Arts & Crafts

The perfect way to celebrate Somerset

Mark your Somerset visit with a momento made by local craftspeople; ideal as a gift or just a reminder of your trip. Somerset crafts like photography, paintings, sculptures and jewellery – all designed by local artists – are available in gift shops and galleries across the county. In some stores you’ll even find Somerset-sourced stone, slate and wood crafts.

As an agricultural county, Somerset’s full of places to find unique and high-quality wool and leather produce, often made by hand on working farms. Down on the Somerset Levels, where willows and reeds are cultivated, you’ll find traditional willow craft stores stocking everything from baskets to furniture.
Up on the Mendip Hills, discover remarkable Somerset specialities like the floral products at Somerset Lavender near Radstock Somerset’s fabulous landscape has inspired some of our most famous artists over the centuries including JMW Turner. It continues to attract professional artists to live and work here and has a range of Arts venues. What is new is the spotlight that has been turned on our contemporary art with the arrival of the world-class gallery Hauser and Wirth at Bruton, and
visit by Banksy to Weston-super-Mare.
Whether it is in the prestigious setting of Bath, a World Heritage site; in the grounds of a school or in shipping containers on Watchet quay - there is no doubt we have the quality and variety of art to suit all tastes. As well as established Arts venues, there are a number of arts bodies that organise temporary exhibitions and performances in our towns and villages. We also revel in the festivals we hold for literature, opera, music and visual art. One of the biggest is Somerset Arts Week organised annually in the Autumn by Somerset Art Works showcasing artists work across the County.