Our Mission
Galway International Arts Festival's purpose is to curate, connect, construct and create Ireland’s most unique cultural experience- for everyone to enjoy and all to share.
Connecting Audiences and Artists for Over 48 Years
Rooted in the West with an inclusive, unmistakable Irish welcome that’s open to everyone, GIAF transforms Galway into a vibrant stage for creativity. A place where performance, music, visual art, theatre, opera, and spectacle meet in unforgettable ways.
GIAF brings people together through world-class artistic experiences that are sustainably developed and delivered from the heart. Unique experiences that make people come back again and again.
Whether Galway International Arts Festival is turning a small Irish city on its head for two weeks, taking work on an international tour, or being a forceful year-round presence, every experience is an unforgettable encounter.
The Festival is a 21st Century pilgrimage that works to unlock people's passions and inspires new ways of thinking and acting, sparking connections between ideas, the arts, audiences and performers, creating a bridge from Galway to the world. Every encounter with Galway International Arts Festival is an invitation to embrace creativity and the unexpected.
From all-out party energy at the Heineken Big Top, to quiet contemplation in the Festival galleries, to awe-inspiring street theatre on ancient, cobbled streets, GIAF transforms the city through the arts in an engaging, inspiring and authentic way.
Just like it's host city of Galway. GIAF is special. Worlds, cultures and ideas collide. Inspiring passion, creativity and new ways of thinking.
What the Press says...
“The spirit of Galway International Arts Festival is all-inclusive, accessible and always open to suggestion. Contemporary festivals fall over themselves to state their commitment to both street and ‘high art’. The difference in Galway is, that ambition is realised.”
The Observer
“It's festival season, one event triumphs them all - Galway Arts Festival.”
The Irish Independent
