ALTERNATIVE KILKENNY ARTS FESTIVAL
6- 16 AUGUST 2026
Welcome to AKA Festival 2026.
From 6 to 16 August, we invite artists and audiences across Kilkenny to be part of an 11 day long celebration of creativity, connection and community.
Join us for an open, inclusive programme of exhibitions, events and artist-led projects that showcase and support the best of our county.
This year’s programme will be launched in July.
ABOUT US
ALTERNATIVE KILKENNY ARTS FESTIVAL
ABOUT YOU
THANK YOU
A big thank you to all our funders, Kilkenny County Council and Creative Ireland and our sponsors Market Cross and the The Heritage Council who have been amazing in supporting us. A special thank you also goes to all the individual donors and friends of the festival.
The Alternative Kilkenny Arts Festival is run by a team of volunteers who work all year round on making sure the festival happens. We do not charge any fees for artists to participate in the festival and 100% of ticket sales and commissions goes to the artists.
To all our festival partners, the venues that work with us, our volunteers, mentors, our participants, and of course our amazing audiences, we are extremely grateful. AKA has a wonderful vibrant community at its core that has sustained through the past years. Without the continued backing that the people of Kilkenny give us, AKA would not be what it is today: an nine year old festival born out of a love for local arts.
A note from our AKA Ambassador
Tony Strickland
Well hello,
I am thrilled to be returning to Kilkenny to once again take on my role as AKA Festival Ambassador. This will be our most substantial Festival to date and I am looking forward to immersing myself in the many varied aspects of the Arts which will be on offer all over Kilkenny in a broad spectrum of cultural venues. Please do approach me at any time to chat and do follow our Social Media platforms.
Looking forward to it all.
Best regards
Tony