Folkestone Triennial 2025 – How Lies the Land?

18 artists from around the world to reimagine the town through contemporary public art

We are excited to share the full list of artists taking part in Folkestone Triennial 2025, which returns from 19 July to 19 October with a new edition titled How Lies the Land?

Now in its sixth edition, Folkestone Triennial invites 18 artists from over 15 countries to create bold new artworks across the town’s streets, shoreline and public spaces. From large-scale sculpture and sound installations to digital works and community collaborations, this year’s commissions will explore the layers of land and life beneath our feet.

Curated by Sorcha Carey, Director of Collective, Edinburgh and former Director of Edinburgh Art Festival, the 2025 Triennial brings a thoughtful, place-based approach shaped by landscape, history and people.

“Folkestone Triennial has long been a pioneering force in commissioning public art that responds to place,” says Carey. “This year, artists will engage with extraordinary and unexpected sites, creating works that spark new ways of seeing the landscape and our relationship with it.”

Installations will appear across the town, from a disused railway line to a former customs house and a coastal lookout. These sites carry powerful stories of migration, environmental change and resilience that speak to local experiences and global conversations.

Alastair Upton, Chief Executive of Creative Folkestone, adds:

“Over the last two decades, the Folkestone Triennial has helped to reimagine the town as a centre for artistic innovation. This year’s edition builds on that legacy, bringing world-class artists to create work that will leave a lasting impression on our public spaces and cultural life.”

Whether you are discovering a hidden artwork, following the coast or exploring the town’s creative neighbourhoods, the Triennial offers new ways to experience Folkestone.

Who’s Taking Part?

The 2025 edition will feature new commissions by:
Céline Condorelli, Monster Chetwynd, Dineo Seshee Bopape, Cooking Sections, Dorothy Cross, John Gerrard, J Maizlish Mole, Rubiane Maia, Emeka Ogboh, Prabhakar Pachpute, Katie Paterson, Laure Prouvost, Emilija Škarnulytė, Rae-Yen Song, Jennifer Tee, Sara Trillo, Hanna Tuulikki and Sarah Wood.

Together, these artists bring a wide range of voices and approaches, from Turner Prize winners and international exhibitors to new talents rooted in local experience.

A Town Reimagined

Since its launch in 2008, Folkestone Triennial has continued to grow in ambition and reach, welcoming over 220,000 visitors in 2021. The 2025 edition builds on this momentum, deepening the relationship between public art and place.

As part of Folkestone – A Brighter Future, a major regeneration project supported by Folkestone & Hythe District Council, two new works by Céline Condorelli and Monster Chetwynd will become permanent additions to the town.

“Creativity has become part of the fabric of Folkestone,” said a council spokesperson. “These new commissions are part of a wider regeneration that puts imagination, joy and community at the heart of our town centre.”

Plan Your Visit

Folkestone Triennial 2025 runs from Saturday 19 July to Sunday 19 October. More details about the artists, their projects and locations will be announced later this spring.