22/05/2026
Spring fling starts today! Wishing all our artists and makers taking part across Dumfries and Galloway a wonderful event over the next 3 days.
In 2026, Spring Fling Open Studios returns for its biggest year in 23 years and we’re so excited to finally share a first look!
This May, artists and makers across Dumfries & Galloway will open their studios, workshops and creative sites for our biggest Spring Fling yet, bringing together returning favourites and a remarkable number of artists taking part for the very first time. The event will include 111 artists, who we'll be spotlighting with daily posts.
Discover work across a huge range of contemporary visual art and craft - including painting, printmaking, ceramics, textiles, sculpture, photography, jewellery, glass, wood, metal, mixed media, installation, experimental, site-responsive and digitally led practice.
Studios are organised into colour-coded routes, making it easy to plan your visit and explore different parts of the region.
Alongside open studios, Spring Fling 2026 offers a vibrant programme of public commissions, participatory projects and live experiences — inviting you to encounter art in unexpected places, take part, slow down, explore and connect.
👉 CREATE – ambitious installation, site-responsive and experimental work, including From Tree to Sea by Gail McGarva
👉 EMERGE – our mentoring and bursary programme supporting early-career artists Sonah Chaudhry (jewellery) and Trinity Coombs (photography)
👉 FLOCK – led by Frances Ross, with Clare Dawdry and Ruth E Jones, this collaborative ceramics programme has been visiting schools across Dumfries & Galloway, giving young people their first taste of clay and creative confidence. Each pupil’s bird will become part of a stunning collective installation at Spring Fling 2026
👉 CROWD by Kim Ayres – a participatory photography project where visitors become part of a large-scale crowd artwork
👉 Live performance – The Sailmaker’s Palm by Alex Rigg / Oceanallover
👉 Public events, family-friendly activities, evening openings, bus tours and more ways than ever to get involved
Saturday 23 – Monday 25 May 2026
Full programme details, venues and locations will be announced soon.
We’ll be launching our Virtual Studios next week, and revealing the 2026 brochure artwork very soon… 👀
Spring Fling Open Studios is commissioned by Upland
Taking place across Dumfries & Galloway, including within the Galloway and Southern Ayrshire UNESCO Biosphere, and committed to supporting its aims around sustainability, culture and connection to place.
Follow updates and artist previews at https://www.spring-fling.co.uk/
