26 July—26 August 2018
Since its establishment in 2004, the Edinburgh Art Festival has provided a venue for museums, galleries and artists to display their visual artwork. The festival is a culmination of many years of artistic display in Edinburgh and is a by-product of the Edinburgh International Festival, which began in 1947. The Edinburgh International Festival has featured many high-profile exhibitions and retrospectives. These shows have highlighted Scottish Colourists, such as Leslie Hunter, Samuel Peploe and Francis Cadell and French artists, Pierre Bonnard and Edouard Vuillard. The festival has also featured Dutch Baroque artist Rembrandt van Rijn.
By 2001, gallery directors and visual artists formed a collective in order to promote the visual arts in a more focused manner. The very first festival was held in 2004. From that point forward, the Edinburgh Art Festival has provided a marketing platform and venue for collaborative projects, exhibitions, commissions and artist promotions.
The Edinburgh Art Festival continues to grow and flourish. It is now one of the premier visual arts festivals in the United Kingdom. Gallery directors and artists continue to work with individuals and organisations to provide a platform for visual artists from around the world.