It’s time to wake up from the summer slumber. Autumn is a season of movement for contemporary art, with cities, islands, and landscapes around the world transforming into vibrant stages for exhibitions, performances, and public encounters. From established biennials with decades of influence to experimental newcomers just finding their voice, this season’s festivals offer both deep-rooted traditions and bold departures, inviting audiences to experience art beyond the walls of museums.
From politically charged explorations in newly transformed urban spaces and multisensory feasts of art and culture, to both regional events shaping international discourse and influential gatherings bringing together global voices. From Prague and Helsinki to Uzbekistan and Turkey. Here is our curated list of 10 events shaping the artistic landscape of late 2025. Whether you’re drawn to legendary names, curious about emerging voices, or eager to experience art in unexpected contexts, this autumn offers a journey of discovery worth marking on your cultural calendar.
Survival Kit Festival
Riga, Latvia
30.08 – 28.09.2025
Initiated in 2009 in response to Latvia’s economic crisis, the Survival Kit Festival invites artists offering alternative survival scenarios in response to the theme chosen by the curators. This year’s edition, House of See-More, is named after Simurgh, a mythical, flamboyant bird symbolising metaphysical and political liberation. Known for being hosted in empty buildings, the festival will, for the first time, use a newly constructed space as its venue – the former Riga Knitting Factory, currently transforming into Grīziņdārzs, a creative urban quarter.
Curated by the internationally renowned artistic collective Slavs and Tatars, along with Michał Grzegorzek, the Festival features artists selected from the curators’ area of interest – “an area east of the former Berlin Wall and west of the Great Wall of China, known as Eurasia”. The exhibition is sure to bring together reflections coming from diverse points of view, including well-known names such as Ali Cherri, Shadi Habib Allah, Karol Radziszewski, Oksana Shachko, and Filipka Rutkowska.
More information: https://lcca.lv/en/survival-kit/
Helsinki Biennial
Helsinki, Finland
08.06 – 21.09.2025
The Helsinki Biennial was developed as part of the city’s urban strategy – many of the exhibited artworks are later permanently installed in designated locations. This year’s edition, held under the theme Shelter: Below and Beyond, Becoming and Belonging, draws inspiration from the biodiverse ecosystem of Vallisaari, a long-inhabited island that serves as one of the event’s main venues. Its maritime landscape offers a unique setting for artists, inviting them to make a statement about the Anthropocene and art as an instrument of care.
The exciting line-up of the Biennial features 37 international artists and collectives, with a particular focus on the broader Nordic region, Latin America, and Asia. Among them are both outstanding early-career artists and renowned names such as Yayoi Kusama, Olafur Eliasson, Ernesto Neto, Giuseppe Penone, and Otobong Nkanga.
More information: https://helsinkibiennaali.fi/en/
Bukhara Biennial
Bukhara, Uzbekistan
5.09 – 20.11.2025
Launching this year, the Bukhara Biennial is a promising new initiative. The theme of its first edition, Recipes for Broken Hearts, is inspired by the legendary creation of the Uzbek dish pavlov as a cure for love. As such, the event will take the form of an interdisciplinary, multisensory feast of culture, drawing inspiration from the grand banquets of the 14th-century Timurid Empire, with a focus on cultures of togetherness and the healing power of art and time. The word “feast” is not just a metaphor, then, as every weekend, international chefs will present the art of cooking, showcasing diverse culinary traditions.
The Biennial, taking place in a historic district of Bukhara currently undergoing major conservation, was initiated as part of a broader revitalisation effort, bringing global attention to the richness of Uzbek culture and the beauty of the city. Bukhara – a UNESCO Creative City of Crafts and Folk Art – is located at a key crossroads on the Silk Road, where diverse cultures have long converged. This year, thanks to the Biennial, the city will once again be filled with works from around the world.
More information: https://www.bukharabiennial.uz/
Kaunas Biennial
Kaunas, Lithuania
12.09 – 23.11.2025
Starting as a textile art-focused exhibition, the Kaunas Biennial has evolved into the largest contemporary art festival in the Baltic states. This year’s edition, Life After Life, explores the adaptable nature of the biennial format and its potential to disrupt the established structures of the art world. The event expands the notion of contemporary art, featuring cultural formations such as fan cultures, art workers’ unions, and art-as-folklore-as-art.
The Biennial features 30 artists from across the world. Their works will be placed in various venues scattered around the city, embracing the migratory nature of the event and the transformation of Kaunas, connecting the local context with the global perspectives.
More information: https://bienale.lt/2025/en
Warsaw Gallery Weekend
Warsaw, Poland
19 – 21.09.2025
Visiting the Warsaw Gallery Weekend is a prime opportunity to explore the Polish art market scene. Each year, the event fills the city with exhibitions organised by leading private art galleries, showcasing works by both established and emerging artists. This year’s edition will introduce a new section, WGW+, dedicated to non-commercial cultural institutions such as artist-run spaces, foundations, and collectives.
