Art of Protest return with a bang with an ambitious Summer 2026 Acomb Arts Festival
The Art of Protest (AOP) Team is building on the success of the previous art installations and engagement in Acomb. Working with Greater Acomb Community Forum, Acomb Alive and local stakeholders the Acomb Creative Community Festival has received funding from David Skaith, Mayor of York and North Yorkshire and York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority as part of the Vibrant and Sustainable High Streets Fund.
The ambition is to deliver an annual festival to transform Acomb Front Street into an open-air gallery and event centre, creating legacy and vibrancy through co-production, talent development and sustainability. Creative workshops will be delivered with local schools and venues to inform the design brief with an opportunity for all to learn and get involved.
Four community art installations will be delivered in the run up to a three day festival. The festival will have a programme of events including live muralism with internationally renowned artists, as well as showcasing local businesses, groups and activities.
The festival will be running on 3rd, 4th and 5th July 2026 with live music, spray paint exhibitions, food stalls, a creative art market, exhibitions of local artists and activities for all ages. There will be a ‘mini beast safari’ and art trail promoting the beautiful green spaces in Acomb, Front Street and the local area.
Art of Protest will be delivering business coaching events from November 2025 around marketing, event planning and offering unique visitor experiences so businesses can showcase their offer and draw more people into Acomb’s shopping area. The project is a real opportunity to build on the great work that has already been achieved in the local area. There will be an opportunity for individuals to get involved in the Street Art Academy and talent development programme.
Our Creative Director, Jeff Clark commented:
“This is an inclusive project, so we would love to hear from community groups and businesses that would like to deliver activities during the festival or host events. We are keen to transform and uplift the area, so will be creating a wall library, so please get in touch if you have a wall to paint.
We are here to celebrate local creatives so will be arranging a programme of events for artists to exhibit and be part of the festival. We are also keen for local musicians to come forward to perform at one of the local venues. There will be volunteer opportunities as well as the talent development programme”.
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“High streets are constantly changing, but they have, and always will be, hubs for our communities. That's why I'm backing community-led projects across York and North Yorkshire.
Like Acomb Creative Community Festival, which will see an annual festival transform Acomb High Street into an open-air gallery and event centre, creating legacy and vibrancy through co-production, talent development and sustainability.
Residents and businesses understand most what is needed in their communities, and I am proud to be backing their plans with my Vibrant and Sustainable High Street Fund."
– David Skaith, Mayor of York and North Yorkshire,
We are pleased to bring an update on the progression of our Acomb Fest project. Our team held a business meeting at the wonderful Crooked Tap in November where we discussed programming, community engagement, business initiatives, creative ideas and much more.
We have received an overwhelming response from applicants who would like to be involved in the project and we cannot wait to get you all involved.
We are now moving into the next stages of the project where musicians, food vendors, artists, exhibitors and more are being paired with our host venues.
This will be discussed in our next business meeting which will be held on Tuesday the 13th January 2026 at Inn On The Green.
Our engagement workshops are also secured and are going ahead in January with local schools and public engagement workshops.
To book a space on our public workshops or to find out more details please head to our Eventbrite link. Acomb workshops can be found under ‘Acomb Fest - Creative community engagement’.
If you would like to get involved, please email us at acombfest.aop@gmail.com or fill out this form.
Updates around the creative workshops and the festival will be available via https://www.artofprotest.co.uk/
