ArtBeat 2026 needs your voice!

On February 10, 2026, in Latest News, by The Somerville Times

ArtBeat 2025. ~ Photo by Bobbie Toner

This year the Somerville Arts Council is looking for the community to weigh in on a theme for ArtBeat, one of the City’s biggest festivals. Cast your vote and help spread the word!

What inspires you most?

Which theme would you like to see for ArtBeat 2026?

CatBeat – Beyond cuteness and internet domination, let’s explore the feline state of being: a poised stillness that hides a predator’s propulsive energy. And just like a cat’s nine lives – artists too, renew and reinvent themselves again and again.

Up – This year, we’re looking up. This theme invites us to explore the space above our heads, from drifting kites and floating installations to lofty ideas that lift us out of the everyday. Let’s defy gravity — physically, mentally, and artistically.

Revolution – This theme connects us with the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution. For ArtBeat 2026, we lean into the spirit of Revolution literally but also figuratively. What is the spark that challenges the status quo and demands a different future? Whether it’s a radical shift in perspective or a vibrant display of resistance through cultural production, we celebrate art as an agent of change.

Kinetic – ArtBeat 2026 goes Kinetic, celebrating the beauty of things that refuse to stand still. We’re exploring the friction between the static and the dynamic — from the whir of a gears to the fluid sweep of a dancer’s leap. Let’s explore how movement defines Somerville, where the only constant is change.

There’s no wrong answer—just different ways to imagine what ArtBeat could be.

𝗗𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲: Feb. 16

Submit you vote here: ArtBeat Theme Voting

Your vote helps shape what artists bring to the streets of Somerville