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festivals · Sunday 26 July 2026 · Various 
Art in the Open Festival
At Wexford Town and surrounding areas · Wexford Town, Co. Wexford
At Wexford Town and surrounding areas · Wexford Town, Co. Wexford
Each July, Wexford becomes the outdoor painting capital of Europe. Art in the Open is now in its 19th year and holds the title of Europe’s largest plein air painting festival - a week-long event that draws artists from across Ireland and around the world to capture the landscapes, harbours, and villages of the south-east on canvas. If you paint, this is the one. If you don’t, there are still public events worth making the trip for, particularly the Quick Draw on the August Bank Holiday weekend.
The main festival runs from Sunday 26 July to Sunday 3 August, with a reception and orientation evening the night before at Whites of Wexford. Each morning, a subsidised coach leaves Wexford town at 9am and brings registered artists to a different painting location - one each day across the week. Locations confirmed for 2026 include Hook Head, Cahore Beach and Harbour, Artramon House and Estate, Ballyhack, Passage East, and the village of Inistioge. The scenery shifts from open coast to wooded river valley and back again.
Ten world-class plein air artists lead masterclasses and evening demos throughout the week. Social evenings, talks, and a Monday-night icebreaker with live music fill out the schedule.
The headline public event is the Charity Quick Draw on the August Bank Holiday weekend. For a €10 entry fee, anyone can pick up a brush when the klaxon sounds at 2pm and paint for two hours in Wexford town. Works are sold directly from easels, with proceeds going to Wexford Special Olympics. No experience needed - it’s genuinely open.
The week closes with the Exhibition and Awards at Greenacres Art Gallery on the Bank Holiday Saturday. Awards total over €5,000 plus a purchase prize, and the gallery show is open to visitors. A Gala Dinner rounds off the Saturday evening.
Registration for the main painting week is now full for 2026, but individual workshops remain on general sale, and the Quick Draw and exhibition are open to all.
Wexford town is about an hour and a half from Dublin by road via the N11/M11 motorway. Bus Eireann runs regular services from Dublin Busaras to Wexford town (route 31/32X), with the journey taking around two hours. Irish Rail operates trains from Dublin Connolly and Dublin Heuston to Wexford on the Rosslare line. Once in Wexford town, the main festival hub at Greenacres Gallery is walkable from the centre. Parking in Wexford town is available on the quays and at several short-stay car parks near the main street.
The town sits on the south shore of Wexford Harbour, and the long timber quayside makes for an easy evening walk. Johnstown Castle, the Irish National Heritage Park at Ferrycarrig, and the beaches of the Rosslare peninsula are all within easy reach for a day either side of the festival. There is more to see in Wexford and across Co. Wexford.
Heading to Wexford Town and surrounding areas in Wexford? Wexford has plenty more to see. Read the Wexford area guide, find what else is on, and explore the towns and villages nearby.