Sonsbeek art projects is pleased to announce the full list of participating artists for Sonsbeek 2026. From July 2 through October 11, 2026, Arnhem will host the thirteenth edition of Sonsbeek, curated by Amira Gad and Christina Li with assistant curator Berber Meindertsma, and directed by Orlando Maaike Gouwenberg.
Taking place at Park Sonsbeek, partner institutions, and various locations across the city, Arnhem will become the stage for newly commissioned and existing works by 18 artists from the Netherlands and abroad. Featuring 12 new commissions, the works encompass site- specific installations, sculptural presentations, and performances that expand one’s understanding of art in public space.
The participating artists and collectives in Sonsbeek 2026 are:
• Larry Achiampong (b. 1984, London)*
• Korakrit Arunanondchai (b. 1986, Bangkok)*
• Alvaro Barrington (b. 1983, Caracas)*
• Fanja Bouts (b. 1997, Nijmegen, the Netherlands)*
• Forensic Architecture (est. 2010, London)
• Femke Herregraven (b. 1982, Nijmegen, the Netherlands)*
• Afaina de Jong (b. 1977, Amsterdam)*
• On Kawara (29,711 days)
• Loesje (est. 1983, Arnhem)*
• Jumana Manna (b. 1987, Princeton, NJ)
• Jota Mombaça (b. 1991, Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil)*
• nasa4nasa (est. 2016, Cairo)
• Ipeh Nur (b. 1993, Yogyakarta)
• Puppies Puppies (Jade Guanaro Kuriki-Olivo, b. 1989, Dallas, TX)*
• Sahej Rahal (b. 1988, Mumbai)*
• Mounira Al Solh (b. 1978, Beirut)*
• Anne-Mie Van Kerckhoven (b. 1951, Antwerp)*
• Esma Yiğitoğlu (b. 1944, Zincidere, Türkiye; d. 2009, Rotterdam
*Newly commissioned works for Sonsbeek 2026
Theme of the Edition: Memory as Living Action
Sonsbeek 2026 approaches memory as a dynamic space, shaped by what we choose, inherit, or must share—especially when memories are vulnerable, contested, or fading. The exhibition unfolds amid persistent conflict and global crisis, in stark contrast with Sonsbeek’s founding after the Second World War, a period of reflection and rebuilding.
In Arnhem’s layered history, traces of war persist in architecture, landscape, and collective consciousness. The exhibition unravels memory as a space where forgetting and remembering interact; where loss and preservation act as complementary forces, enabling both rupture and renewal. Today, the question is no longer how to represent the past, but how to live with it.
For Sonsbeek 2026, we see memory as a living, generative force—an action that resists erasure, transforms histories, and shapes possibilities for tomorrow. It is through this lens that this edition’s artists will engage with Arnhem, a city where history is deeply embedded in the landscape.—Amira Gad & Christina Li, Sonsbeek 2026 curators
Announcing Partners
Sonsbeek 2026 is pleased to partner with cultural institutions that play a pivotal role in the city of Arnhem and the surrounding region, enabling the expansion of the presentation from Park Sonsbeek into the fabric of the city and its communities.
The partner institutions include Museum Arnhem; POST, Arnhem and Nijmegen; Rozet, Arnhem; Museum Bronbeek, Arnhem; Wereldlab, Nijmegen; and Focus Filmtheater, Arnhem; among others.
Alongside the just over 100-day exhibition, Sonsbeek 2026 will present a dynamic public program of performances, talks, and workshops.
Supporters
Sonsbeek 2026 is initiated by Sonsbeek art projects and is supported by Gemeente Arnhem, Mondriaan Fonds, Fonds 21, Vfonds, het Cultuurfonds, BNG Cultuurfonds, and Pauwhoffonds.
Press release from Sonsbeek art projects
Image: Ipeh Nur. Seperti Laut yang Gelap dan Misterius (Like a Dark and Mysterious Sea). 2023. Image courtesy of the artist and Sonsbeek art projects
