Whether you are a casual doodler, an aspiring artist, or you’d just like to meet other art lovers, there are plenty of opportunities in Oxford to experience and create art.
Oxford has a wide range of galleries, art clubs and societies and ways of appreciating and being involved in art. There is plenty to satisfy everyone from the most artistically inclined, to those who want to benefit from the joy and stress relief that art can provide.
How to get involved
There are a range of clubs and societies for those who want more art in their lives.
Oxford Uni Arts Hub
Oxford Uni Art Hub is a hub for art, poetry and drama events across the University. It features dozens of events, and opportunities are shared every week, especially calls for participation in zines, poetry and art competitions.
Oxford University Fine Arts Society (OxArt)
OxArt runs art-related events every week. They organise practical workshops such as oil painting sessions, watercolour, digital art and sketching outside.
Edgar Wind Society
The Edgar Wind Society is the Oxford History of Art society. They host guest artists or art historian lectures, organise visits to museums and hold art events.
Oxford University Photography Society (OUPS)
OUPS organises photography events every week, including socials, beginner-friendly sessions, tutored lessons, and photography sharing sessions.
Oxford has several art galleries and hosts a wide range of exhibitions every year.
The Ashmolean
Home to an amazingly diverse collection of artworks from around the world, the Ashmolean is the place to head for a real mix. Here you can see everything from drawings by Raphael, Michelangelo and da Vinci to modern Chinese paintings. The Ashmolean also hosts regular exhibitions of a wide range of major artists.
Modern Art Oxford
Modern Art Oxford is one of the UK’s most exciting contemporary art spaces, and features a regularly changing programme of exhibitions and installations.
Christ Church Picture Gallery
Christ Church Picture Gallery hosts an incredible collection of Old Master paintings and drawings. You can discover treasures by artists including:
Filippino Lippi
Veronese
Anthony van Dyck
Leonardo
Dürer
Rubens.
The Old Fire Station
The Old Fire Station focuses on presenting new work across art forms, and is always eager to take risks and ask questions.
The North Wall
The North Wall is an Arts Centre in Oxford that has been created for the benefit of emerging artists across a range of disciplines. The programme of events places emphasis on new and innovative work.
Student groups are always looking for student artists to help with their activities.
The Oxford Student
This student newspaper has a creative team which creates illustrations for their articles, comics and other feature items.
The ISIS Magazine
The ISIS is the longest-running independent student magazine in the UK. Known for its poetry and essays, you can join its vibrant team of student artists.
Onyx Magazine
Onyx publishes work by Black students: artwork, articles, poetry, music reviews… anything that showcases Black creativity.
Oxford University Drama Society
OUDS run drama and theatre events throughout the year, and urge designers to get in touch with them.
Raise and Give
RAG is Oxford SU’s student fundraising group. You can join their design team to create graphics for events and social media. It’s a great way to give back to a charitable cause you care about.
