Alternative Kilkenny Arts set to launch festival programme this weekend

The Alternative Kilkenny Arts Festival (AKA Fringe Festival) returns this August for its eleventh year, presenting a vibrant programme of visual arts, craft, literature, music, live performance, workshops and community engagement activities across the city and county.

Events and exhibitions will take place in locations from Urlingford to Callan and Thomastown, offering audiences opportunities to discover new work, connect with local artists and experience the county’s thriving cultural landscape.

A taste of the activities included this year include well celebrated art trails, printmaking workshops, poetry readings, Kilkenny’s pottery market, raves and so much more! The festival celebrates the unique capacity of art to bring people together, encourage reflection and spark conversation.

Festival highlights include:

- Quay notes, an outdoor presentation of work from emerging and established

animators, accompanied by live musical composition from the Irish Composers Collective. Taking place on Sunday, August 9 at 9pm in Canal Square, Kilkenny, Quaynotes is an opportunity to experience contemporary animation in a public setting, enhanced by a specially curated live soundtrack.

- A major focus of the 2026 programme is AIM - Artists in Motion, the festival’s community-engaged arts project kindly supported by Creative Ireland. AIM will bring artists Jade Butler, Michael and Juana Robles, and Patrick McGlynn into community settings throughout the county, working collaboratively with participants to develop new creative work through the mediums of painting, coding, and analogue film.

Further details on workshops, participation opportunities and project developments will be announced during the summer.

Explore our dedicated AKA Fringe Festival exhibition and information hub - look behind the pink door - up to the first floor of The Bank Space, at the end of The Parade in Kilkenny City.

The Alternative Kilkenny Arts Festival will officially launch on Saturday, 18 July at 12 noon at Sullivan’s Brewery in Kilkenny. Building on over ten years of artist-led development, AKA’s central aim is to empower artists and community groups to actively shape the cultural life of their own towns, villages and local areas.

The festival promises a diverse programme encompassing visual arts, craft, literature, music, performance, workshops, exhibitions and community-engaged projects.

The AKA festival runs from August 6 to 16 in locations and venues around Kilkenny city and county.

For updates see www.akafringe.com