative spirit that flourishes among artists in the city and beyond.

Throughout the weekend, you’ll discover a vibrant mix of visual art, hands-on workshops, and exciting events, bringing creativity to every corner of Plymouth.

After a brief hiatus following the pandemic, Visual Arts Plymouth is thrilled to re-launch the festival with the support of Arts Council England, KARST, The Box, and The National Gallery. This year marks the festival’s evolution into Plymouth’s cultural biennial, a monumental leap that signals a new era of creativity and collaboration.

PAW 2024 (Friday 18th - 20th October) is set to showcase an extraordinary range of artistic talent, not just from the city but from across the UK. Over three days, over 60 venues will make Plymouth into a vibrant hub of creativity, with artists activating spaces throughout the city, turning galleries, streets, and even unexpected locations into canvases for imagination. Events and activities are suitable for all ages and abilities and will include workshops, ticketed and free events.

"The return of Plymouth Art Weekender isn't just an event, it's a testament to the resilience and richness of our city's cultural landscape," says Rhys Morgan, Plymouth-based artist and PAW Co-director. "Plymouth Art Weekender is a unique opportunity for Plymouth’s expansive cultural scene to come together and celebrate the breadth and diversity of artist practices that are based in the city. Since its start it has supported countless artists to realise exhibitions and events, providing them with a platform to showcase their work to audiences across the city, as well as opportunities to skill up. The DIY ethos of the festival and Plymouth’s artists’ commitment to delivering a huge host of events in a variety of spaces encapsulates a lot of the reasons Plymouth is such an exciting and welcoming place to visit and to live in. We are very pleased to bring back the festival, after a brief hiatus, and look forward to seeing how it evolves in future."

For 2024, PAW is spotlighting the incredible creativity that thrives in Plymouth’s diverse cultural spaces, while elevating the programmes of its partners, including major galleries and museums. The festival’s highlights include:

• Jeremy Deller’s Acid Brass & Afterparty
• Bloomberg New Contemporaries 2024 at KARST, The Levinsky Gallery and MIRROR.
• Anything You Can Think Of / Everything You Can Imagine. A new artwork by LOW PROFILE made in partnership with Plymouth Scrapstore and Big Ups. we-are-low-profile.com
• RAMP (Real Art Make Print) Artist Showcase at Ocean Studios, Royal William Yard
• DIY Digital at Grow
• Immersive Art Gallery - Plymouth Art Weekender Special at the Market Hall
• Free screening of Jeremy Deller's Everybody in the Place with a talk from Artist and Curator Rhys Morgan as part of The Box Plymouth / National Gallery The Triumph of Art commission.
• DIY DIGITAL at Grow Plymouth.
• Unexpected Crossings with Cylena Simonds, Simone Marconi and Siena Venturino-Malcherczyk

Molly McCarthy, a participating artist, describes PAW as a vital moment for the city: "Plymouth Art Weekender is a celebration of our vibrant creative community, platforming all walks of artistic practice. It’s a chance for artists and the public to connect, which feels more important than ever. Every edition of the festival reminds me why I stay in Plymouth – for the beautiful, supportive, and invigorating community."

Ben Borthwick, from KARST, reflects on the significance of PAW’s return: "PAW has been instrumental in positioning Plymouth as a national and international centre for contemporary art. It brings together emerging artists, grassroots projects, and major institutions to animate the city in extraordinary ways. Its return couldn’t be more timely, especially as it coincides with New Contemporaries at KARST, MIRROR, and the Levinsky Gallery – an incredible moment to celebrate both new talent and the unpredictably brilliant offerings of PAW."

With its ambitious re-launch, PAW 2024 is poised to be the largest, most dynamic edition yet, inviting everyone to immerse themselves in Plymouth’s flourishing artistic scene and witness the city’s creative future unfold.

For more information on Plymouth Art Weekender 2024 and the full programme, visit https://plymouthartweekender.com/