Exhibitions are presented in small-scale art galleries scattered throughout the city. This setting enables direct contact with gallery owners, artists, and curators, while encouraging visitors to explore Warsaw, discover new art spaces, encounter rising artists, and engage with current artistic trends.
More information: https://warsawgalleryweekend.pl/?wgw=1
![Warsaw Gallery Weekend 2025, Monika Mamzeta, Genealogia, Ginealogia [blizna po matce], 1999, Lokal_30. Courtesy of the artist and Lokal_30](https://contemporarylynx.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Warsaw-Gallery-Weekend-2025-Monika-Mamzeta-Genealogia-Ginealogia-blizna-po-matce-1999-Lokal_30.-Courtesy-of-the-artist-and-Lokal_30-scaled.jpg)
Prague Art Week
Prague, Czech Republic
25 – 28.09.2025
Organised in collaboration with Prague’s leading art institutions, Prague Art Week showcases works by both Czech and international artists – many of whom will be making their Czech debut. This year’s edition opens with the exhibition HAC#2 – Havrlant Art Collection 10th Anniversary, highlighting some of the most significant recent acquisitions from the collection. The event also marks the inaugural exhibition at the newly opened KodlContemporary Gallery, as well as the launch of The House, featuring Young Selection 02 – a presentation of works by emerging artists.
Moreover, Prague Art Week will take place across approximately 40 venues, transforming the city into an open gallery. The event will be accompanied by a program of over 100 events hosted by Prague’s leading art institutions.
More information: https://pragueartweek.cz/en/
Momentum Biennial
Moss, Norway
14.06 – 12.10.2025
Momentum – Nordic Biennale of Contemporary Art, organised and produced by Galleri F 15, is an exhibition presenting Nordic artists within an international context. This year’s edition, titled Between/Worlds: Resonant Ecologies, centres on the exploration of sound as an artistic medium, as well as the “ultra-localities” of its setting, creating a space for reflection on ecology and our relationship with the non-human.
Fragmented into five distinct, but interconnected transit zones, the event lets its public engage with art in diverse, fascinating surroundings – in the space of Galleri F 15, the post-industrial cityscapes of Moss, the rich ecosystem of the forests of Alby, and the Oslo Fjord, enabling the artists to engage with the qualities of water.
More information: https://momentum.no/
Istanbul Biennial
Istanbul, Turkey
20.09 – 23.11.2025
Organised since 1987, the Istanbul Biennial is the largest international art exhibition in the region. Under the framework of The Three-Legged Cat, this year’s edition focuses on finding balance amid instability, self-preservation in a world riddled with crises. The exhibition opening in September marks the first leg of the cat-in-2026; it will be followed by the creation of an academy and a series of public programmes, and in 2027, it will conclude with another round of exhibitions and workshops, ensuring the event’s long-term impact.
The Biennial will feature more than 40 artists, and while the list still hasn’t been announced, we can be sure that it will feature many recognised names. Placed at a crossroad between three continents, Istanbul will once again become a dynamic hub for global artistic dialogue.
More information: https://bienal.iksv.org/en
IPMA
Kaunas & Vilnius, Lithuania
01.10 – 31.10.2025
IPMA (International Photography and Media Art Festival) is a promising event to keep an eye on. Hosted in two cities – Kaunas and Vilnius, the exhibitions will take place both in museums and public spaces. The theme of this year’s edition, Ideas. Creative and Destructive, invites artists to reflect on the concept of the idea itself and its wide range of meanings, from a source of inspiration to an ideological weapon.
Launched in 2023 as an independent initiative within the academic environment of Kauno Kolegija, the festival quickly attracted interest, enabling it to grow in the following years into one of the most significant visual arts festivals in the Baltic states. It continues to fulfil its mission of creating a platform for international photography and media artists in Lithuania while promoting Lithuanian artists abroad.
More information: https://ipmafestival.lt/en/
Tallinn Photomonth
Tallinn, Estonia
05.09 – 31.10.2025
This year, one of Estonia’s largest contemporary art events, Tallinn Photomonth, will focus on exploring the medium’s potential to represent new ways of thinking, seeing, and sensing the world. The main programme includes four exhibitions, including solo shows by acclaimed Estonian artists, an international public space exhibition, and a new collaborative project between Estonian and Finnish photographic artists – a result of collaboration between the Estonian Union of Photography Artists (FOKU) and the Finnish Association of Photographic Artists (VTL); and an international urban space exhibition.
But Tallinn Photomonth is more than a photography festival – it offers a wide-ranging exploration of visual culture in a world shaped by cameras, screens, and images. It invites reflection, encourages dialogue, and challenges perceptions. While the full list of participating artists and detailed programme is yet to be announced, the upcoming edition promises to be an inspiring experience.
More information: https://www.fotokuu.ee/
