9 November 2026

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Art & culture

All the latest culture news from across Bedford Borough. Everything you need to keep you up to date with what’s happening in Bedford Borough on your mobile or desktop via the Bedford Clanger and the Bedford Independent.

The Bedford Independent was founded to provide the people of Bedford Borough with a modern news desk that would give them easy access to genuine and unbiased Bedford news. We are independent in ownership and opinion.

Our mission is to inform and inspire the people of Bedford. To do this we will work hard to bring them the news that matters to them from our town centre to the most rural of the Borough’s villages.

Our editorial team are NCTJ trained and follows a standards code set out by the independent press regulator IMPRESS Standards.

Art and culture: Artist Peter Brathwaite in conversation with Dr Lucy Peltz

A very special event is taking place at the Higgins this week, when Peter Brathwaite, artist, singer and writer talks to Dr Lucy Peltz, Head of Collection Displays (Tudor to Regency) and Senior Curator 18th Century Collections at the...

Could you be a descendant of Bedford’s most famous son, John Bunyan?

If you have the surname Bonney, Branson, Brown, Davison, Foster, Johnson or Millward, the curator of Moot Hall in Elstow is hoping to find out if you could be a living descendant of John Bunyan. Clive Arnold began researching the Bunyan...

New ‘Apocalyptic’ exhibtion opens at the Panacea Museum

A new exhibition and series of free events that explore apocalyptic culture and belief are taking place at the Panacea Museum as part of the nationwide Being Human Festival until the end of next month. CenSAMM (Centre for the Critical Study...

Art sale and exhibition ‘with a twist’ at Bedford’s Old Arcade

A thriving town centre art studio is launching a new studio sale and exhibition with a twist at this weekend's 'The Big Fat Salon Hang' in the Old Arcade. Since moving into their space in The Arcade, the POP STUDIO4 artists have...

New Community Portrait exhibition opens at The Higgins Bedford

Photography techniques from the past, present and future are on display at the Higgins as part of a new collaborative exhibition with Bedford Creative Arts and with the support of Fujifilm UK...

Bedford landmarks provide inspiration for Ruth Hogan’s new novel

Bedford's riverside landmarks provide the inspiration for novelist Ruth Hogan's latest book, The Phoenix Ballroom, which is launched this Thursday (27 June). Russell Park, the Suspension Bridge and the...

Children’s art competition exhibition runs all summer at The Higgins Bedford

More than 100 pieces of artwork created by pupils from 40 schools across Bedford Borough are on display at an exhibition at the Higgins Bedford this summer. On the theme Together for Bedford, students...

From Tate Modern to St Paul’s church for Refugee Week art installation

A nationally touring art installation that has been exhibited at Tate Modern and the British Museum comes to Bedford this month to honour asylum seekers who have lost their lives crossing the sea...

River Great Ouse project at showcase exhibition

An exhibition celebrating the River Great Ouse in Bedford will open at the Basement @ Bunyan this week and will culminate in a showcase at the River Festival in July. After a year of artistic exploration and...

‘Rediscovering Black Portraiture’ at the Higgins Bedford this May

This month sees the launch of a new exhibition in Bedford which began as a diversionary lockdown project in 2020 and can now be seen at Kensington Palace, the Bodeian Library in Oxford and now...