Edinburgh Art Festival 2026 Review: Marginalized Voices, Photography, and Commissions
The Edinburgh Art Festival (EAF), the largest visual art festival in the UK, took place from 14 to 30 August 2026, with some exhibitions still ongoing. This year's focus was on underrepresented communities. Key exhibits featured Del LaGrace Volcano's 'Love Bites Back' at EAF@92, Catherine Opie's 'To Be Seen' at the Royal Scottish Academy (running until 1 November), Jillian Edelstein's 'Among People' at Stills (available until 24 October), and Sandra George's 'Start from the Level' at City Art Centre (on view until 27 September). Additional highlights included Eva Rothschild's 'The Void Presses The Wall' at Fruitmarket Gallery (until 11 October), 'Elizabeth Blackadder: A Life in Colour' at Dovecot Studios (until 14 November), and Jamie Fitzpatrick's 'Memorials to Sausage Politics' at Edinburgh Printmakers (until 25 October).
Key facts
- Edinburgh Art Festival ran from 14-30 August 2026.
- Catherine Opie's 'To Be Seen' at Royal Scottish Academy until 1 November.
- Del LaGrace Volcano's 'Love Bites Back' at EAF@92 documented leather dyke culture.
- Jillian Edelstein's 'Among People' at Stills until 24 October.
- Sandra George's 'Start from the Level' at City Art Centre until 27 September.
- Eva Rothschild's 'The Void Presses The Wall' at Fruitmarket Gallery until 11 October.
- Elizabeth Blackadder: A Life in Colour at Dovecot Studios until 14 November.
- Ingleby Gallery's 'Songs of Innocence and Experience, Part II' until 12 September.
- Jamie Fitzpatrick's 'Memorials to Sausage Politics' at Edinburgh Printmakers until 25 October.
- Katie Paterson's 'Afterlife' at Collective's Dome Gallery until 6 September.
- Emii Alrai's 'Guardian' on Calton Hill during festival.
- Sgàire Wood's 'In Pride, In Piety, In Vigilance' at Jupiter Artland until 18 October.
Entities
Artists
- Miranda Carroll
- Del LaGrace Volcano
- Catherine Opie
- Jillian Edelstein
- Desmond Tutu
- Sandra George
- Eva Rothschild
- Elizabeth Blackadder
- Graham Sutherland
- Stanley Spencer
- Patrick Caulfield
- R B Kitaj
- Alan Davie
- Chris Ofili
- Frank Walter
- Andrew Cranston
- Alvaro Barrington
- Rose Wylie
- Peter Doig
- Lynette Yiadom-Boakye
- Jamie Fitzpatrick
- Dana Schutz
- Katie Paterson
- Emii Alrai
- Martin Creed
- Sgàire Wood
- Sadao Hasegawa
Institutions
- Edinburgh Art Festival
- Royal Scottish Academy
- National Portrait Gallery
- Stills
- City Art Centre
- Fruitmarket Gallery
- Dovecot Studios
- Ingleby Gallery
- Edinburgh Printmakers
- Collective
- Jupiter Artland
- Folkestone Triennial
- Bold Tendencies
- British Museum
- Artlyst
- Auto Italia
- Custom Lane
Locations
- Edinburgh
- United Kingdom
- London
- Calton Hill
- Leith
- Firth of Forth
- Glasgow
- Northern Ireland
- Antigua
- South Africa
- Japan