Outsider Art Festival OAF 2026 takes place in August, 20.8.-30.8.2026, at a moment when the social climate has grown harsher and support structures for those left at the margins of society are eroding. Cuts to public funding and weakening resources across the NGO and cultural sectors directly affect the artists and cultural workers who need the most support in order to participate on equal terms.
Under these conditions, OAF will be smaller and shorter this year – yet at the same time louder and more outspoken. The theme of the 2026 festival is HOPE (TOIVO). The programme is built on ideas and lived experiences emerging from the outsider art field itself. During the preparation of the festival, people were asked: What gives you hope right now? The responses emphasize community, collective organizing, and the feeling that one does not have to stand alone as an outsider. Many describe OAF as a place where marginalization is transformed into a shared experience – and into power.
Hope is also generated through OAF’s determined work to build new models of collaboration with mainstream actors in the creative industries. Outsider art is brought onto the same stages, to the same audiences and platforms as other forms of art – not to the margins, but into the heart of shared cultural discourse. At OAF, equality is not a symbolic gesture but a concrete practice: working together, meaningful encounters, polyphonic dialogue, and the dismantling of discriminatory power structures and glass ceilings – a shared revolution.
OAF Outsider Art Festival – Art Is Hope
Ahead of the festival, OAF is also collecting hope‑giving thoughts and experiences from the public. All voices will be gathered and presented as part of the festival’s opening events in 20th August in Helsinki and 21st in Espoo. Venues for OAF 2026 include collaborations in the Helsinki Central Library Oodi, Finnish National Opera, Finnish National Theatre, EMMA – Espoo Museum of Modern Art, WeeGee Exhibition Centre, Pertin Valinta x Tiketti Gallery, and Radio Helsinki.
OAF invites everyone to join in creating more hope. Hope‑inspiring thoughts can be sent to: toivo@outsiderartfestival.fi
OAF 2026 poster: Juha Pesonen × Klaus Welp. Artwork: Berries and Fruits of My Mind by Juha Pesonen
Read more: Artists for OAF 2026 have been announced!, OAF 2026 PRESS RELEASE (PDF)