Need some inspiration for what to do with yourself in Oxford this weekend?
Look no further because we’ve done the work and pulled together some brilliant things for you to do in and around Oxford this early May bank holiday weekend – you know, the kind of things worth making time for.
Embrace the lighter (but rather wet) days in style with a slew of excellent events and cultural happenings in and around the city this weekend. This is also a great time of the year to explore Oxford without the crowds.
For museum nerds, peruse the permanent displays and longer-term exhibitions at the city’s iconic museums – The Ashmolean, the Museum of Natural History and Pitt Rivers Museum.
Otherwise, squirrel yourself away in one of the city’s intimate art and cultural venues like the North Wall Arts Centre and Modern Art Oxford, which often put up a bold and ambitious programme of contemporary art.
For comedy lovers, you can treat yourselves to a Saturday night of award-winning comedy at The Glee Club in Oxford, where four superb stand-up comedians aim to keep you laughing until Monday.
If you’d rather head out of town, might we suggest a visit to one of our diverse and vibrant range of independent bookshops in Oxfordshire, where you’re sure to find more than meets the eye.
Green-fingered? We’ve a good selection of garden centres across Oxfordshire – perfect for finding ideas and inspiration, and for whiling away those tedious hours between brunch and supper.
The end of Ramadan also arrives this week there’ll be plenty of celebrating around the city. Otherwise, go cheer the hordes of sweaty, long-distance runners descending on the capital city this weekend for the London Marathon.
We hope there’s enough here to pique your interest, but if you still have gaps in your diary, visit the What’s on section for more events, and be sure to check out our guide to what What’s on in Oxford and across Oxfordshire this June.
This free exhibition presents artworks and ‘dafatir’ from Dia al-Azzawi, an internationally recognised Iraqi painter and sculptor who has been living and working in London since the late 1970s. Dia al-Azzawi is best known for monumental and colourful canvasses, and his work spans many genres, including a type of artist book known in Arabic as ‘dafatir’.
Discover more: Exhibitions & Displays
In this major new exhibition at Modern Art Oxford, Carey Young (b. 1970, lives and works in London) focuses her astute vision on female identity with works depicting women working in law and industry, which invite viewers into new perceptions of systemic power, gender and justice. An associated selection of Young’s compelling text and photographic works will connect law, power and visual culture.
Discover more: Modern Art Oxford
The palace of Knossos, discovered and excavated over 100 years ago, was the centre of a Bronze Age civilisation of people we now call the Minoans, named after the legendary King Minos. This will be the first UK exhibition to focus on Knossos and will include over 100 objects that have never left Crete and Greece before, alongside discoveries from the Ashmolean’s Sir Arthur Evans Archive.
Discover more: Ashmolean Museum