Kendal’s 2026 arts programme is taking shape, with exhibitions, live music, creative workshops, writing sessions and guided walks planned across the town from April to September. Highgate and Abbot Hall are among the main locations, alongside Cross Lane Projects and Brewery Arts Centre.
The programme is intended for families, artists, writers, walkers, residents and visitors. Organisers advise people to check directly with each venue before travelling, as Visit Kendal’s listings do not provide complete booking or access information for every activity.
Exhibitions at Abbot Hall and Cross Lane Projects
Abbot Hall is scheduled to host Bellwethers: Fragility & Survival from 11 April to 3 October 2026. The exhibition explores stories of fragility and survival and includes voices from Barrow and Kendal.
The Paper Quilt Project continues at Abbot Hall until 19 September. It is described as a living exhibition centred on a community art piece created during the display.
Also running from 11 April to 3 October is Joshua Donkor & Lela Harris: Familial Traces, bringing together work by two emerging portrait painters. Harris’s work focuses on figures overlooked or marginalised by history, while Donkor collaboratively embeds the stories of his subjects. Abbot Hall is listed as open from 10am to 4pm.
Useful/Beautiful runs at Lakeland Arts’ Abbot Hall from 1 May to 29 August. The exhibition marks 25 years of contemporary craft at Blackwell, the Arts & Crafts house, and celebrates makers, ideas and objects connected with the collection. Admission is included with gallery entry.
At Cross Lane Projects, British painter Daniel Sturgis’s free exhibition On the Thick and Thin of Painting is scheduled for 26 August, from noon to 5pm. It examines painting’s material qualities and the boundary between physical and ethereal forms.
Music, workshops and outdoor activities
Brewery Arts Centre at 122a Highgate is due to host Summer Sundays ft. Bad Transmission on 23 August from 2pm to 4pm, with live music, food and refreshments in the garden. The Seals are scheduled for a second session at the same time on 30 August.
The Lakes Adventure Writing Group meets on 24 August from 6pm to 8pm at No Hands Rest, Unit 26, K Village, Kendal. The monthly session is intended for adventure and nature writers, potential writers and publishers.
Children aged eight to 14 can attend Summer Art Club: Drawing with Lela at Abbot Hall on 26 August, from 10.30am to 12.30pm. Local artist Lela Harris leads the workshop, which takes inspiration from her work in Familial Traces; listed prices range from £2 to £10.
Yoga in the Park takes place at Abbot Hall on 26 August from 6pm to 7pm and is open to all abilities. The listing says the Cumbria Yoga Foundation’s outdoor programme began in Kendal on 3 June.
The Kendal Walking Festival is scheduled for 31 August, with guided walks exploring the area’s landscape, ecology, history and culture. Routes include walks designed around particular activities or groups.
The next listed September event is The Snuff Bar Smartypants Quiz on 1 September, from 7pm to 9pm. Entry is listed at £2.50, with general knowledge, entertainment and a round selected by the previous month’s winning team.