SAMHAIN FESTIVAL: OVADA Warehouse Gallery & Raoul’s Bar FRI 30 October - FRI 13 November 2026
Open weekday evenings, Wednesday - Friday from 7-9pm and weekends from 12 - 5pm
Samhain Festival is a two week arts and culture festival touching on themes of grief and ritual through periods of change and uncertainty.
At a time when the veil between this world and the next is thin, Samhain Festival is dedicated to both personal and collective grief. It is a space to process, cry, scream, write or create. It is also a space for joy, tenderness, reflection, light and peace. Those who enter the enchanted forest will be placed under a protection ‘spell’, blessed with insight, connection, strength and resilience as we move into the winter months.
Drawing on ‘Halloween’ and its roots in the Celtic Samhain, this two week festival brings together artists and creators from a variety of backgrounds and disciplines culminating in a large-scale exhibition of 20+ artists and makers in Oxford’s OVADA’s Warehouse Gallery and Raoul’s Bar in Jericho, Oxford.
featuring a selection of works, performances and events from:
Drew Harmony Gala Hills
Ana Sekulic Saroj Patel
Frances Barton Helen Kohl
Daisy Dixon Laura Jagger
Harmanpreet Randhawa
Pamella Gomes Zach de Lello
Terri Silver Hugo Max
Ezra Crump Dulcie Powers
Jane Thomas Issy Miller
Alice Hackney Christa Santos
Bronte Wyse Colleen Catterall
Bliss Ashley Angie MacLachlan
Margo Maas Audrey Baldwin
Naomi Morris Wojciech Walkowicz
Dana Houshiar Wendy Aldiss
Willow Shatz
Festival Events
This ticket gives you unlimited access to Samhain Festival’s events, workshops, exhibition and parties at Raoul’s Bar in Jericho. This includes six workshops, three parties and more across the two weeks of Samhain Festival.
Please visit www.ovada.org.uk/samhain-festival for more details on each event.
Key info
Location: OVADA Warehouse Gallery
Duration: Friday 30 October - Friday 13 November 2026
Exhibition Opening Hours Weekdays: Wednesday - Friday from 7 -9pm Weekends: Saturday - Sunday from 12 - 5pm
Some workshops and events take place outside these designated opening hours
Please note, these events are suitable for ages 18+
Under 18s must be accompanied by a parent or guardian
Tickets £35
Individual event tickets can also be purchased for £5/£10/£15 per event
Although we have a range of ticket pricing, please get in touch with us at sarah.catterall@ovada.org.uk if pricing is a barrier to you attending the festival or events. I am happy to let you in for free - art is for everyone!
Thank you for directly supporting the artists behind Samhain Festival!
Accessibility
The exhibition and events take place downstairs in the main warehouse gallery. The closest fully accessible toilet is at Courtyard by Marriot Hotel, a 3 minute walk from the gallery.
Artists working across installation, painting, writing, sound and sculpture.
The slideshow below documents the exhibition and introduces the artists who took part in the residency. Explore images from the exhibition alongside further insight into the ideas, processes and projects developed during their time at OVADA.
Graphics by Eva Juengling @revevaille
Samhain Festival was curated by Oxford local artist and curator Sarah Catterall, here’s a short message from them:
“Thank you to the OVADA Trustees, the artists and technicians, and everyone involved for all your hard work, patience and creativity. Without you, this festival would never have been possible. You inspire me and I am so grateful to have the opportunity to work with you and show your work in this way in OVADA’s Warehouse Gallery. And thank you to all our supporters and attendees - this work is for you.”