Partner Exhibitions

Edinburgh Art Festival was founded in 2004 through an ambitious partnership of galleries committed to ensuring that high quality presentations of visual art remained at the core of Edinburgh’s summer festival experience. This partnership remains at the core of our Festival, and is reflected in the rich programme of exhibitions developed for the Festival each year by our Partner Galleries.

Presented across leading national institutions, internationally recognized contemporary art galleries and artist run spaces, it offers a chance to discover work by some of the very best historic and contemporary artists from Scotland, the UK and beyond.

Pop Up Exhibitions & Events

Each year the festival issues a call for projects and events conceived especially for the festival. Taking place in pop-up venues across the city, this programme is a chance to discover new work in unusual spaces. 

The call for submissions for Edinburgh Art Festival Pop Up Exhibitions & Events opens each January - please sign up to our Newsletter and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to hear the latest news and announcements.

Commissions Programme

We support Scottish and international artists to make new and ambitious projects which engage with the extraordinary context of Edinburgh in August. Presented principally in public spaces, our commissions allow access to overlooked or neglected parts of our city’s heritage.

Platform

A Festival initiative dedicated to providing greater opportunities for artists at the beginning of their careers to participate in the festival programme. Now in its third year, Platform is a dedicated opportunity for artists at the outset of their career to make and present new work in the festival programme.

Platform call for submissions is announced each January - please sign up to our Newsletter and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to hear the latest news and announcements.

Permanent Commissions

Our Commissions Programme has resulting in a growing programme of permanent works for the city. These include:

Bobby Niven, Palm House, 2017 (Open to members of the general public on request)

Graham Fagen, A Drama in Time, 2016

Martin Creed, Work No.1059, 2011 

Richard Wright, The Stairwell Project, 2010 

Alison Watt, Still, 2004 (Phone ahead to check opening times)

Art Late

Taking place in partner galleries and venues throughout the city, Art Late is a series of specially programmed openings and events every Thursday evening in August during the Festival, taking in live music, artist performances, talks and tours.
 

Community, Children & Families

Explorers is our public programme of activities and events for children, families and young people, and we also offer bespoke tours and workshops for community groups and organisations from across the city and further afield (contact [email protected] for more information).

You can read more about our Learning and Engagement Programme here.