Edinburgh Art Festival

At various galleries and venues across Edinburgh
📅 Thursday 7 – Sunday 24 August 2026
🎟️ Programme & tickets: edinburghartfestival.com

Each summer, Edinburgh transforms into a gallery without walls when the Edinburgh Art Festival returns. For nearly three weeks in August, city-centre buildings, museum galleries and hidden courtyards host a sweeping programme of exhibitions, installations, performance art, sculpture and live commissions.

In 2025 the festival marked a significant milestone, bringing together 82 exhibitions across 45 partner venues — from established institutions to independent artist-run spaces.

Highlights included a retrospective of land-artist Andy Goldsworthy, the UK premiere of Wael Shawky’s Drama 1882, and a one-night festival-within-a-festival event at Jupiter Artland with performances by TAAHLIAH and Ponyboy.

Whether you’re drawn to immersive video-installations, socially engaged art or classic painting and sculpture, the festival invites discovery — from Leith to the West End, across indoor gallery spaces and outdoor landscapes.

It’s a vivid reminder of Edinburgh’s place as not just a performing-arts capital, but a major visual-arts city too.

Key Programme Areas

• New Commissions & Site-Specific Works: large-scale installations created for 2025’s edition
• Galleries & Partner Exhibitions: curated shows from major venues and smaller artist-run spaces
• Performance & Moving Image: live art, film works, video-installations and cross-disciplinary pieces
• Outdoor Sculpture & Landscape Art: projects placed in public spaces, gardens and parks
• Talks, Workshops & Public Access: artist-led discussions, families & community sessions

Box Office & Info

• Website: https://www.edinburghartfestival.com
• Phone: +44 (0)131 226 6558
• Email: info@edinburghartfestival.com
• Main Office Address: French Institute of Scotland, West Parliament Square, Edinburgh EH1 1RF
• X (Twitter): @edartfest (https://x.com/edartfest)