Every August, Edinburgh's streets become an open-air performance space and gallery. Posters line walls, programmes fill cafés and bookshops and colourful artwork announces everything from opera and theatre to dance and music. While most visitors focus on the performances, fewer realise that many of the Festival's most memorable designs were created by some of the twentieth century's most celebrated artists.
From internationally renowned names such as Jean Cocteau to Scottish painters including Robin Philipson, the Edinburgh International Festival has long commissioned artists to create original programme covers and promotional artwork. Today, these designs are recognised not simply as printed ephemera, but as an important chapter in Scotland's artistic and cultural history.
Quick Answer: Many of the best-known Edinburgh International Festival posters and programme covers were created by leading twentieth-century artists rather than commercial designers. Over the decades, figures including Jean Cocteau, Robin Philipson, John Bellany, Eduardo Paolozzi, John Byrne and Alasdair Gray helped shape the Festival's visual identity, turning promotional artwork into collectable works of art.
