Applications for the 2027 Wylye Valley Art Trail are now open.
Wylye Valley Art Trail 2027 is an award-winning nine day festival of visual art, craft and design in and around the Wylye Valley, South Wiltshire, taking place from 1st May to 9th May 2027. It will be a lively mix of open studios and workplaces, galleries, exhibitions by individual artists, makers and art groups, and other events such as workshops, talks, demonstrations and children’s activities. Wylye Valley Art Trail was established in 2001 and takes place every other year. As always our aim is to build on the huge success of the previous trails, which have made WVAT the largest and most popular visual arts event in Wiltshire.
Why take part?
Hear from past exhibitors, discover the benifits of joining the trail, and learn more about what makes WVAT such a rewarding experience for artists and makers.
Have questions?
Find everything you need to know about eligibility, the application process, important dates and frequently asked questions.
HOW TO PARTICIPATE IN WVAT '27
To be eligible to participate, you need to be resident in, work in, based in or have a strong connection with South and West Wiltshire. View a map of the area covered by Wylye Valley Art Trail here.
You will need to find a venue and organise your own event. This could be your own studio, workshop or a room in your house. It could be a local hall or other public spaces. In previous art trails a wide variety of venues have been used, from pubs and cafes, theatres and libraries to barns, churches, warehouses and garden sheds!
If you’re having problems finding a venue, or you’d like to find someone to share a venue, we may be able to help or advise, just contact us.
The entry deadline for application forms, submission of images and payment is TBD (see below for information about submitting images).
Entry Fees
Due to increases in printing and advertising costs, we have had to raise fees slightly from the previous event 2 years ago:
Individual Artist
£160
(Each artist has a listing in the brochure and website.)
Student / Graduate Artist
£150
(Each artist has a listing in the brochure and website.)
2 - 3 Artists Sharing a Venue
£145
(Each artist has a listing in the brochure and website.)
5 + Artists Sharing a Venue
£135
(Each artist has a listing in the brochure and website.)
Art Group / Student Group
£220
(Each artist has a listing on the website. The group will have an listing in the brochure)
Art Gallery
£295
(This gives your gallery a listing + 2 images in the brochure / website)
Payment by BACS, please. We no longer accept payment by cheque. You will receive an acknowledgement of your entry. Receipts will be sent in due course.
Please note: entries will not be processed until full payment of the entry fee is received.
If you require any further information or help with your entry, please contact us.
WEBSITE
All the information and images which appear in the brochure will also be on the Wylye Valley Art Trail website: www.wvat.co.uk.
Every Arist parcicipating will have their own webpage, including an biography, gallery of work and trail location innformation. Participants will have links to their own websites and social media pages on their webpage.
PUBLICITY
Over the past 24 years, Wylye Valley Art Trail has become a regular fixture on the arts calendar in the South West. We aim to actively promote and advertise
locally, regionally and, where possible, nationally. We seek editorial coverage through newspapers, radio and TV as well as online and through social media.
Much also depends on participants promoting WVAT and their own exhibitions in as many ways as possible.
BROCHURE
The trail brochure will be published and ready for distribution by the end of March 2027, with an estimated print run of over 30,000 copies. This takes the form of a booklet, with listings and images for each event. It also has a map of the area, with numbered references to the listings.
Brochures and posters are distributed to Tourist Information Centres, Libraries, Arts and Leisure Centres, Galleries, Shops, Pubs, Hotels and many other outlets up to 60 miles beyond the Wylye Valley area. The easy availability of the brochure make it one of our principal means of raising awareness of the event.
Participants will be able to collect quantities of brochures for their own publicity purposes.
As well as employing the services of a distribution company, we are setting up a volunteer network for distributing brochures and posters.
Please indicate on theentry form if you can help.
APPLICATION PROCESS
UPLOADING IMAGES
Please send 5 jpegs. They should be a minimum of 300dpi, at least A6 size and a maximum file size of 4mb per image. Please ensure all images are in focus and of good clear quality with strong contrast. Images of 2D work should not include frames or mounts. 3D work should be photographed against a plain, contrasting background.
NB: we reserve the right to reject unsuitable images and request new images.
(PLEASE NOTE: ‘composites’ of several artists’ work in one image will not be accepted as they are generally not clear and don’t work well when printed on a smaller scale).
Title your image files as follows:
YOUR NAME . IMAGE TITLE . SIZE . MEDIUM
Upload your images through the entry form or below. Please make sure that they are labelled as above. (If you are unable to re-title your photos, simply send
an email to info@wvat.co.uk stating the image details as follows: IMAGE NO… / YOUR NAME / IMAGE TITLE / SIZE / MEDIUM.)
For further information or advice, please contact us.
take pART
Participatory events are very popular and attract more visitors to your venue. It would be particularly good to offer ‘hands on’ workshops for children or some youth orientated activities during the weekends and Bank Holiday Monday.
If you are able to run a workshop, give a demonstration, talk or set up any kind of ‘hands on’ activity please give details in the space provided on the form. There will be no extra charge for this listing. You’ll need to state whether people need to book. Include booking details and how much, if anything, it will cost.
Teaching
If you teach or host art or craft courses, workshops or regular classes at other times, you can have the ‘teaching’ symbol on your listing. Just tick the box on the form and state the subjects you teach. If you are an art group which holds workshops and you welcome people who are non-members please also tick the box.
Insurance / Risk Assessments
It is advisable that you take out appropriate third party insurance to cover your exhibition for the duration of the art trail period. You might also like to cover artwork against damage or theft. You can talk to your own insurers about this. Or contact the following organisations who offer insurance specifically for artists:
a-n The Artists Information Company: www.a-n.co.uk/about/insurance
SAA: www.saa.co.uk/info/group-insurance
Hencilla Canworth: www.hencilla.co.uk/unions/a-n/air/aip/
It may be helpful to write a risk assessment for your venue to identify any potential hazards to visitors or participants (eg, trip hazards, toxic substances, dangerous tools or equipment), which could be addressed and rectified prior to your event.
Evenings
For the first time, Wylye Valley Art Trail will offer open evenings. The area will be divided into quarters and, on specific evenings, all the venues in each ‘quarter’ will have the option of staying open until 8.00pm. This will hopefully entice visitors who are working during the day (and maybe also participants from the other ‘quarters’) to do more manageable ‘mini-trails’. Evening openings are not compulsory: you opt in on the entry form and it will be indicated in your brochure / website listing if you are opening late on that day.
See a map of the evening open areas with dates here.
On the entry form tick which area you are in (if you’re on or close to a border between areas then you could opt for one area or the other. Or both!)
APPLICATION PROCESS
Please fill out one of the forms below.
Form for Individual Artists
Use this form if you are an exhibitor on your own or you are sharing a venue with other artists. Each artist will have an image and description in the brochure and on the website. Each artist taking part will need to submit an entry form.
Form for Art Groups and Student Groups
Use this form if you are putting on an art/craft group or student group exhibition. Your listing will have one representative image in the brochure and website. Exhibitors’ names can be listed in your event description.
Form for Galleries
Use this form if you are a commercial gallery. You will have two images in the brochure and on the website.
If you require any assistance during application, please contact us.
ORGANISATION
Wylye Valley Art Trail is an artist-led, non-profit organisation, predominantly paid for by participation fees. It is administered by a small team of volunteer members. No-one is paid or receives a salary.
OTHER PARTICIPANTS
If you know of any other artists or groups who might be interested in taking part, please let them have a link for this page. Or please contact us.