Nuart Aberdeen Returns for 2026 — And This Year, Scotland’s Street Art Scene Takes Centre Stage
Aberdeen’s streets are about to become an open-air gallery once again as Nuart Aberdeen returns from 22–26 April 2026 — and this year the internationally celebrated street art festival is putting Scottish talent firmly in the spotlight.
Now widely regarded as one of the top six street art festivals in the world, the event has revealed a line-up of 13 globally acclaimed artists, many of them from Scotland, reinforcing Nuart Aberdeen’s growing identity as Scotland’s national street art festival.
The theme for 2026 — Poetry Is In The Streets — will see artists working across scales and mediums, from monumental murals to tiny interventions you might miss if you don’t look closely enough.
“There will be works no bigger than your hand and there’ll be works as big as a house,” says curator Martyn Reed. “Most, but not all, text and poetry based. At this stage, you have as good an idea of what we might see as I do. We’ll have to wait and see.”
A Scottish-Led Line-Up
For the first time, the majority of artists featured this year are Scottish — a conscious decision by Reed to highlight the strength of the country’s street art scene.
“I started to look closer to home and saw that Scotland did, in fact, have enough talent to warrant a majority Scottish event,” he says.
“After all, it’s Scottish businesses and taxpayers who co-finance the event. I thought it would be a good opportunity to showcase Scottish talent to an international audience.”
Among the most exciting returns is KMG, the Aberdeen-born artist whose work often draws inspiration from Celtic folklore. This year she returns not only as an artist but also as one of the producers helping shape the festival.
Production will also be led by Ciarán Glöbel in Glasgow and Martin Widerlechner, forming what Reed calls a “trifecta of Scottish cities”.
“The fact that all three producers have previously volunteered with Nuart just shows their genuine dedication to the culture,” he says. “It also means the Nuart crew follows the same strategy as the artist line-up, which is about 90% Scottish.”
Robert Montgomery Returns
One of the most anticipated names returning this year is Robert Montgomery, the internationally acclaimed Scottish artist known for his poetic installations in public space.
Montgomery first appeared at the festival in 2017, and Reed says his return perfectly captures the spirit of this year’s theme.
“Robert is not only one of my favourite artists, he’s one of my favourite people and it’s a privilege to have him back,” he says.
“Robert is from a small Scottish mining town, he has working-class roots, he’s an artist working with text, works in public space and is a published poet. Who else but Robert Montgomery to head up an event titled Poetry Is In The Streets?”
The Artist to Watch
Another standout artist heading to Aberdeen is Trackie McLeod, a Glasgow-based artist whose work spans sculpture, textiles, video and print.
Exploring themes including masculinity, queerness, class and politics, his work often blends humour, sarcasm and distinctly Scottish cultural references.
“I’ve been watching him for some years now,” Reed says. “He’s gone from strength to strength, becoming one of the most vital and relevant voices for his generation.”
Meet the Artists of Nuart Aberdeen 2026
Alongside headline names, the festival will bring together a diverse group of international and Scottish creatives, each bringing their own style to Aberdeen’s streets.
Alisa Oleva
A London-based walking artist whose work explores the streets and spaces of cities through performance and participatory practice.
Ciarán Glöbel
A Glasgow sign painter and designer inspired by the graphic ephemera and hand-painted typography of bygone eras.
dr.d
Also known as Subvertiser, the London-based street artist uses a cut-and-paste technique developed in the 1990s fly-posting industry to subvert billboards, bus stops and advertising spaces.
HICKS
A London mural artist whose work draws on the sublime landscapes of British Romanticism.
James Klinge
A Glasgow-based artist combining traditional portraiture and figurative painting with contemporary stencil and spray-paint techniques.
KMG
An Aberdeen-born artist who has been creating street art for over a decade, often inspired by Celtic folklore and cultural identity.
Molly Hankinson
Originally from England but now based in Glasgow, her work explores personal and collective gendered experiences through playful and expressive imagery.
Remi Rough
An artist known for precise abstract compositions defined by rhythm, geometry and bold colour.
Robert Montgomery
The Scottish-born artist internationally recognised for his billboard poems, light installations and poetic interventions in public space.
The Rebel Bear
The anonymous artist has spent more than a decade creating street art across Scotland and cities including London, Havana, Mumbai and New York.
The Writing Is On The Wall
A self-described “street poet – wall botherer” known for animating urban environments with words, paste and poetic interventions.
Trackie McLeod
The Glasgow-based multidisciplinary artist exploring identity, class and culture through sculpture, textiles, video and print.
V2k
A Lithuanian-Scottish artist based in Aberdeen who works across stencil-based images and text-led public artworks.
Transforming the Granite City
Beyond the prestige the festival brings, Aberdeen Inspired says the event continues to draw visitors from across the UK and beyond to explore the city’s ever-growing collection of street art.
“Nuart Aberdeen attracts thousands of visitors from near and far into the city centre all year round to enjoy these stunning murals and more intimate pieces,” says chief executive Adrian Watson.
“They then linger to discover the many other fantastic attractions Aberdeen has to offer.”
For Reed, however, the legacy of this year’s festival goes beyond the artworks themselves.
“I’d love to think that this year’s Nuart goes some way towards giving street art back to the people,” he says.
“In the sense that it encourages more people to have a go themselves — young and old alike.”