Galway International Arts Festival (GIAF) has announced its 2026 Visual Arts Programme, featuring leading Irish and international artists whose work explores memory, identity, landscape, community, and public space. Highlights include Sean Henry's exhibition 'Presence' at the Festival Gallery and public sites, Ireland's acclaimed Venice Architecture Biennale pavilion 'Assembly' at the University of Galway, and photography exhibitions by Jackie Nickerson, Lorraine Tuck, and Dolores Lyne at the Printworks Gallery. Other notable presentations include Aleana Egan's site-responsive show at Interface Lough Inagh, John Rainey's sculptures at Galway Arts Centre, and a tribute to the late Gertrude Degenhardt at the Kenny Gallery.
The programme matters because it demonstrates GIAF's ongoing commitment to transforming urban spaces into cultural venues, inviting audiences to reconsider their relationship with public space and collective memory. By bringing together sculpture, photography, installation, and interdisciplinary practice, the festival positions art as a catalyst for reflection on how communities inhabit and shape shared environments. The inclusion of the Venice Biennale pavilion and works addressing social change, political division, and resilience underscores the festival's role in engaging with pressing contemporary issues through visual art.