Various locations throughout Edinburgh
This August, Edinburgh Art Festival (EAF) invites audiences to a programme of genre-pushing commissions – from alternative queer images and reimagined relics overlooking the city, to late-night parties in a sculpture park.
The 2026 programme brings together galleries and community spaces from across Edinburgh, creating a unique moment in time for artist-driven work.
From EAF’s new home in Leith, see Love Bites Back, an exhibition of work by Del LaGrace Volcano, drawn from the Queer Archive of Resistance. While at Custom Lane, Carnal Desires is a rare exhibition of work by Sadao Hasegawa, revealing the under-recognised and largely unseen work of one of post-war Japan’s most influential gay fetish artists. The EAF Welcome Space at Brown’s of Leith will offer a place to arrive, pause. Also on The Shore, Bard will present The Archive, an immersive installation with Simon Foxton exploring the boundaries of AI as a tool in the context of craft and storytelling.
A focus on archives and photography runs through this year’s festival with the largest ever presentation of photography by Sandra George at City Art Centre. Among People at Stills is a major survey of internationally renowned documentary and portrait photographer Jillian Edelstein, and Wendy McMurdo: The Digital Mirror at National Galleries Scotland: Portrait charts 20 years of McMurdo’s photographic reflections on childhood, the digital world, learning and make-believe.
Offering a festival within a festival, Jupiter Rising at Jupiter Artland presents In Pride, In Piety, In Vigilance, a solo exhibition of new work by Glasgow-based Irish artist and performer Sgàire Wood.
Sculptures made by leading artists such as Anne Hardy and Eva Rothschild will be on display at the Talbot Rice Gallery and Fruitmarket. At Edinburgh Printmakers, etchingroom1 presents Unexpected Trip, an exhibition of prints, drawings, embroidery and ceramics that reflect the difficult and exhilarating moments of life, underscored by the reminder that “this too shall pass.”
Exploring environmental matters, Earth Matters at The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh sees 30 artists delve into soil to reveal its brilliance, beauty, and fragility, celebrating the 300th birthday of ‘the father of modern geology’, James Hutton.
Craft, design, and textiles also weave through the programme. At Dovecot Studios, Elizabeth Blackadder: A Life in Colour showcases over 30 tapestries and hand-tufted rugs, while Costume Couture celebrates the legendary costume house Cosprop.
Running from 14 to 30 August 2026, find out more and view the full programme of events on Edinburgh Art Festival.
