I’m delighted to have handed over a vast body of information, images and details about the forthcoming festival exhibitions and events to a design team who are happily beavering away to get fifty thousand copies (yes, that’s really fifty thousand) of the festival guide to the distributors in early April. If you’d like a sneaky peek at what’s coming up beforehand, the listings are now live on this website and many artists have added a biography and additional pictures to help visitors see more examples of their work and read about behind the scenes at the exhibition. There’s plenty to discover.

And that’s exactly what we’ve been doing in the Artweeks office over the last few weeks - discovering more about the art that will be on show across the county during May and the artists and the designer-makers who have created it. With over 1000 artists and more than 400 art-spaces it’s almost impossible to choose just a few to recommend – and it’s all down to an individual’s personal taste – so here are a few nuggets to whet your appetite.

• England’s most impressive medieval tithe barn in Swalcliffe near Banbury hosts African and Oxfordshire landscape/wildlife paintings amongst agricultural heritage pieces and rustic carts.
• Theatre set and costume design by Nomi Everall: exquisite drawings, smallscale model boxes on which the stage sets for Pegasus’ shows are based, photos, costumes & props among the theatre’s permanent art.
• ‘Write on’: calligraphy and lettering art to surprise at the Oxfordshire Museum in Woodstock.
• City of Dreaming Tyres: a photographic exploration of the city's relationship with the bike.
• Ethical fashion design by Abingdon-based contemporary clothes designer Feng Ho.
• Quirky copper sculptures inspired by ‘industrial archaeology’, Heath Robinson and amazing machines.
• A day in the life of a farrier on the Ridgeway told in photos.
• The hidden insides of the Cowley Mini Plant, an exhibition of paintings in Summertown.
• An adrenaline-rich exhibition of mixed martial arts and cage fighting in South Moreton.
• Heaven and hell in the world of ballet.

What else can you find?

For area-specific information see the press release amalgamation below.