Your Day By Day Guide To Chelsea Arts Festival 2026

We’re thrilled that the second annual Chelsea Arts Festival is almost here, taking over Sloane Square and the King’s Road from Wednesday 16 to Sunday 20 September 2026. Spanning everything from the arts and literature to theatre, film and fashion, there are both free and ticketed events across the whole weekend – with some tickets still available. Here’s a day by day guide to the affair.

Chelsea Arts Festival 2026: A Guide

Chelsea Arts Festival is a long weekend city art festival championing the uniquely artistic and rebellious spirit of Chelsea, held in partnership with Cadogan. Curated by C&TH Events, a division of Country & Town House, the main venues are Cadogan Hall and Saatchi Gallery, with additional events on Sloane Square and Duke of York Square, as well as at fringe venues like The Trafalgar and Chelsea Theatre.

As festival curator Tessa Clarfelt put it ahead of last year’s instalment, festival goers can expect ‘a vibrant, inspiring and eclectic weekend of live performances, thought-provoking conversations, and colourful celebration,’ with a line-up boasting an almost-ceaseless barrage of illustrious names. Headliners include (but are by no means limited to): Susie Cave, Bella Freud, Bernardine Evaristo, Emma Gannon, Professor Daisy Fancourt, John Pawson, Mishal Husain, Katherine Rundell, Celia Imrie and many others – all taking to the stages of Chelsea for talks, debates, readings and performances.

Cadogan Hall during Chelsea Arts Festival 2025

What To See On Wednesday

The festival opens on Wednesday 16 September with a pair of standout events. At Cadogan Hall at 7pm, Susie Cave and fashion designer Bella Freud come together for an exclusive evening exploring creativity, style, motherhood and the role beauty and art can play in surviving loss – rare chance to hear from two of fashion’s most compelling creative voices. For nearly three decades, Susie and Nick Cave have formed one of contemporary culture’s most engaging partnerships; their new book, SUSIE – created with renowned photographer Dominique Issermann and featuring reflections and lyrical texts by Nick – opens a window onto that world for the first time. (£33, tickets here)

Later that evening, Nice n Spiky Comedy takes to the stage from 8pm, featuring Eshaan Akbar, Sara Barron and more of the UK circuit’s top comedians in one unmissable line-up
(£15, tickets here).

Women and Words, From Page to Stage at Chelsea Arts Festival 2025.

What To See On Thursday

Thursday 17 September brings a full day of events across multiple venues. The Royal Court Theatre opens its doors for Backstage Tours at 11am, where visitors can discover the secrets hidden within one of London’s most prestigious theatres (£15, tickets here). Come the afternoon, there’s a panel of cast and creatives (including Fiona Shaw) from the period romance of the season, Sense & Sensibility, at Cadogan Hall (£22.50, tickets here) – plus an intimate panel discussion on the art and psychology of wallpaper at Cole & Son’s flagship showroom at 3pm, exploring how the patterns and colours that surround us shape our lived experience (£20, tickets here). And at 5.45pm, over to Penghaligon’s King’s Road store where four women artists will present their work ahead of an intimate in-conversation (£20, tickets here).

But the evening belongs to the written word. At 7.15pm at Cadogan Hall, Bernardine Evaristo – Booker Prize winner and recipient of the Women’s Prize for Fiction’s Outstanding Contribution Award – hosts an evening with fellow writers including Bonnie Garmus (Lessons in Chemistry), Jacqueline Crooks (Fire Rush), Kadiatu Kanneh-Mason and Joelle Taylor. The evening will feature readings performed by actors and musical performances by Mariatu Kanneh-Mason and Konya Kanneh-Mason, creating a truly special exploration of women’s writing and the breadth of voices shaping contemporary literature (from £22.50pp, tickets here).

Also at 8pm, the comedy continues with Always Be Comedy featuring Michelle de Swarte, Jordan Brookes and Horatio Gould at The Trafalgar (£15, tickets here).

Saatchi Gallery during Chelsea Arts Festival 2025

What To See On Friday

Friday 18 September is the festival’s busiest day, with events spanning talks, music, theatre and poetry. The morning kicks off at 10.30am at Saatchi Gallery with Emma Gannon and Professor Daisy Fancourt exploring creativity, wellbeing and the science of connection (£15, tickets here). At noon, John Pawson CBE – the celebrated minimalist architect – takes over, sitting down with design critic Deyan Sudjic OBE at Saatchi Gallery for a conversation on design, architecture and simplicity (£15, tickets here).

Set to be the highlight of the day (if not the entire festival), Blue Plaques Talk Back returns to Cadogan Hall at 1pm, with Mishal Husain, Nish Kumar, Dr Carol Jacobi and Lauren Groff bringing Chelsea’s most iconic former residents back to life through dramatisations and discussion; last year’s edition was an eye-opening, unexpected tear jerker (£22.50, tickets here).

