About
Welcome to The Girvan Arts Festival 2023!
Girvan is full of artists: musicians, poets, authors, playwrights, sculptors and visual artists. Girvan is also full of beauty: the natural scenery is sublime!
Helen DW Humphries - Festival Director

Dear all,
Welcome to the second Girvan Arts Festival, 2023. I’m honoured and thrilled to be a patron again for what is turning out to be an exciting addition to the cultural calendar.
Growing up in Girvan has inspired all of my work. It’s a place which produces writers, musicians, artists, designers, makers and enthusiastic, knowledgeable audiences. A festival which brings all of those strands together is a wonderful thing.
My hometown is a special place for a visit any time, but with such a varied programme spread across the weekend, there’s no better time to take a trip down the beautiful Ayrshire coast, and get a taste of that inspiration for yourself.
Douglas Maxwell, Playwright
Hi!
Girvan is full of artists: musicians, poets, authors, playwrights, sculptors and visual artists. Girvan is also full of beauty: the natural scenery is sublime!
I want to involve the community in welcoming visitors, for as long as they want to stay. The weekend of June 3rd & 4th is an ideal time to visit, because the Girvan Arts Festival is back, after last year’s inaugural event was a great success!
The programme sees a diverse band of wonderfully creative people, both local and from further afield, to share their stories.
The festival is based at the Girvan Community Garden, which will be offering scrumptious food throughout the day. The Festival Art Exhibition will be around the corner, at the Wee School Art Space. Children’s events and the festival film club are in the town’s library.
I want to thank two friends, Derek Hall and Brian Neve, for believing in me and my idea of an arts festival in Girvan, and for financing the festival. Thank you.
Big thanks also to Claire McCormick, our head librarian, who has been of immense support, and to Bill Arnott and Rory McAdam for the original artwork and photographs.
Come, enjoy, and plan a return visit next year… keep an eye out on this site or on Facebook or Twitter for the latest exciting news about our programme.
Helen DW Humphries, Poet
Festival Director and Founder


Girvan Arts Festival Aims and Objectives
Our Aim is to promote accessible arts by holding a weekend of creative events each year. We believe that art encompasses everything creative from painting and drawing to woodwork, cooking and photography. It’s about access for the local community to the arts in their broadest sense through presentations and workshops.
Through the festival, we hope to encourage participation in the arts in Girvan and its surrounding areas, increase visitor numbers to the town, and promote creativity and personal well being for Girvan’s citizens.