Social Clay Festival 2026
Social Clay 2026
Lordy, is this our 5th birthday ?! All the more reason you should come.
Social Clay celebrates sociable making, from housebuilders to mug throwers to ashtray makers – all in our workshops and fields at our historic inn, The Farmer’s Arms. Join us for a three-day collaborative gathering of people using ideas, clay (usually but not only) and crafts in political, educational and social ways, brought to you again by Grizedale Arts and Tees Valley Arts.
You needn’t be a professional artist or maker to join in, and we welcome all levels of experience from beginners upwards. You can make an event of it by camping with us, or stay in our great value accommodation if you prefer a roof.
Since Grizedale Arts re-established The Farmer’s Arms in 2021, we’ve been working to foster collaborations, ideas and discussions to help people from all walks of life develop networks and provide a space for making. Social Clay is a celebration of what has been established here to date and a chance for you to meet other people doing interesting things, to learn, exchange, collaborate and get involved!
This year’s talks theme is “Cultural Appropriation & Power”, inviting speakers from the UK & Japan to consider the complexities of local and global stories of borrowing, stealing and homage.
The Farmer’s Arms isn’t just a pub – it’s a social space. We have workshops, gardens, housebuilding, craft and art projects, fermentation, cooking and product development—a place where people meet and plots and soups are thickened. There is an emphasis in all these areas on social functionality and how these ideas and skills feed into everyday life and creativity, so, if you’re working somewhere in between any or all these things, but you’re thinking beyond the product, then this festival is for y’all!
FESTIVAL PROGRAMME OUTLINE
It’s as ever a packed programme over the three days including workshops suitable for all ages, at least three generations or more, fun filled, food filled and educational, programmed by us, our friends and collaborators and partners. What more could you possibly want? (Sorry, campsite has no hot showers :-/)
All the programming is being updated as we speak, so check back often for new additions.
Friday Sept 18
From midday
Arrival and welcome at the Farmer’s Arms (stupendous parking, accommodation and camping on site)
5pm – 6.15pm
Guided pub tour (it’s allegedly the oldest in the county), looking at period features, our art & craft collection and new things we have done too.
6.30pm
Pot luck supper. Appropriate or bring a pot & we will provide the appropriate food (included in both tickets). Vegan & omnivore options.
From 7.30pm
Social & music in the Stable Bar until 11pm.
For early arrivals and/or late leavers: the bar will be open as normal 5pm to 11pm
Saturday Sept 19
10.00am to 4.00pm
CafeTeen, our youth arts / cafe is open and serving all day including special themed menu and 10am BRUNCH offering.
Hands-on workshops throughout the pub, incl. with new potter-in-residence and old potter-in-residence Francis Lloyd Jones, Taylor Shaw and more. Materials included but there may be modest charges for firing etc)
Kids Clay Workshops all-day (NB accompanied children only)
Outside – raku all day – blanks provided
Zoom talks programme incl. Fuyuko Kobori, the first woman tea master in Japan, the 17th generation of her family to take up this elite role, Kanazawa artist Akane Nakamori & keynote lecture, Yuko Kikuchi, Mingei Transnationalism: Strategic Appropriation or Shared Heritage?; Beatrice Prosser-Snelling (Benton End Project Director) on Benton End and Cedric Morris – The Polite Avant Garde of the English Countryside
Live talks include Harvey Wilkinson (National Trust Cultural Heritage Curator for the Lake District), on The National (mis)Trust – Tea and scones and what they mean and GA director Adam Sutherland on Mugs Matter, exploring a fascinating part of Grizedale Arts’ Lawson Park Collection.
7pm
Supper (incl. in tickets*) followed by film programme
Stable Bar open 12noon to 11pm
Sunday Sept 20 2026
9.30am – 11.00am
Off-site Foraging Walk with Adam Sutherland – we will mostly be finding hedgehog, chanterelle and porcini mushrooms. Meet at Tarn Hows car park, nr. Coniston.
11.30am: Workshop on preparing and cooking mushrooms, at our Fermentation barn back at the pub. How not to poison yourself in one simple lesson.
Or
10am
Gardener’s Tour of The Farmer’s Arms, featuring meadows, Diana’s Orchard, ornamentals & edibles. Gathering materials for….
11am – midday Flower Arranging Workshop
How to make pots and vases work with flowers, grasses, foliage & twigs, looking at numerous bespoke floristry vessels we have made over the years as well as historic oddities
12.45pm
3 course Sunday Lunch (£18 per head on the day with a Social Clay ticket) a communal sit down – vegan & omnivore options. Invitation to suggest themes / events for 2027 festival!
TICKET OPTIONS
Our CONTINENTAL ticket (£60 pp) buys you exclusive access to 3 of the workshops happening over the weekend plus supper on Friday and Saturday, and access to any music events and talks. If you’d like to stay in our rooms, check out our rooms and self catering options here.
THE FULL ENGLISH ticket (£85 pp) will get you all the aforementioned PLUS camping in our beautiful Farmer’s Field, a short stroll from the pub (basic facilities, 24-hour toilets but no showers). If you’ve a van we’ll allocate car park space to you.
NB The ticket price is per head (not per tent or van) and includes complementary camping on the Sunday night for those wishing to stay a little longer.
Concession tickets (25% off) are available for full time students in arts, design, architecture or crafts. Please email adam@grizedale.org with ‘Social Clay Student’ in subject header by September 14. No DMs 🙂
