Art History Festival returns in 2025 with nature-inspired programme
Monday 15 – Sunday 21 September 2025
The annual Art History Festival returns across the UK this September for its 5th year, working with more than 100 partners to celebrate and champion those who study and research art history, and showing art can be enjoyed by everyone, everywhere for absolutely free.
The theme of the 2025 festival is art’s close relationship with nature and how this can be a key factor in improving people’s well-being and mental health. It will showcase the power of art and nature together, and its ability to heal, uplift and rejuvenate individuals and communities.
Drawing on cultures from around the world, from Chinese calligraphy to contemporary eco-art, it will explore how art from around the world responds to themes relating to the natural world.
Between Monday 15 September – Sunday 21 September, partners in all nations and regions of the UK will deliver talks from leading artists and historians, hands-on workshops, tours through exhibitions and outside spaces, and panel discussions. Every event is totally free to the public.
Organised by the Association for Art History, the festival seeks to both engage new people with the richness of art, design and architecture as well as promote the important work of those who study visual and material art and work with collections who make the art experiences that we all enjoy.
Since its inception in 2021, the festival has continued to grow at an incredible pace, engaging with five times as many attendees last year since its inaugural year. In September 2024, 18,500 people enjoyed the free events with a mixture of in-person and online programming.
For art lovers, families with budding artists, and those wanting a deeper understanding of the art and nature around us, the Art History Festival offers an easy way to find, plan and organise your week of art with a full events listing on the website.
Gregory Perry, Chief Executive, Association for Art History said “I’m delighted to see the Art History Festival continue to grow and return for its fifth year. It’s a fantastic demonstration of how art history connects people–through ideas, objects and stories–and how it can illuminate the world around us. As the only one of its kind in the UK, the Festival offers a unique opportunity to celebrate and take part in the inspiring work that organisations and people in the arts produce for audiences across the UK.“
The festival operates UK-wide, from culture-rich cities to rural towns, from Orkney to Penzance…
The 2025 Festival is generously supported by the National Gallery Trust, and the Trafalgar Square Gallery will host a detailed audio description of Henri Rousseau’s mysterious and imaginative nature painting Surprised! alongside a new piece of music composed and performed by cellist Nina Plapp (Tuesday 16), as well as a curator talk through the exhibition Millet: Life on the Land (Friday 19). At the National Gallery’s Friday Late, art historian James Fox will speak about his new book Craftland chronicling the vanishing skills and traditions of rural Britain. Elsewhere, at London’s City Lit (Friday 19) artist Hew Locke will be in conversation with Will Gompertz to discuss themes of migration in his art.
In Scotland, Edinburgh’s Dovecot Studios will chart the history of textiles from William Morris to IKEA and how the natural world has been interpreted through magical patterns (Saturday 20). In Glasgow, Britain’s contribution to the Art Nouveau which placed the natural world at its centre, including Mackintosh and the Macdonald Sisters, will be explored in a talk at Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum (Wednesday 17).
In Conwy, an exhibition of 130 artists showcasing the beauty and diversity of the natural world, as well exploring the climate crisis and sustainability, will be shown at the Pensychnant Conservation Centre (Saturday 20).
An art tour of the Northern Ireland War Memorial Museum (Saturday 20) will focus on the healing power of nature in art from the Second World War.
And geography is no barrier, thanks to an extensive series of online events that can be joined from home. These include the National Galleries of Scotland hosting an online talk with environmental artist Kerry Morrison (Tuesday 16), The Courtauld Institute’s workshop exploring artists such as Constable, Turner and Monet and how they captured the light, colour and elements of the natural world first-hand (Saturday 20), a City Lit look at how non-human technologies have re-shaped the way we see nature (Monday 15) and a hour-long online lecture and Q&A offered by the V&A Academy on how the Impressionists revolutionised the way the world was captured through painting.
The Association for Art History will also be offering advice for young people seeking creative careers with a chance to hear from professionals on applying for jobs in the art world (Saturday 21).
Artist Hew Locke says “”Art history has been a pleasure in my life, but also an important part of my self-education in general, giving me an insight into many other cultures, past and present. It is not separate from politics or global history but is a view of history from a different angle.”
These are just a very small selection of the events that are on offer, for full details and updates visit: https://festival.forarthistory.org.uk/events/ – please note this is a growing list, and more events are being added all the time so do check back for regular updates.
All events are free, but some require advanced booking due to limited places.
Life Drawing National Gallery ® Hydar Dewachi
Browse the full programme of events here.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, INTERVIEWS AND IMAGES
Tracy Jones, Brera PR – tracy@brera-london.com / 01702 216658 / 07887 514984 / www.brera-london.com