Art Festival

A festival spread across the Marche

The Art Festival is a traveling event dedicated to performing arts that crosses various locations in the Marche region, from the Adriatic coast to the hinterland. Founded in 2016 and promoted by the Whats Art association, the festival offers a multidisciplinary program where contemporary circus, street theater, live music, dance, and art installations dialogue with the urban spaces that host them. In 2026, the festival celebrates its tenth edition, a milestone that confirms the project as one of the most followed summer cultural events in the area.

The Recanati stop

The Recanati stop, in the Province of Macerata, represents the grand finale of the 2026 tour and takes place on July 11th and 12th. The historic center of Giacomo Leopardi's city becomes an open-air stage for two days: squares, streets, and gardens host shows, performances, and moments of encounter with the public. Previous editions have enlivened symbolic places such as the Cloister of Sant'Agostino, Corso Persiani, and the B. Gigli Gardens, offering a journey that intertwines the signs of contemporary art with echoes of popular tradition.

Circus, theater, and music

The heart of the Art Festival is the variety of disciplines. In past editions, the public has been able to witness international contemporary circus companies, juggling and balancing shows, puppet theater performances like the evocative lambe lambe theater, fire dances, and sand art installations. Ample space is also dedicated to music, with emerging artists and live projects, and traditional dances, from the Salento pizzica to the Marche saltarello, in constant dialogue between contemporaneity and popular roots.

Innovations for the tenth edition

For its tenth anniversary, the 2026 edition introduces the Art Festival Creative Market, an initiative curated by Alice Canapa designed as a habitable installation rather than a traditional market. Set up in the B. Gigli Gardens, the space combines exhibitions, tables, archives, performance stations, workshops, and meetings, becoming a structural and identity part of the event. The goal is to keep art accessible and present even outside of performance times, involving selected artisans and exhibitors.

An event for everyone

The Art Festival is a free admission event, designed to involve families, children, performing arts enthusiasts, and the simply curious. The widespread format, which brings shows directly into everyday life spaces, allows visitors to experience the city of Recanati and the Marche region from a new perspective, amidst wonder, participation, and discovery. The festival is part of a larger circuit that in 2026 also includes Porto Recanati, Numana, and Grottammare, contributing to the enhancement of the cultural and landscape heritage of the Marche.