Exeter Contemporary Open 2026: call for entries
Published April 1, 2026
Submissions are now open for Exeter Contemporary Open 2026: an annual open submission exhibition, established in 2006 and hosted by Exeter Phoenix. The exhibition aims to provide an important national platform for contemporary visual art with an emphasis on supporting emerging talent alongside more established artists.
The exhibition will run from 11 September – 31 October 2026 and is open to contemporary visual artists working in any media including painting, sculpture, photography, print, drawing, video, mixed and digital media. It will be staged across Exeter Phoenix’s two beautiful gallery spaces located either side of the main entrance foyer.
The deadline to apply is 11.59pm, Sun 07 Jun 2026.
Artists may submit between 1 - 3 recent works that reflect their current practice. The selection panel will be looking out for the extraordinary, intriguing, unusual, thought provoking, challenging or downright beautiful and particularly seek work that reflects current directions, themes and concerns in contemporary practice. There is a non-refundable entry fee of £10 covers submission of up to 3 separate artworks.
Last year's exhibition brought together 14 artists working across a diverse range of artistic practice, from painting and sculpture, to film, photography and textiles. You can read more about the featured artists, including the award winners, on our blog here.
Exeter Contemporary Open 2025 (Image by Dom Moore). Artists featured (left to right): Sophie Wake, Giles Round, Helen Acklam, Kenji Lim.