Kendal’s 2026 arts programme is filling up with exhibitions, live music, creative workshops, writing sessions, yoga and guided walks, bringing events to venues including Highgate, Abbot Hall, Cross Lane Projects and Brewery Arts Centre between April and September.
The programme is aimed at families, artists, writers, walkers, residents and visitors. Anyone planning to attend is advised to check directly with the relevant venue before travelling, because Visit Kendal’s listings do not include 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, including voices from Barrow and Kendal.
The Paper Quilt Project will continue at Abbot Hall until 19 September. It is described as a living exhibition built around a community art piece created during the display.
Also running from 11 April to 3 October is Joshua Donkor & Lela Harris: Familial Traces, which brings 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 linked to the collection. Admission is included with gallery entry.
Cross Lane Projects is due to present British painter Daniel Sturgis’s free exhibition On the Thick and Thin of Painting on 26 August, from noon to 5pm. The show examines painting’s material qualities and the boundary between physical and ethereal forms.
Music, workshops and activities
Brewery Arts Centre at 122a Highgate is scheduled to host Summer Sundays ft. Bad Transmission on 23 August, from 2pm to 4pm. The garden session will include live music, food and refreshments. The Seals are due to appear in 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 for adventure and nature writers, potential writers and publishers.
Children aged eight to 14 can join Summer Art Club: Drawing with Lela at Abbot Hall on 26 August, from 10.30am to 12.30pm. Local artist Lela Harris leads the session, 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 September event listed 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 chosen by the previous month’s winning team.