Exclusive:New base 'out of the rat race' for art festival as 1980s Edinburgh neighbourhood in spotlight
The festival has a new base for 2026
The biggest ever show of works by a photographer who documented an Edinburgh community over two decades is to go on display at the Edinburgh Art Festival, as the event unveils its new permanent base in Leith.
The EAF is to showcase work by Del LaGrace Volcano in its inaugural exhibition at its new home on Leith’s Constitution Street, as it revealed its full programme for August, while it will host the biggest show yet of works by Sandra George, who photographed the community in Wester Hailes in the 80s and 90s, at the City Art Centre.
Festival curator Eleanor Taylor said the festival’s previously transient nature had allowed it to settle in Leith - “out of the rat race of the Royal Mile”.
She said: “As a festival, we've always tried to inhabit buildings that are a little bit different, as well as it being a necessity, because the theatre and art spaces in Edinburgh are always full to the rafters in August.
“So we've always prioritised using different spaces in interesting ways: car parks, old port buildings. And I think with that exploration of the wider reaches of Edinburgh, it made a lot of sense to us this year to actually find a base that worked for us out of the city centre and to really focus on different neighbourhoods and areas of Edinburgh that tourists don't get to experience all that often.”
She added: “[Leith] is going through an incredible change. It's obviously been its own town for many years. But I think the creative community moving into that part of Edinburgh is amazing and it feels a good moment to bring a new artistic voice to the area as well.”
Love Bites Back by LaGrace Volcano is an exhibition of work exploring queer identity focusing on a pivotal period between 1992 and 1995, with many photographs taken in Edinburgh.
Meanwhile, Start from the Level includes over 200 photographs showcasing George’s archive, which will also be explored in deep dive events in Wester Hailes with the Community Wellbeing Collective, where the late photographer lived and worked.
The festival will also continue to utilise venues around the city including a former factory and and as-yet-unspecified former ship hangar in Leith, which will host the festival’s closing event.
Caught Hold of Nothing, which launches the festival at the Biscuit Factory in Leith, offers a glimpse into a performance work in progress by Magnus Westwell in a duet, created in collaboration with Oceane Robin. The performance will be followed by a DJ-led launch party with rapper and poet Mykki Blanco.
The festival will also include Carnal Desires, at Custom Lane, a rare exhibition of work by Japanese artist Sadao Hasegawa, which has remained almost entirely inaccessible outside of Japan for decades.
Dubbed a “festival within a festival”, EAF’s Jupiter Rising, at Jupiter Artland, will present a solo exhibition of new work by Glasgow-based Irish artist and performer Sgàire Wood, who will also programme the mini festival with a line-up of performance, poetry and late night stage events.
Emma Nicolson, head of visual arts at Creative Scotland, said: “Edinburgh Art Festival continues to be a vital moment in Scotland’s cultural calendar, bringing world leading artists into dialogue with extraordinary talent here at home. This year’s programme demonstrates the ambition, imagination and internationalism that define Scotland’s visual arts sector.
“We’re proud to support a festival that not only animates the city in new and unexpected ways, but also deepens the connections between artists, communities and the stories that shape our shared future.”
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