Urban Art will return to Brixton on Saturday 11th and Sunday 12th July, bringing one of South London’s most popular open-air art events back to Josephine Avenue for another weekend celebrating creativity, community and artistic talent.
For more than two decades, Urban Art has transformed the railings of Josephine Avenue into a unique outdoor gallery, attracting thousands of visitors from across London and beyond. Unlike a traditional art fair, Urban Art offers the opportunity to enjoy artwork in the open air, creating a relaxed and welcoming atmosphere where everyone can explore, discover and engage with artists directly. Entry is free, making it one of the most accessible cultural events in the capital.
This year’s event will feature more than 120 exhibiting artists, showcasing a remarkable variety of work including painting, photography, printmaking, illustration, mixed media and contemporary visual art. The diversity of styles and approaches on display is one of the reasons visitors return year after year. Whether your interests lie in vibrant abstract paintings, detailed landscapes, striking portraits or innovative photographic work, there will be something to capture your imagination.
HISTORY
Urban Art was started in 2002 as a one day street event with 36 exhibitors and a couple of hundred visitors. This year we expect around 80 exhibitors and roughly 5,000 visitors over the weekend. Originally the event was organised on an ad-hoc basis by residents. However as the event grew it was agreed with the Josephine Avenue Group in 2012 to form an independent non-profit company Open Arts Project to run Urban Art, together with the borough-wide Lambeth Open studios event.
WHO BENEFITS?
• Residents – in return for use of the railings, Open Arts Project will work with the residents’ association JAG to ensure the hedges are cut twice a year in Josephine Avenue and Helix Gardens.
• Community – as well as keeping the street looking nice, the event is a great way to show off the wonderful neighbourhood we live in and help create a sense of community pride.
• Artists – this event is a rare and affordable opportunity for many of our local artists to show their work and explain to the public what they do… and hopefully sell something.
• Charity Partners – our involvement with local charities is invaluable as they supply the marshals and volunteers necessary for the weekend to work. In return they receive a 10% commission from all work sold. Our four charity partners in 2025 were Jubilee Primary School, Holy Trinity School, Southside Rehabilitation and the Corpus Christi Anchor Group who received £2,074.65 each (a total of £8,298.6 was raised). All four will be working with us again this year.
• Visitors – our street art fair provides a relaxed and non-judgemental atmosphere for visitors to see original art for free, talk with artists face-to-face, and discover how various creative techniques works.