Announcing the Winter Wellness Festival 2026 at Turner
11 December, 2025
This winter, Turner Contemporary presents the Winter Wellness Festival 2026—a three-week programme that reflects on what it means to care for ourselves and one another.
Margate is fast emerging as a wellness destination, known not only for its creative spirit but for a deeply rooted and growing community of wellbeing practitioners. There is a distinct restorative quality to the town, with the sea, the gallery and the town all within easy reach, everything feels close, walkable and effortless, an instant reset.
Across movement, sound, immersive experiences, and nurturing workshops—from Ayurvedic supper clubs to conversations and creative explorations around rest—the festival invites visitors to slow down, notice, and restore. It offers a moment to acknowledge the unseen work of care that shapes our lives and our communities, particularly in winter.
Offering a mix of ticketed events, the festival invites people to engage in ways that feel right for them, whether they are taking first steps in exploring wellbeing or deepening an existing practice. Four open themes guide the programme:
- With the Earth: recognising our relationship with land, weather and environment
- Body & Soul: tending to physical and emotional wellbeing as intertwined
- Rituals & Rest: embracing rhythms of reflection, pause and repair
- Wellness by Design: exploring how creativity and space support the ways we live and feel
Together, these themes create a space for experimentation and shared practic —place to reimagine how wellbeing might look when held collectively.
The festival will open with an evening of conversation, sound and gathering with internationally renowned writer Katherine May, bestselling author and broadcaster Daisy Buchanan, and multidisciplinary artist Cherelle Sappleton. Over 3 weeks, attendees will experience immersive sound sessions, breathwork, dance, yoga, meditation, talks, and more, on Margate’s seafront and in the gallery’s sea-facing Foyle Rooms. Movement practitioner Emily Robinson and illustrator-DJ Ellie Graham will close the festival with a fluid, sensory journey of reflection and connection with the body.
Winter Wellness Festival Line-up:
Katherine May, Daisy Buchanan, Cherelle Sappleton, Charlotte Donachie, Hana & Vic, Ecstatic Dance, DJ Hannah Chrystal, Lewis Edwards, Anna Brook (Shala Women), Lily Cleo Hewit (Cleopatra Yoga), Claire Baker (Cloudzen), Ronnie Traynor (Sober Social), Ted Rogers, Shai Space, Sarah Hakewill (Sea of Purpose), Eleanor Yankah, Sebastian Cox, Sophie Van Winden (Owl London / Flots), Dr Julie Freeman (ShapedSound / Sonaforms®), Dulcie (FKA Haekels), Tam Landells, Jodey Simmonds (Inner Farmacy), Vicki Pavitt, Rebecca Brown (Nanda Healing & Wellness), Caroline Druitt, Tiny Disco Club, Simeon Wright (The Yoga Man), Rebecca (Heart · Soul · Aura), David Willis (Insite), Sara Ratcliffe (Afterparty), Katya and James (Surround), Floating Frequencies, Vanessa Jaich, Jayne Wright (JAW Ceramics CIC), Emily Robinson, Ellie Graham
Notes to Editors
The Winter Wellness Festival 2026
30 January–22 February 2026
Turner Contemporary, Rendezvous, Margate, UK
Contact details
For all press enquiries, contact Camille Roman:
croman@turnercontemporary.org
About Turner Contemporary
Turner Contemporary is one of the most visited UK regional art galleries, located in Margate, Kent. The gallery presents an ambitious programme of exhibitions, events, and learning opportunities, inspired by JMW Turner’s legacy and his connection to Margate. Designed by David Chipperfield, Turner Contemporary opened in 2011 and has since played a pivotal role in the cultural and economic regeneration of the region. The gallery has welcomed over 4.8 million visitors, contributed more than £100 million to the Kent economy, and fostered meaningful connections with local communities.
