Irish Arts and Human Rights Festival
Friday 10 to Sunday 19 October 2025
“In Solidarity: An International Celebration of Arts and Human Rights”
The Irish Arts and Human Rights Festival is an annual, international festival organised by Smashing Times International Centre for the Arts and Equality and Front Line Defenders, a Dublin-based international organisation working to improve the security and protection of human rights defenders at risk. It is held in partnership with a range of other Irish organisations working on human rights and social justice. This year’s festival runs from 10 – 19 October, with the theme ‘In Solidarity: An International Celebration of Arts and Human Rights’.
The festival aims to promote human rights and justice for all, and the vision of a world where all people are treated equally, with dignity and respect – linking the arts to civil society, active citizenship and politics. The extraordinary work of human rights defenders in Ireland and around the world, past and present, and the role of the arts in promoting human rights will be showcased and highlighted at the festival, aiming to celebrate and unite community connections, artists, human rights organisations and human rights defenders.
The festival will showcase world-class and diverse acts, artists and speakers, including up-and-coming performers. It brings arts and human rights together through interdisciplinary events which include workshops, theatre performances, musical performances, visual arts, exhibitions, film screenings, panel discussions, poetry and literature events, historical memory performances, live art, digital installations, and more.
Front Line Defenders will sponsor multiple events during the festival - more details coming soon.
Organisations or individuals who would like to submit a proposal for their own event during the festival can do so by contacting Smashing Times - full details and application instructions are available here.
View the 2024 Festival programme here.
Due to the success and growth of the festival, the name has changed from the Dublin Arts and Human Rights festival to the annual international Irish Arts and Human Rights Festival. The festival has grown in size with events now taking place in a range of counties across Ireland as well as online, and the new name reflects the fact that this is an all-island festival featuring events from across Ireland, Northern Ireland and internationally.
