One of Ireland’s newest and boldest fringe festivals, WTAF!? (Westend Theatre and Arts Festival), is back on the the streets, back rooms and unexpected spaces of Galway’s Westend this week until Wednesday, July 29.
The festival is back for its second year following a hugely successful debut that drew nearly 3,000 people from across the city in 2025.
WTAF!? is an independent fringe festival operated by Hysteria Productions in association with Galway’s Westend. The festival runs alongside the second week of the Galway International Arts Festival, offering emerging artists a platform on one of Ireland’s biggest cultural stages.
This festival creates a platform for emerging artists who refuse to be put in a box, bringing together 30 productions that span across theatre, music, drag, film, visual art and so many amazing acts that are hard to even categorise at all!
Co-directed by Emily Aherne and Jess Harkin, the festival was built on a simple but radical idea: that emerging artists deserve space, time and an audience without having to ask permission.
“WTAF was made for artists who don’t quite fit the pre-described boxes that so often appear in ‘the arts’. It’s for those that are emerging, different, innovative and frankly, stubborn,” said Co-Directors Emily & Jess
It’s a space where bold ideas can take shape and a welcoming platform for the next generation of makers n’ shakers. A space for their voices to be heard in the arts in Ireland. They have so much to say, we just have to listen.”
Now in its second year, WTAF!? remains deeply embedded within the Westend community that gave it a home. Working with venues including Massimo, the Blue Note, the Róisín Dubh,Áras na nGael, BóTOWN, Plámás, the Westend Art Collective, Cookes Thatch Bar, Silent Cinema and Just Art It, the festival turns the neighbourhood into an arts space full of vibrancy and entertainment, proving that culture can exist amongst the in-between spaces.
Most tickets are priced at €20 or under, with many shows operating on a pay-what-you-can basis, as one of the festival’s main goals is to be affordable to attend.
This year’s festival poster was designed by Galway artist Erin Dolan, who showed work at WTAF!? in 2025. A striking and intricate design full of details connected to Galway and Galway’s Westend.
A New Irish Language Strand
2026 marks the launch of Obair Ghaeilge, WTAF!? ‘s new Irish language strand, with four events programmed in Áras na nGael. The strand reflects the festival’s commitment to showcasing the full diversity of artistic voices in the West and to creating space for work made as Gaeilge within the broader festival community.
WTAF!? is supported by Galway City Council through its Arts Office and Night-Time Economy programmes, in collaboration with the Arts Council and the Department of Culture, Communications and Sport.
