Artober

Artober is back at Royal William Yard for the whole of October, from the 1st to the 31st. It's the Yard's own contemporary art festival, now in its third year, and it turns the historic waterfront estate into Plymouth's autumn home for contemporary art. The month-long programme mixes exhibitions, installations, workshops and events by local and nationally recognised artists, with some artists in residence for the full run and others showing shorter pop-up displays that keep the show constantly evolving. It also feeds into the wider Plymouth Art Weekender, the city-wide celebration of the city's independent creative scene that's been running since 2015.

The month opens with a Paint Out competition that invites artists of all abilities to capture the Yard's waterfront setting, with winning works later hung in the Artober Exhibition. Artist in residence Sally Holt will be exhibiting and leading drawing workshops throughout the month. The Artober Exhibition itself runs from 23 October to 1 November, featuring work by local and national artists. Alongside that, the South West Coast Path Photographer of the Year 2026 Exhibition shows 23 large-format photographs. The festival also makes room for community work: from 10 to 18 October, the homelessness charity Path presents Hope Begins With A Home, a community exhibition that follows on from last year's 'There's No Place Like Home' mural and community gallery.

On the practical side, the Paint Out costs £15 per artist, with booking closing on 1 October. The Affordable Art Market has works priced from £25 and capped at £500. The whole thing runs from 1 October to 31 October at Royal William Yard, Devon PL1 3RP.