Nothing and nobody is perfect. Imperfections can be found everywhere. From June 18 to 21, experience how these defects and shortcomings, these imperfections and flaws, can lead to fascinating discoveries and beautiful creations at the 2026 Bosch Parade. This edition’s theme, Powered by Defects, pays a contemporary tribute to the large and small wrongdoings in the world.
Dedicated to painter Hieronymus Bosch (1450-1516), the biannual parade honors the artist’s fascination with the fantastical and absurd. Bosch is known for his symbolic paintings, often tying in gruesome representations of the afterlife and human desire and fear. He is also regarded as one of the earliest genre painters, depicting common people and their everyday experiences.
Participating artists embody his philosophy and aesthetic with floating artworks uniquely created for the parade. This year, an international fleet of nineteen new creations will drift down the Dommel river at the centre of ’s-Hertogenbosch, the city where the artist was born and that eventually adopted his name.
At the center of the Bosch Parade is the Garden of Earthly Delights: a summery open-air studio on the waterfront at the Citadel, the medieval fortress in the heart of ‘s-Hertogenbosch. In this bustling incubator, the public can see and meet the artists bringing their artworks to life.
Since 2010, the Bosch Parade has drawn thousands of visitors to the region. The 2026 edition is curated by David Bade, a multidisciplinary artist and co-founder of the Instituto Buena Bista in Curaçao. For the 2024 parade, he created the large, groundbreaking community project, Your Contemporary Demons.
To learn more, visit boschparade.nl/en/, and view the full 2026 program.
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