¡Viva! returns to Manchester's Cornerhouse for eleven days of contemporary visual arts and film. Presenting the best of Spanish and Latin American cinema, the festival features premières and previews of recent features, plus a special spotlight event.  Read more

From Bacon and Freud to Emin and Grayson Perry, the annual 20/21 British Art Fair at the Royal College of Art offers some 60 of the UK's leading dealers and first-time buyers an excellent selection of 20th- and 21st-century art.  Read more

The International Art Fair held at the Royal College of Art showcases a wide selection of modern and contemporary art from across the globe, alongside Modern British and contemporary work. Artists include Matisse, Miró, Picasso, Henry Moore and David Hockney.  Read more

The 24:7 Theatre Festival returns to Manchester to celebrate the best of the fringe. The festival brings theatre performances to unconventional venues throughout the city, with several premieres performed as part of its programme.  Read more

Visitors to Houndsditch, south of Liverpool Street and west of Brick Lane, can't miss London's towering landmark, colloquially known as the "Gherkin", although its official name is also its address: 30 St Mary Axe.  Read more

The 3D/2D Craft & Design Fair, an exhibition and trade fair of contemporary Scottish craft, design and artwork, comes to Glasgow's Royal Concert Hall for three weekends in the run up to Christmas. Buy crafts direct from makers, designers, craftworkers and artists.

The Tate Modern present Painting after Performance, an exhibition looking at the dynamic relationship between performance and painting since 1950. Performance art (as opposed to the performing arts) is a much loved but always controversial medium.

Sharon Gless - Cagney from Cagney and Lacey - returns to the West End in a direct transfer from the Riverside Studios of Jane Juska's A Round-Heeled Woman at the Aldwych Theatre. Jane Prowse directs her own adaptation of Juska's book.

Neoclassical Aberdeen Art Gallery was designed by local architect Alexander Marshall MacKenzie and opened in 1885. Today its impressive art collection ranges from the Impressionists and Scottish Colourists to contemporary crafts and local silverware. It also hosts a programme of special exhibitions.  Read more

Aberdeen's International Youth Festival (AIYF) brings young people from all over the world for a fortnight's explosion of creative activity. Incorporating two summer schools for musicians and dancers it remains one of the Granite City's most important annual cultural events.

The award-winning Aberystwyth Arts Centre is the largest and busiest arts centre in Wales, with a wide-ranging programme of events and activities across all art forms, including a unique community arts and education programme.  Read more

One of the glories of the West End in recent years has been the return of Alan Ayckbourn. The trend continues with a tip-top cast at the Harold Pinter Theatre in this revival of Absent Friends, directed by Jeremy Herrin.

Costumed performers act out scenes from Alice in Wonderland as Lewis Carroll's tale is brought to life in Oxford's quads and squares. Hosted by the Story Museum, this fantastic family day out recreates Alice's journey down the rabbit hole.  Read more

All New People is a new play by and starring Zach Braff, in which he makes his UK stage debut after success in TV's Scrubs and the film Green State (which he also wrote and directed). It comes to the Duke of York's Theatre.

The Almeida Theatre is one of London's production powerhouses, with star casts, interesting plays and more than its fair share of West End and Broadway transfers. Each summer, it hosts a festival of contemporary opera, music and theatre.  Read more

The Alnmouth Arts Festival is one of Northumberland's foremost art trails. Held at a number of locations around the village, the trail sees local artists and craftspeople exhibiting their oeuvres, from artwork, photography and textiles to jewellery, cakes and plants.  Read more

Literary festival which takes place annually at the stunning home of the Spencer family, showcases brilliant books with music, drama and comedy. Attendees include Alistair Darling, Earl Charles Spencer and Jeremy Vine. There is also a three part salute to celebrate Charles Dickens bicentenary, the festival has a relaxed and intimate atmosphere.   Read more

The first of London's Edwardian theatres, the Apollo Theatre, designed by Lewin Sharp, opened on 21 February 1901, just a month after Queen Victoria's death. A century on, what it loses in being unrenovated is off-set by its intimacy.  Read more

The Arnolfini, by the Harbourside, is a leading contemporary arts venue in a converted warehouse showcasing new and innovative works including arthouse films, live art and dance. Five galleries have regularly changing exhibitions and these are open free of charge.  Read more

Art in Action is a four-day festival of the arts in the grounds of Waterperry House, near Wheatley (and Oxford). Artists and craftspeople come together to demonstrate their work and engage directly with the public.  Read more