About

Glasgow International will return between 5 - 21 June 2026.

Glasgow International is Scotland’s biennial of contemporary art. Presented at locations across the city every two years, the festival is a globally-renowned platform for experiencing the vital work of artists and arts organisers active today.

Glasgow has a long and proud history of inclusion, solidarity, collective action and community-led activism.

The Glasgow International team honour this history and stand in solidarity with the ongoing struggle for Palestinian liberation, and with the victims, families and communities affected by the siege of Gaza and related violence.

As with the 2024 festival, we have developed this year's festival in line with the principles of the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI). The conversations we have with artists and peers, as well as the work of Palestinian artists, authors and thinkers, remain a continuous source of learning that informs our work individually and together.

At a time of increasing division and global uncertainty, we remain dedicated to supporting artists, cultural workers and communities, and to creating spaces for respectful dialogue, collective reflection and international cultural exchange.

Glasgow International had two annual editions in 2005 and 2006 before changing to its current biennial format in 2008. The previous Festival Directors of Glasgow International have been Francis McKee (2005-2008), Katrina Brown (2009-2012), Sarah McCrory (2013-2017), Richard Parry (2017-2021), Richard Birkett (2022-2025). The current Festival Director is Helen Nisbet.

Glasgow International Festival of Contemporary Art is part of and managed by Glasgow Life, a registered charity that delivers culture and sport on behalf of Glasgow City Council.

Glasgow International Safer Spaces Guidelines 

Glasgow International EDI Priorities

Glasgow International Environmental Sustainability Statement 

Glasgow Life Fair Work First Policy

Image caption:
Hardeep Pandhal, Self-Loathing Flashmob, 2018
Installation view, Kelvin Hall, Glasgow International 2018. Photograph: Alan Dimmick