Largo Arts Week returns as village celebrates 350th Robinson Crusoe anniversary
Fifty artists will throw open their studios to the public as creative jamboree Largo Arts Week returns for its seventh year in the villages of Lower Largo, Upper Largo and Lundin Links.
This year’s festival, which runs from Saturday, July 18 to Sunday, July 26, will be one of the centrepieces in the 350th birthday celebrations for Lower Largo’s most famous son – Alexander Selkirk, the “real” Robinson Crusoe.
Born in the village in 1676, Selkirk was marooned as a castaway for four years on an uninhabited island in the South Pacific Ocean and his story later immortalised by Daniel Defoe in “Robinson Crusoe”.
The Selkirk theme will be a key part of Largo Arts Week with local artists decorating porcelain “Selkirk Seagulls” which will be auctioned to raise funds for Maggie’s Fife.
Largo Arts Week is also collaborating with Lundin Mill primary school and nursery with pupils creating their own Robinson Crusoe-inspired sculptures and artwork throughout the village in a “Castaway Crate Trail”.
The mainstay of the festival will be the home studio exhibitions of around 50 artists, sculptors and craft makers, exhibiting in 30 diverse locations.
Live music is also a key part of the line-up with bands and musicians playing every evening across local venues.
Dougi McMillan, Largo Arts Week director, said: “This year's festival shines a spotlight on the incredible talent of local youth alongside a fantastic lineup of established artists and performers.
“In a collaboration with local ceramicist Simon Ward, we have also challenged local artists to bring their own unique, creative vision of a Selkirk Seagull to life. The results are flying in, and they are phenomenal.
“The entire collection will be on public display throughout Largo Arts Week at Penny & Black in Lundin Links and people can bid online for the birds with all cash raised going to support the work of Maggie's Fife.
“As ever, visitors will be able to stroll through the villages of Lower Largo, Upper Largo and Lundin Links, taking in the opportunity to view and buy works of art in artists’ own homes and studios. Our artists’ studios are the true backbone of the festival, featuring a tremendous line-p of established artists, sculptors and photographers.”
This year's musical highlights include welcome returns from Lights Out By Nine, Kwak, Herding Cats and The Best Dressed Blues Band, along with local heroes Astral Suns.
A special gig and workshop will feature the renowned Scottish-based jazz duo Sophie Bancroft & Tom Lyne. Heralded as a 'must see' act at a recent Xerox Rochester International Jazz Festival in New York, their repertoire includes a mix of original contemporary jazz-based songs alongside reimagined jazz classics and covers by artists like Suzanne Vega and Joni Mitchell.
Full details of Largo Arts Week’s 2026 programme can be found on its website – www.largoartsweek.com