Friend of Guildford Festival of the Arts has provided £1,710 of match funding
Support Guildford Festival of the Arts
Guildford, Surrey, United Kingdom
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Aim
Support Guildford Festival of the Arts as we bring artists, venues and communities together across the town this October.
Guildford Festival of the Arts
Why We Started
Two years ago, my co-founder Lauren and I had a simple idea.
Having both grown up in Guildford as young creatives, we knew there was creativity here, but we never really knew where to find it. As students, we weren't aware of the opportunities on our doorstep, and even as we got older, it often felt difficult to discover what was happening or how to get involved.
The more we looked into it, the more we realised that Guildford was already home to an incredible creative community. There were artists, galleries, creative organisations, community groups and independent venues doing amazing work all year round – the problem wasn't that they didn't exist, it was that people simply didn't know they were there.
So we decided to create a festival that would bring them together.
Guildford Festival of the Arts was created to shine a light on the people, organisations and creative spaces already making a difference across the town. Rather than creating something completely new, our aim has always been to celebrate what already exists, connect people with it, and encourage more people to discover the incredible creativity that Guildford has to offer.
While our roots are firmly in Guildford, the festival also welcomes artists, speakers and organisations from across the UK. Through our Open Call, we invite submissions from artists nationwide, while also welcoming leading creatives and cultural organisations to take part in the festival. By combining local talent with wider artistic voices, we hope to inspire creativity, encourage collaboration and establish Guildford as a destination for arts and culture.
What started as an idea between two friends has now grown into a registered charity, supported by an incredible team of volunteers, artists, venues, schools, businesses and community organisations. Every year we aim to discover new artists, welcome new organisations into the festival and find more ways to celebrate creativity and culture across Guildford.
We believe creativity should be accessible to everyone. By connecting artists, creative organisations, businesses, schools and communities, we hope to make it easier for people to discover, experience and support the arts, while continuing to establish Guildford as a thriving cultural destination.
The creativity has always been here. We're simply helping people discover it.
We honestly had no idea what to expect when we launched Guildford Festival of the Arts. The response from artists, venues, volunteers and the local community exceeded anything we imagined.
In just one year, the festival has grown in almost every way.
Why We're Crowdfunding
When we launched Guildford Festival of the Arts, we never imagined it would grow so quickly.
The incredible response from artists, venues, volunteers and the wider community has shown us just how much people value creativity and culture in Guildford. As the festival has grown, so too has our ambition.
We want to welcome even more artists.
We want more schools and young people to get involved.
We want to work with more charities, looking at making the arts more accessible to everyone.
We want to introduce more people to the incredible creative organisations working across Guildford all year round.
And we want to keep the Art Trail and exhibitions free for everyone to enjoy.
As a newly registered charity, we're now in a position to build something that can continue to grow for years to come. But to do that, we need your help.
Every donation, no matter the size, helps us reach more people, support more artists and create more opportunities for our community to experience creativity.
Whether you can give £5 or £500, every donation helps us continue building a festival that belongs to Guildford.
Picture left: workshop, Carmine Crimson. Picture right: workshop, Watts Gallery
The People Behind the Festival
Guildford Festival of the Arts depends on the generosity and devotion of local volunteers.
Every hour spent planning the festival has been donated by people who simply believe Guildford deserves a thriving creative community.
What began with two friends and an idea has grown into an incredible team of trustees, artists, venue coordinators, photographers, marketers, fundraisers, administrators and volunteers, all giving their time because they believe creativity should be accessible to everyone.
Every email sent, sponsorship secured, exhibition installed, and social media post shared has happened because someone volunteered their time.
We're incredibly proud of the community that's forming around the festival, and we're so grateful to everyone who has helped us get to this point.
Our Vision
When we first started planning the festival, we were simply hoping to help people discover the creativity that already existed around them.
Today, that vision has grown.
We've already begun to see artists collaborating with new venues, local businesses getting involved, creative organisations working together and visitors discovering places they never knew existed. That's exactly what we hoped would happen.
Looking ahead, our vision is bigger than the festival itself.
We hope that when people think of Guildford, they think of a town that celebrates creativity. A place where artists, musicians, performers, makers, community groups and cultural organisations feel connected, supported and valued. A place where creativity isn't hidden away, but is part of everyday life.
We want people to explore somewhere new, meet someone inspiring, discover an artist they've never heard of or walk into a gallery they've passed a hundred times without stepping inside.
If, in years to come, Guildford Festival of the Arts has helped make creativity a more visible and celebrated part of the town, we'll know we've achieved what we set out to do.
Becoming a registered charity is an important step on that journey, but it's only the beginning. With your support, we can continue building something that not only celebrates creativity for one weekend each year, but helps it thrive all year round.
What started as an idea between two friends has grown into something far bigger than we ever imagined.
This festival simply wouldn't exist without the generosity, enthusiasm and dedication of the people behind the scenes, and we're incredibly grateful to everyone who has helped us along the way.
This is only the beginning, and we're so excited to see where the journey takes us next.
Picture: Co-founders, Charlie Cluff & Lauren Gerrard
Thank You
Whether you choose to donate, volunteer, visit the festival or simply tell someone about what we're doing, thank you.
Two years ago, this festival was just an idea between two friends. Today, it's a registered charity supported by an incredible community of artists, volunteers, venues, businesses and supporters.
We're incredibly proud of how far we've come, and even more excited about where we're going next.
We'd love you to be part of what's next.
Charlie Cluff
Co-founder and Director, Guildford Festival of the Arts
Funding method
Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made by 5th October 2026 at 5:00pm