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The Lake District, Cumbria, has provided inspiration for a whole host of artists throughout the years, so it may come as no surprise that we’ve got a rich arts and crafts scene across the area! Here, you’ll find a range of art galleries and exhibition spaces that host an ever-changing calendar of works in virtually every medium.
Discover pieces by local and nationally known artists at venues including independent galleries and studios, to museums and seasonal fairs. Some offer the chance to take a piece home with you, while others host regularly changing exhibitions as well as permanent art collections.
There’s even the opportunity to check out art in the great outdoors: there’s a sculpture trail at Grizedale Forest, for example, as well as open air exhibitions as part of festivals and events throughout the year.
If you fancy trying it for yourself, several galleries and studios also host workshops and classes. Often, you’ll be able to get inspired by the stunning natural surroundings of your venue as you learn a new skill or hone existing abilities.
As well as viewing some fantastic art pieces, here in Cumbria we also invite you to explore the studios and workshops where that work was made; and even meet the artists who create it.
Keep an eye out, too, for touring exhibitions to see something a little different while in the Lake District, Cumbria. Discover our galleries and exhibitions below.
Connie Flynn's Text & Textile! explores everyday sayings rooted in the textile trade. Using…
Shipping Brow Contemporary 2026 brings together ten young, emerging and/ or contemporary artists…
Step inside the charming world of Tabitha Twitchit's second-hand bookshop in Hawkshead, where every…
Head to the Great Barn at Sizergh to see an exhibition from a creative collective of artists,…
Great exhibitions, activities, gift shop and café in a glorious park setting amongst the mountains.…
This exhibition brings together two emerging portrait painters. Lela Harris gives depth and…
We are excited to be working with Barrow AFC and Bluebird Supporters club to bring you the Barrow…
A contemporary art gallery 9 miles east of Carlisle. located close to Hadrian’s Wall, the Scottish…
Discover documentary photographer Joanne Coates's powerful exhibition about women in agriculture in…
Roman museum displaying the internationally significant collection of Romano-British altars,…
Inside just got interesting. Step off the trail and into a space where the Lake District is…
If you’re visiting the Ambleside area why not pop into the Old Courthouse Gallery? We have a…
Eskdale Mill is a unique experience, nestled in one of the Lake District's most beautiful locations…
Join us for a powerful multi-media exhibition exploring stories of fragility and survival, told…
A diverse exhibition celebrating printmaking techniques, creativity, and artistic exploration by…
Celebrating the beauty, behaviour, symbolism and diversity of birds through the work of 57 UK…
Fifty four artists will open their studios or create a pop-up exhibition as part of this free event…
The Paper Quilt Project is a living exhibition in which a community art piece is created while on…
Grizedale Observatory and planetarium for stargazing under the dark skies of the Lake District.…
An anniversary exhibition celebrating British wool, craftsmanship, collaboration, and twenty-five…
"Our personal encounters within Morecambe Bay." This exhibition brings together the creative voices…
Venture into the fateful night that inspired one of the world's greatest gothic tales: Mary…
Discover the creatures that came before the T.REX. Step back to the Carboniferous period, 100…
Every Wednesday, 11am - 2pm: Finds handling Get hands-on with history. Visitors can get hands-on…


You may leave the Lake District, but once you’ve been, it’ll never leave you.

Number of results: 64
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Garsdale Rd, Sedbergh
"Our personal encounters within Morecambe Bay."
This exhibition brings together the creative voices of ArtyBird Carnforth Fellowship Alumni, each offering their own glimpse into the rich and ever-changing landscape of Morecambe Bay. The featured…
Blackwell - the Arts & Crafts house, Bowness-on-Windermere
Useful/Beautiful marks 25 years of contemporary craft at Blackwell – the Arts & Crafts house, celebrating the makers, ideas and objects that have shaped our collection since opening our doors to the public in 2001.
Set throughout the house, the…
Grasmere
Art gallery and art shop run by the Heaton Cooper family, selling original paintings and prints from 4 generations of the family.
Nr. Penrith
Brougham Hall is a 14th Century Fortified ruin home to a variety of working craft units, a cafe, both a gin distillery and a brandy distillery.
Keswick
Located in Keswick, the home of the first pencil, visitors enter this museum through a replica graphite mine which would have served as the source of the pencil industry over three centuries ago.
Garsdale Rd, Sedbergh
A diverse exhibition celebrating printmaking techniques, creativity, and artistic exploration by Cumbrian printmakers.
Exploration and Discovery is an exhibition by Cumbria Printmakers, a cooperative of individual artists united by a shared passion…
122A Highgate, Kendal
Widely considered Britain's most popular artist, David Hockney was a global sensation with exhibitions in London, New York, Paris and beyond, attracting millions of visitors worldwide.
Featuring intimate and in-depth interviews with Hockney, this…
Maryport
Shipping Brow Contemporary 2026 brings together ten young, emerging and/ or contemporary artists working today across Cumbria. The show includes printmaking and illustration from Polly Marix Evans, Emily Ford and Ellie May Morgan, oil painting from…
The Promenade, Maryport
Every Wednesday, 11am - 2pm: Finds handling
Get hands-on with history. Visitors can get hands-on with real and replica objects, lead by one of our team of volunteers. Included in museum admission.
Ravenglass
Explore the musical, interactive, piano sculptures of local artist Joshua Payne, exhibited across the Muncaster Estate.
Ulverston
The Laurel and Hardy Museum celebrates the life and career of Stan Laurel, born in Ulverston.
Kirkland, Kendal
The Paper Quilt Project is a living exhibition in which a community art piece is created while on display in the gallery. This project has been designed in response to the two adjoining exhibitions; Bellwethers and Joshua Donkor & Lela Harris. Both…
Hawkshead
Come and discover all that Grizedale has to offer – take in Lake District landscapes, experience a whole range of contemporary art and enjoy an adventure, no matter your age!
Hawkshead, Ambleside
Situated in the quaint Lake District Village of Hawkshead, the boys Grammar School gives insight into school life ever since it opened in 1585. William Wordsworth also attended the school from age 9 to 17 with his brothers.
Whitehaven
Imagine leaving the heart of Whitehaven's historic port and being taken back in time to an exotic tropical island's rainforest in the Caribbean, that is just the start of your great adventure in The Rum Story.
Kendal
Kendal Museum is one of the oldest museums in the UK, founded in 1796 by William Todhunter. The Museum has a long history in Kendal Town and has occupied various sites but has been at its current location (previously a wool warehouse) since 1913.
Grasmere
Venture into the fateful night that inspired one of the world's greatest gothic tales: Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.
Beginning with the reimagined bedroom of Mary Shelley, step into a spellbinding world of moonlit woods, haunting seas and waking…
Coniston
Meet Coniston's heroes, John Ruskin, artist, radical and seer and Donald Campbell, speed ace. View the fully restored Bluebird craft in the Bluebird wing of the museum. Discover the mineral wealth of the fells, all at 'the most thought provoking…
Brampton
Experience the edge of empire at the award winning Roman Army Museum. There is nowhere else like it on Hadrian's Wall.
Boroughgate, Appleby
Heritage open weekend with free entry to venues and activities 19th and 20th Sept in Appleby in Westmorland
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