Announcing the 2026 ArtsEverywhere Festival Program

May 7 – 10, 2026 in Guelph, Ontario

Plan your visit to Guelph for the 2026 ArtsEverywhere Festival—four days of performances, readings, conversations, workshops, and music in venues across the city. Most of the events are free, and all are accessible!

We are just days away from announcing our keynote presenter for May 7th’s Big Ideas in Art & Culture lecture. Please stay tuned to our social media accounts or visit our website at Festival.ArtsEverywhere.ca to see the announcement!

On Friday, May 8 at 7pm, the Guelph Lecture—On Being will spotlight celebrated author, activist, and journalist Cory Doctorow, who will deliver a talk titled “Elbows Up: How Canada Can Disenshittify Tech, Reclaim Its Sovereignty, & Launch a New Tech Sector.” The evening will also feature a literary reading from Governor General’s Award-winning author Madhur Anand, and a set of introspective songs from chart-topping musician Billianne. Tickets are available now!

…and the festival continues all weekend! Saturday starts with a live reading and book launch of the play Hilot Means Healer by Jo SiMalaya Alcampo. This interdisciplinary story explores the social and political consequences of war and occupation in the Philippines and its impact through generations. Elder Peter Schuler will join us in the afternoon to celebrate the launch of his new book The Sound of the Homeland Drum, alongside a performance by Indigenous dance collective Odawa Wiingushk. In recent years, Saturday night at the festival has become an opportunity to dance, and this year is no exception. The Resistance Revue will welcome writer/curator Taqralik Partridge to the stage, and her presentation will be followed by a raucous set from The Ratskin Family Band—the world’s first drag Country band!

Photo of L CON in performance by Curtis Perry

Sunday’s festivities focus on listening as a portal to navigating this political moment together. After a panel conversation with L CON, Christopher Willes, and meLê yamomo titled Bend Your Ear, the audience will be treated to sets of live music from Karen Ng and L CON with Nina Vroemen at the ImprovLab space at the University of Guelph. And we are even offering a free 2 day workshop with artist Christopher Willes on collaborating through visual scores—register here!

The festival’s closing event is hosted by Berlin-based Indonesian artist and community organizer Ariel William Orah, in collaboration with long-time colleague Pedro Oliveira and accomplished improvisor Karen Ng. This “empathy supper” co-presented by 10C Shared Space invites participants into an immersive exploration of pressing questions about trust and community through sound, listening, conversation, food preparation, and meal sharing.

Full festival details can be found on our website. For updates and future events follow the festival on: Facebook | Instagram

Presented by Musagetes and the Eramosa Institute
For more information contact: info@musagetes.ca

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