Edinburgh Art Festival Archive

Explore the history of the festival through these pages, from our inception in 2004 to create a platform for visual arts at the heart of Edinburgh’s summer festival offering, through to our most recent editions, as we approach our 20th anniversary.

Exhibitions across the Capital

Each page has links to our archive of festival guides, maps, and brochures which list the exhibitions presented at our partner galleries across the capital.

Festival-led Programme

Revisit our Festival-led Programme from over the years, which has featured the work of over 80 artists from Scotland, the UK and overseas including:

Martin Creed, Karen Forbes, Andrew Miller, Callum Innes, Susan Philipsz, Kevin Harman, Anthony Schrag, Emily Speed, Christine Borland and Brody Condon, Peter Liversidge, Sarah Kenchington, Ross Sinclair, Robert Montgomery, Katri Walker, Krijn de Koning, Sara Barker, Daniel Padden and Peter Nicholson, Kenny Watson, Craig Coulthard, Jacqueline Donachie, Yann Seznec, Nalini Malani, Shona Macnaughton, Michelle Hannah, Ellie Harrison, Amar Kanwar, Antonia Hirsch, Arpita Singh, Brian Jungen and Duane Linklater, Derek Sullivan, Emma Rushton and Derek Tyman, Gavin Hipkins, Kay Hassan, Kushana Bush, Mary Evans, Mary Sibande, Masooma Syed, Naeem Mohaiemen, Pascal Grandmaison, Rebecca Belmore, Steve Carr, Tam Joseph, Uriel Orlow, Yvonne Todd, Charles Avery, Monster Chetwynd, Julie Favreau, Emma Finn, Ariel Guzik, Kemang Wa Lehulere, Hanna Tuulikki, Ciara Phillips, Jonathan Owen, Bani Abidi, Graham Fagen, Sally Hackett, Roderick Buchanan, Olivia Webb, Zoë Walker and Neil Bromwich, Toby Paterson, Shannon Te Ao, Bobby Niven, Neil Bickerton, Alison Scott, Daisy Lafarge, Deirdre Nelson, Shilpa Gupta, Ross Birrell & David Harding, Ruth Ewan and Adam Lewis Jacob, Nathan Coley, Alfredo Jaar, Rosalind Nashashibi, Sriwhana Spong, Corin Sworn, Calvin Z. Laing, Tamara MacArthur, Isaac Julien, Sean Lynch, Emeka Ogboh.

Platform

Alongside our commissions, since 2015 we have presented an annual Platform showcase, which has supported over 30 early-career artists, selected each year from an open call by an invited panel of judges, to create new work to present in a group exhibition during the festival. With supported artists including:

Antonia Bañados, Ben Callaghan, Ross Hamilton Frew, Jessica Ramm, The Brownlee Brothers, Paloma Proudfoot & Aniela Piasecka, Dorian Jose Braun, Jack Saunders, Uist Corrigan, Rebecca Howard, Kotryna Ula Kiliulyte, Adam Quinn, Renèe Helèna Browne, Annie Crabtree, Isobel Lutz-Smith, Rae-Yen Song, Anna Danielewicz, Joanne Dawson, Harry Maberly, Suds McKenna, Rabindranath A. Bhose, Mark Bleakley, Rhona Jack, Susannah Stark, Jessica Higgins, Danny Pagarani, Kirsty Russell, Isabella Widger.

If you would like further information on any aspects of our history, please contact our team.