Don’t Miss: The Festival of Cats & The Job Muscroft Gallery
The bi-annual feline exhibition has grown in 2026. Here’s everything you need to know.
Photo credit: Will Hebditch
The Festival of Cats 2026
England's biggest cat art exhibition is coming back to Margate this May, as the Festival of Cats returns for its 2026 edition.
The main exhibition runs from 1 to 5 May at Pie Factory Margate, showcasing work from 100 local, national and international artists across painting, sculpture, photography and animation.
It's the largest exhibition the festival has staged to date.
The programme stretches well beyond the gallery walls.
Highlights include Cat Drag Life Drawing, an Old Possum's Poetry Reading rooted in the T.S. Eliot collection that inspired the festival's founding back in 2018, and a screening of CatVideoFest at the Palace Cinema in Broadstairs.
Visitors can also meet the organisers of The Cat Show Live, and keep an eye out for Travis and Sigrid, the internet-famous cat who tours London in a bicycle basket hissing at every dog she passes.
Most events are free and drop-in, with booking required only for the life drawing session. The full programme is at festivalofcats.com.
Sponsor, and local gallery owner, Job Muscroft says, “Funding for all art events is hard to come by in the current climate so I wanted to give something back to Margate which has been so welcoming to me as an artist over the years.
The Festival of Cats is truly a unique event bringing together art from across the globe to celebrate that love cats bring to our lives.”
Job Muscroft runs his own cat-based gallery in Margate
Don’t Miss The Opening Party
Plus don’t miss the Festival of Cats opening with the PV party at Pie Factory, the Job Muscroft Gallery and Don’t Blink Gallery for their Festival of Rats (yes really!). Fri 1 May, 6pm - 9pm.
Pop down for a free drink (while stocks last) and buns from Rise & Bun and experience the festival vibe in full swing.
Festival of Cats in 2025. Photo credit: Will Hebditch
The Joy Of Cats
New to the Old Town, the Job Muscroft Gallery, is this year’s festival sponsor and as such will be also be running an accompanying exhibition - The Joy of Cats from 1 - 30 May.
The Joy of Cats will feature some of Job’s original paintings and prints of his most popular acrylic cat paintings which are characterized by their vibrant colors and unique expressions, influenced by Job’s travels in Japan and his love of Kawaii (the Japanese word for cute).
He says, “My paintings are deeply personal and are love letters to all cats that bring so much joy and happiness into our lives even in the darkest of times. Throughout history cats have been celebrated and idolised, I am adding the latest chapter with my kawaii cats who aim to provide a daily dose of dopamine for their owners.”
Plus for an extra dose of joy, get 20% off on all cat art at the Job Muscroft Gallery in May with the code Cat20.
Fri - Sun (and Bank Holiday Monday), 11am - 5pm.
Free
the job Muscroft Gallery
Recently launched in the heart of Margate’s Old Town, the gallery is home to ‘joyful and affordable’ art. It showcases a range of art from local artists and makers including Job Muscroft, Josh Sykes, Max Sheppard, Kevin Chuter, Anne-Marie Rymill, Ann Palmer, Zana Glaser and Alex Boican.
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