Scottish Art Highlights: August 2026

Queer creative expression and community-driven stories abound in Edinburgh Art Festival (14-30 Aug). Furthering their renewed curatorial vision for three weekends’ worth of provocations and performance, EAF26 presents a series of drop-in exhibitions, parties, talks and workshops while amplifying a range of exhibitions at partner galleries.

EAF26 launches at The Biscuit Factory, opening with a musical and movement performance by artists Magnus Westwell and Océane Robin before Mykki Blanco challenges the boundaries of hip-hop through rap and poetry. DJ sets from AMR and Sweet Philly continue the party late into the night.  

On Saturday 15 Aug, an artist talk in collaboration with the Edinburgh International Book Festival amplifies two exhibitions by queer photographers: Del LaGrace Volcano’s Love Bites Back at 92 Constitution Street and Catherine Opie’s To Be Seen at the Royal Scottish Academy. Volcano, who investigates the performance of gender and affirms queer lives through photography, displays a record of underground dyke communities from the 80s and 90s. Meanwhile, Opie, who considers which subjects are excluded from mainstream visual culture, showcases a spectrum of image, from her nursing self-portrait to documentation of the AB101 Veto Riot.

At Custom Lane, EAF26 presents Carnal Desires, a solo exhibition of the late Japanese erotica artist Sadao Hasegawa. Through illustration, sketches and paintings from the late twentieth century, we gain insight into Hasegawa’s expansive vision for gay sexual expression, imbued with futurism and influenced by Buddhist philosophy and the Japanese erotic art of shunga.

Key moments in the second week of the festival include Glasgow Leatherdykes: From History to Today – a chance to explore the subculture of leathercare and bootblacking – and the return of Jupiter Rising X EAF. Held at Jupiter Artland, Jupiter Rising promises a 'wild night of experimental music, performance and queer artistic chaos' – this time curated by Glasgow-based artist and performer Sgàire Wood.

On 30 Aug, EAF26 closes with Listening Session: Palestinian Sound Archive. At the Palestine Museum, this collective session is an invitation to engage with Palestinian sonic culture as a living archive, from folk traditions to revolutionary songs, wedding music and spoken word.

Beyond the EAF26 programme, socially-engaged artist Sally Price showcases Twig Pools at Summerhall’s Lab Gallery until 13 September. Inspired by the natural Scottish landscape, Price creates site-specific sculptural rope installations – this iteration spills from the built-in cabinets in the Lab Gallery.

Finally, in Glasgow, a joint exhibition with artists Sam Ainsley and Alex Dempster explores their shared interests in natural phenomena and the earth’s structures and rhythms. Catch Sam Ainsley and Alex Dempster – What if it isn’t there… at Garnethill Gallery, but be quick – the exhibition closes on 8 August.