Market Harborough Art Windows: 51 Shops, Free, to 30 Sept

Fifty-one shop windows around Market Harborough town centre are showing work by local artists until 30 September. The trail is free, there are no tickets, and the whole thing happens on the pavement.

Art Windows is run by the Harborough Artists Cluster with shops and businesses in the town. The cluster’s own trail guide numbers 51 venues, from Neptune at number 1 to Left to Draw Studios at the Wharf at number 51. It has been running, in the cluster’s words, “for over a decade and a half”.

The point is that you do not have to go anywhere to see it. The work is in the windows of places you already walk past: a bookshop, a barber, an optician, a florist, a pharmacy, a travel agent, an estate agent, a wine merchant.

Every window on the trail

These are the 51 venues, numbered as the cluster’s own trail guide numbers them.

The trail map in the guide runs the length of the town centre, taking in High Street, The Square, Church Square, Adam and Eve Street, St Mary’s Road, Coventry Road, Abbey Street and Manor Walk, then out along Union Wharf to number 51.

Who is behind it

The Harborough Artists Cluster lists 47 artists on its own website, working in drawing, painting, printmaking, photography, collage, textiles, ceramics, enamelled jewellery, glass and mosaic.

The cluster describes Art Windows as a collaboration rather than an exhibition: “between artists and shopkeepers, between past and present, and between the working town and its creative community”. It says some windows have hosted artists for many years and others are new.

If you want more than a window, the list also takes in Clarendon Fine Art at number 37, ADA Gallery at number 49 and Left to Draw Studios at the Wharf at number 51.

What it means for you

The trail costs nothing and needs no planning, which makes it one of the few things in the diary you can do on a wet Tuesday lunchtime.

• It ends on 30 September. There is no extension announced.
• Download the trail map first. The PDF trail guide has the numbered map and the venue list, and it is a large file, so get it on wifi.
• It is designed to be walked. The cluster calls it “free, informal and designed to be discovered at walking pace”.
• Number 46 is off the main drag. Mimi’s Cafe is in the old fire station annexe in the car park, so it is easy to miss if you are following the numbers along the street.
• Contact the organisers at hac.artists@gmail.com if you run a shop and want a window next year.

If you are driving in, the town centre car parks and their charges are on our parking page, and the works on Lubenham Hill and the A6 are on our roadworks and travel page. More to do in and around the town is on our things to do page.

Frequently asked questions

When is Art Windows 2026 in Market Harborough?

It runs from 1 to 30 September 2026 in shop windows around the town centre, and it is on whenever the streets are.

How much does Art Windows cost?

Nothing. The Harborough Artists Cluster says it is free and informal, with no tickets.

How many shops are on the Art Windows trail?

Fifty-one, numbered 1 to 51 in the cluster’s own trail guide, from Neptune at number 1 to Left to Draw Studios at the Wharf at number 51.

Where do I get the Art Windows trail map?

The Harborough Artists Cluster publishes a numbered PDF trail map on its event page. It is a large file, so download it before you set off.

Who organises Art Windows?

The Harborough Artists Cluster, with shops and businesses in Market Harborough. The cluster says the trail has run for over a decade and a half.

Sources

• Market Harborough Art Windows 2026, Harborough Artists Cluster event page, for the dates, the description, the cost and the contact address.
• Art Windows 2026 trail guide, Harborough Artists Cluster, for the numbered map and the list of 51 venues.
• Harborough Artists Cluster, for the list of 47 artists and the media they work in.