Looking for a great arts event to visit this May? We’ve got plenty to add to your diary. Head to London for the Design Museum and dive into how our love for swimming can influence fashion (until 17 August). Called ‘Splash! A Century of Swimming and Style’ it is guest curated by textile, dress and design historian Amber Butchart and is a watery wonder. Or book tickets to see one of the most beautiful current exhibitions in the capital, ‘Siena: The Rise of Painting 1300–1350’; you’ll find it at the National Gallery until 22 June. And you have until 14 June to experience Wagner’s ‘The Flying Dutchman’, kicking off an exciting Opera Holland Park 2025 season. Meanwhile, explore the best of Midlands’ artistic talent at the Herbert Art Gallery & Museum in ‘Coventry Open 2025’ until 8 June. And why not welcome summer with a number of excellent festivals? Arriving in Firle in Sussex on the 14 May, you can expect celebrated writers, politicians and artists, from Ruth Jones to Roxanne Gay, at the Charleston Festival. For more exciting literature and music, check out the Bath Festival happening on the 16-25 May and for a wonderful celebration of folk music there is the Orkney Folk Festival 2025 on the 22-25 May. Should you find yourselves further afield, specifically Madrid, follow the white rabbit to CaixaForum to explore the origins and reinventions of Lewis Carroll’s famed work in ‘Los Mundos de Alicia: Soñar el país de las maravillas’ (Alice’s World: Dreaming of Wonderland’; it’s on until 3 August. Discover more events for May in our ‘what’s on' feature in our latest issue of The Arts Society Magazine, which is our gift to members of The Arts Society. To join just head to the link in our bio to find out how to do so! Seen here is ‘The Calling of the Apostles Peter and Andrew, about 1308-11’ from the National Gallery’s Show Sienna: The Rise of Painting 1300–1350’ / Credit: National Gallery of Art, Washington, Samuel H. Kress Collection (1939.1.141), Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington (fb)

What secrets do woodlands hold for artists, writers and poets? On this, the first of May, when we celebrate the start of summer, let's look to the woods for answers… In our latest issue of The Arts Society Magazine, we asked Arts Society lecturer Justine Hopkins to reveal just why the arboreal is such a core source of inspiration. From powerful resonances within biblical art to David Hockney’s more recent imaginings, the leafy giants around us hold a special magic for painters. Look, too, to literature, where there is a long tradition focused on their beauty. Poet Philip Larkin, in his poem ‘The Trees’, famously described their leafing in spring as ‘something almost being said', while AE Housman evokes the beauty of the blooming cherry blossom tree in his Loveliest of Trees. To get to the roots of Justine’s full feature, take a look at our award-winning magazine; it is our gift to members of The Arts Society. To join just head to the link in our bio to find out how to do so! Pictured here is Gustav Klimt’s ‘Rosebushes Under the Trees’ 1905 / Google Art Project (fb)