Berlin 2019, Venice 2021 & 2026, since 2025 the art centre of Chipping Norton. With a materialistic focus on enabling cross cultural discourse, encouraging international exchange, artists' walks, poetry, life drawing & monetisation, we also show conceptual art and old master prints and host authors. We aim to open a new selling exhibition on the 1st Saturday of the month, and open 2-6pm until the 2nd Sunday following, thereafter by appointment, as well as organising events. Please contact us if you would like to help or participate in any way.

We have a small historic building on a pedestrian street in the 13th Century Market square, showing exhibitions on the upper façade facing the A44 and over two internal galleries, a small bookshop, a collection of modern to old prints, rare editions and a small collection of Chipping Norton artefacts, a liminal space with artisan jewellery cabinets, and a garden. Please ask to see our T-Shirts.

We also use Chipping Norton Town Hall, Chipping Norton Theatre, and the surrounding Cotswolds area of outstanding natural beauty.

We are a proud member of Future Arts Centres: The Cultural Venues of Tomorrow and The Cheltenham Chamber of Commerce.

Chipping Norton, market town of culture.

Chipping Norton is a historic market town with a Market Charter dating to 1205, and a town Charter dating to 1606. It had a seat in the house of Commons in the 13th Century, but resigned it because it did not want to pay the MP’s expenses. It is the highest town in Oxfordshire, and is the gateway to the Cotswolds area of outstanding natural beauty. 4 miles away are the Rollright Stones, a 4,000 year old stone circle. The word "chipping" derives from the Old English word "ċīeping" or "ceping," meaning "market" or "market-place. Sadly the Norman castle has been destroyed, but the mound is still visible by St Mary’s church, which has an excellent Green Man boss in the porch.

Our building was a stall in the 13th Century market that in the 15th Century became a shop, house and yard/garden. At the beginning of the last century it was a bicycle shop for many years, then a cake and sandwich shop, then a multitude of uses culminating in a Shake Shop.

Chipping Norton was a focal point for the seminal conceptual art group Art & Language, and we have original copies of issues 2&3 of volume one that were published at 26 West End, as well as facsimiles of the entire journal.

Chipping Norton was home to the residential Chipping Norton Recording Studios from 1971 to 1999, and we are opposite the historic Crown and Cushion Hotel that was owned by Keith Moon, of the Who.

Around the corner, if you can pass the Library and 15th Century Chequers Inn, is the Chipping Norton Theatre, founded in 1975. It is a producing house, has a bar, and also shows films, and hosts touring productions. Opposite us is the new & luxurious Living Room Cinema which has a buzzing cafe.

Around another corner is Jaffé & Neale a new bookshop and cafe founded in 2001. Opposite us is the second hand bookshop Kellow Books, and at the other end of the square is the Oxfam Bookshop which has an excellent Vinyl section.

Down New Street, by the former station, the long established Station Mill Antiques Centre is home to 80 dealers in art and antiques.

The Chipping Norton Choral Society was founded on Wednesday 15 May 1872, and the 114th Chipping Norton Music Festival will take place from the 6th-22nd March 2026.

Chipping Norton Literary Festival ran for a dozen years, welcoming over 1,000 authors to 550 events over four day weekends each April. The festival was founded in 2012 by bestselling author and former Chipping Norton resident Clare Mackintosh , then run by non-resident Jenny Dee from 2016. In 2015 Chipping Norton Literary Festival started to pay authors a share of the event’s profits, as well as travel and accommodation costs, which worked out at nearly £100 per hour for authors. Sadly the trustees disbanded the organisation in 2024.

We hope to reanimate the spirit of the Chipping Norton Literary Festival in June 2026. with the Chipping Norton Festival of Art & Literature, and we welcome any, and all help or leadership in doing so.

It is planned to take place from June 17 -21, to coincide with the solstice.

Child poverty in Chipping Norton

With a 46.6 per cent deprivation level Chipping Norton is the third most deprived town in West Oxfordshire according to the 2021 Census.

We support the extremely efficient local charity Thrive OX7 . It is run entirely by volunteers with no paid staff, and provides practical support to children of struggling families in the OX7 area, which includes Chipping Norton, who for whatever reason, have a genuine, urgent need. Usually, this would be for a specific basic item such as toiletries, a bed to sleep on, basic clothing (that most of us take for granted), school uniform or equipment. They also help with carpet to cover bare floors following a sudden home move, as well as fridges and cookers. Please donate, tooth brush and paste only costs two pounds fifty, which some lack. https://www.nowdonate.com/checkout/thrive-northox.