Everything You Missed At The Inaugural Chelsea Arts Festival

Over this past weekend, the streets of Chelsea came alive in celebration of its rich cultural heritage and London’s vibrant arts scene as we celebrated the inaugural Chelsea Arts Festival. Welcoming the likes of Stephen Fry, Elizabeth Day, Lenny Henry, Ambika Mod, Rupert Everett, Marian Keyes, Sally Phillips, Dame Zandra Rhodes, David Shrigley and Sheila Atim (just to name a few), the people of Chelsea were treated to a range of deep cultural discussions, podcast recordings, live readings, music and dance. Having delivered what festival curator Tessa Clarfelt called ‘a vibrant, inspiring and eclectic weekend of live performances, thought-provoking conversations, and colourful celebration’, here’s a round-up of everything that went down. 

Chelsea Arts Festival Round-Up

Day One

Kicking off on Thursday 18 September at Cadogan Hall, writer, director and recently-spotted barman Rupert Everett delved into his wide-ranging career in conversation with broadcaster and journalist Hannah MacInnes, inviting audiences inside the inner workings of his latest book The American No. Later that evening, he was followed by Ian McEwan as he delved into his new novel What Can We Do with the help of author and environmentalist George Monbiot. 

Day Two

The following day, the festival went into full swing with a performance by Stephen Fry. Taking to the Cadogan Hall stage, the beloved actor, author and comedian headlined the Blue Plaques Talk Back event along with Lyse Doucet, Dennis Morris, Kathryn Hughes, and host Hannah MacInnes which brought some of Chelsea’s most iconic former residents (including Oscar Wilde, Bob Marley and George Eliot) back to life with unique dramatisations and discussions. Fans of William Boyd were then treated to an early discussion of his new book The Predicament just days after it was released, in conversation with writer Olivia Cole.

In the afternoon, creatives joined an illuminating talk on the impact of AI at Saatchi Gallery, featuring Omar Karim, Freya Salway, Dr Shama Rahman and Suhair Khan. This was followed by a session for TV fans with Supacell producer Sheila Nortley in conversation with Davina Forbes-Williamson. Later in the afternoon sold out events included a talk with BookBar and renowned author Elif Shafak, as well as poet and actor Lucas Jones’s first ever performance with a live musical composition. The day culminated in a musical celebration with the audience out of their seats, enjoying an evening of funk and soul with London’s legendary jazz club Ronnie Scott’s, featuring Ashton Jones.

Day Three

Saturday marked the most action-packed day of Chelsea Arts Festival. The morning kicked off with the English National Ballet School’s special performance from the company’s young artists, while the first talk of the day shone a spotlight on the importance of the arts sector, with Arts Council chief executive Darren Henley, multidisciplinary artist LionHeart and broadcaster Samira Ahmed. The art theme continued, with talks from Ekow Eshun and Katy Wickremesinghe, Kate Bryan and David Shrigley, Alison Jackson, Philip Colbert, Simon de Pury, Chris Levine and Ally Rosenberg filling the Chelsea Arts Festival agenda throughout the afternoon. Meanwhile, fashion lovers headed over to Everyman Chelsea to enjoy special screenings of two documentaries on Twiggy and Mary Quant, ahead of an afternoon celebrating British film and TV with Sally Phillips, Sadie Frost, Bradley Banton, Dr Nitin Sawhney and Twiggy herself. 

Over at Saatchi Gallery, festival goers enjoyed a celebration of fashion with Zandra Rhodes and Daniel Lismore, delving into fashion’s place as the ultimate form of self expression, and were later treated to the internet’s resident librarian Jack Edwards interviewing award-winning Palestinian author of The Coin, Yasmin Zaher. Elsewhere at the Royal Court Theatre, rising star Ambika Mod joined David Byrne and the London Theatre Review podcast team for a live recording, followed by a live reading of Allie Esiri‘s 365 Poems for Life with actors Susan Wokoma, David Morrissey, Kate O’Flynn and Rory Kinnear. This jam-packed day concluded at Chelsea Arts Festival’s comedy gala, with comedians Sindhu Vee, Daniel Foxx, Shazia Mirza, Michael Odewale and Lloyd Griffith providing an evening of belly laughs in Cadogan Hall.

Elizabeth Day and Marian Keys at Chelsea Arts Fesitval 2025.

Day Four

Sunday, the final day of Chelsea Arts Festival, featured a bounty of outdoor entertainment, with live music on the Duke of York bandstand, roaming street performers, plus the inaugural Chelsea Art Market. Over at Cadogan Hall the stage was taken over by Jordan Stephens, Matt Haig and Annie Macmanus for a conversation delving into mental health, creativity and resilience, followed by Elizabeth Day and Marian Keyes, who celebrated Day’s new novel One of Us on its publication day.

Malala at Chelsea Arts Festival.

The festival closed its first edition in style with a finale show celebrating 30 Years of The Women’s Prize. Titled A Celebration of Women’s Words, the performers included Malala Yousafzai, Sheila Atim, Sheila Hancock, Lesley Sharp, Kate Mosse, Lenny Henry, June Sarpong, Emily Berrington, Cariad Lloyd, Emily Beecham, Sara Pascoe, Tim Wallers and Deborah Frances-White.

Don’t Miss Out On Next Year’s Festival

The festival may have come to a close for 2025, but there’s still plenty of coverage to come from C&TH. Keep an eye on our dedicated Chelsea Arts Festival hub for more news and reflections on the festival over the coming weeks, follow @countryandtownhouse and  @chelseaartsfestival on Instagram, plus sign up to the Chelsea Arts Festival newsletter to be the first to hear our news.