Back at the Saatchi, by mid-afternoon, there’s ‘Art Into Fashion: Canvas to Catwalk’ at 2.30pm in partnership with the British Fashion Council (£15, tickets here). Scott Dunn is also hosting a special event delving into the art of travel with Afua Hisch, Monisha Rajesh and Country & Town House’s Travel Editor-at-large, Francisca Kellett at The Sloane Club – though this one is already sold out. Speaking of missing out, ‘A Night of T/Reason’ takes over the Saatchi from 6pm, celebrating 50 years of punk; again, these tickets were snapped up quickly.

Never mind. At 7pm, another highlight on the agenda: Asa Butterfield, Indira Varma, Tamsin Greig and other acclaimed performers join Allie Esiri and take to the Cadogan Hall stage for ‘A Poem For Every Night Of The Year: 10 Year Celebration’, bringing beloved verses to life (£22.50, tickets here).

Over at the Royal Court Theatre, ‘Pressure: All Stars’ by 2nd Quarter Productions begins at 7.30pm, (£20, tickets here) while Tom Davis warms up his new Spudgun tour at 8pm with Always Be Comedy at The Trafalgar (£15, tickets here).

Roaming performers at Chelsea Arts Festival 2025.

What To See On Saturday

The weekend in Chelsea is always buzzy. Add some free outdoor entertainment courtesy of Chelsea Arts Festival, and you’ve got the makings of a brilliant day out. Eyes and ears peeled on Sloane Square, Duke of York Square and up and down the King’s Road.

The weekend’s events kicks off at 10.30am at Saatchi Gallery, where Johno Verity and Jonnie Fielding (aka Bowl of Threads) invite audiences to discover the stories hidden in every corner of the city (£15, tickets here). Dance takes centre stage at 11.30am when iconic company Rambert presents ‘This is Rambert‘ at Cadogan Hall, showcasing work from its vast repertoire (£22.50, tickets here).

For stage lovers, there’s the live podcast recording of The London Theatre Review at 12.15pm at Saatchi Gallery (£15, tickets here), while art historian Gavin Turk explores ‘Art History & Rubbish’ at 2pm, tracing the story of refuse in contemporary art (£15, tickets here).

Katherine Rundell, bestselling author of the Glimouria Archipelago series, returns to her magical world at 2.30pm at Cadogan Hall with The Neverfear (from £15, tickets here). Later that afternoon at 3.45pm, BookBar introduces three exciting debut authors – Jem Calder, Marcia Hutchinson and Sufiyaan Salam – at Saatchi Gallery (£15, tickets here).

Come evening, the National Youth Jazz Orchestra (NYJO) presents ‘Timeless Icons: The Music of Miles Davis & Nina Simone‘ at 7.30pm at Cadogan Hall – a brilliant night celebrating two of music’s most transformative figures (£22.50, tickets here).

Chelsea Arts Festival 2025

What To See On Sunday

The final day of Chelsea Arts Festival, Sunday 20 September, begins with free activities for families. The Children’s Trail with City O’Clock runs from 11am, offering a creative discovery experience for young visitors, made possible thanks to Chelsea Arts Festival’s charity partner Create (£1, pre-book here). And at 11am, the Chelsea Art Market opens at Duke of York Square, inviting art collectors and casual admirers to browse work from Chelsea’s creative community and emerging artists.

At 10am, fashion lovers will enjoy an exclusive styling workshop at 10am with Veronica Beard, hosted by Nicole Smallwood, Fashion Director at Country & Town House (£45, tickets here). Professor Michael Lewis, Curator of the Bayeux Tapestry exhibition, offers an exclusive talk at 11.45am titled ‘The Bayeux Tapestry – Mystery and Marvel’, exploring one of history’s most remarkable textiles as it makes its mark on London this season (£15, tickets here).

Later in the day, there’s a writing masterclass hosted by Silk Road Slippers at midday (£20, tickets here), while Diaries of Note takes to the Cadogan stage at 3.30pm, hosted by bestselling author Shaun Usher. Olivier award-winning actress Celia Imrie CBE joins acclaimed performer Denise Gough and actor-poet Lucas Jones for an intimate evening of diary readings spanning centuries – from the reflections of Nelson Mandela and Frida Kahlo to lesser-known voices whose words are no less affecting (from £22.50, tickets here).

The festival closes with a belly laugh: Sarah Keyworth performs at The Trafalgar (£15, tickets here).

Chelsea Arts Festival 2025

How To Get Tickets

All tickets to Chelsea Arts Festival are sold by event – there is not a unifying festival pass. However to find all of the events and booking links in one place, visit chelseaartsfestival.com/whats-on

Getting Around

All the venues are within walking distance of one another.

Eat & Drink

There are plenty of lovely spots to eat and drink around Chelsea Arts Festival. Here are our favourite pubs and our pick of the very best restaurants, these are the best spots for brunch and here are some outside options if you fancy going al fresco.