Art Festival

A travelling festival celebrating ten years

Art Festival is one of the longest-running performing arts reviews in the Marche region: founded in 2016 and promoted by the Whats Art association, in 2026 it reaches its tenth edition, a milestone celebrating ten years of shows spread across the territory. The event is travelling and cosmopolitan: every summer it visits various locations on the coast and in the Marche hinterland, transforming squares, alleys, and seafronts into open-air stages. The 2026 edition involves five Municipalities — Montefano, Porto Recanati, Numana, Recanati, and, for the first time, Grottammare — and is the result of collaboration between the festival's artistic direction and local administrations.

The debut in Grottammare

2026 marks Grottammare's entry into the Art Festival circuit: it is the first time the review crosses the borders of the province of Macerata and Ancona to reach the province of Ascoli Piceno. The Municipality of Grottammare hosts two events, on June 28 and July 5, 2026, set in the picturesque Grottammare Alta, the medieval Old Village overlooking the Riviera delle Palme. The narrow stone streets, loggias, and viewpoints of the village offer a natural backdrop for the shows, in dialogue with one of Italy's most beautiful villages.

Theatre, music, dance, and circus

The Art Festival's programme ranges across the various languages of contemporary performing arts: puppet and street theatre, live music, dance, contemporary circus, and author performances. Past editions have hosted Italian and international companies, with artists from all over the world selected through an annual open call: for 2026, over five hundred applications were received. The shows are designed for an intergenerational audience and focus on the social and inclusive role of art.

Free shows open to all

As is tradition, all Art Festival shows are free admission: a choice that reflects the festival's mission to bring art to communities, making it accessible to residents and tourists. The review is part of the Grottammare Municipality's summer programme and represents one of the leading cultural offerings of the 2026 season on the Riviera delle Palme.

Grottammare and the Marche

Grottammare, overlooking the Adriatic Sea in the Marche region, is famous for its ancient village, Mediterranean atmosphere, and vibrant summer events calendar. The arrival of the Art Festival adds a regional and international dimension to the Municipality's cultural landscape, connecting the town in the Piceno area to a network of villages and cities in the Marche united by a love for live arts.