Art Beats Festival 2026

Established in 2023, Art Beats is an international festival jointly organised by Lancaster University (United Kingdom) and Sunway University (Malaysia). Since its launch, the festival has alternated annually between Sunway University and Lancaster University, creating a dynamic platform for international artistic exchange, collaboration, and dialogue across cultures and disciplines.

Exhibitions will run across the festival period from 3rd to 6th of September, with our opening ceremony on the evening of 4th September.

The festival also holds filmmaking workshops between students from both Lancaster and Sunway, with Lancaster students travelling to Sunway last year, and Sunway students coming to Lancaster this year. Throughout the workshops, they are mentored by film directors to create short films over a week, and have their films screened at the end of the festival.

Art Beats Festival, or the Lancaster-Sunway International Festival, is a celebration of the close collaboration across the two universities, and is run alternately between Sunway and Lancaster University every year. This year it is being held in Lancaster.

As part of the 20th anniversary celebrations of the global partnership between Lancaster University and Sunway University, the 2026 edition of Art Beats highlights contemporary artistic practice through three themes of The Power of Two, Crossings, and Future Memories.

Venues include the Lancaster University Library, The Dukes theatre and more. 

Find out more about the festival here and visit the Art Beats Instagram page for up to date info.