We are really excited to announce the two fantastic guest selectors for Exeter Contemporary Open 2026 as gallery owner Sid Motion @sidmotiongallery and artist Martyn Cross @martyncross join @exeterphoenixgallery curator Matt Burrows on this year’s panel.
The call for entries is open now, deadline 7th June.
This year the Open is celebrating 20 years of showcasing extraordinary work by emerging and more established artists exhibiting side-by-side. We are thrilled to be welcoming Martyn back as a selector, after he was selected for the show himself way back in 2009!
Guidelines & submissions at exetercontemporaryopen.com - Linktree in bio above ⬆️
Just a few examples here from the ‘Bootleg Shreg Show Reel’ - 22 one-minute films commissioned by @bruceasbestos from a range of artists, actors, dancers and filmmakers as part of his current exhibition.
Invited to interpret their idea of who he might be, they responded to the basic prompt - “Shreg is a green character who lives in a forest and is on an important mission. His best friends are a tree and a flower”.
Many thanks to all who responded with their brilliant films.
In an age hurtling towards AI generated perfection, these rough-and-ready, improvised and hand-made one-minute videos to camera celebrate human creative activity, authenticity, and visual expression.
⭐ Jenny Cashmore @jennycashmore
⭐️ #WABKIN
⭐️ Eeva-Maria Mutka @mutkaeevamaria
⭐️ Ella Crook @a_bit_of_everything113
⭐️ Emily Chung @wingsumchung
⭐️ Emma & Nora Bass @worm_witch_@emmama_bassio
⭐️ Isobel Jeffery & Phil Kingslan John @fourofswords
⭐️ Laura Robertson @laurarobertsonart
⭐️ Lyddie Mac @f3mal3_gaze
⭐️ Nia Evans @nia_evans
⭐️ Phe Jones
⭐️ Robyn Lawrence @robynndolly
⭐️ Sergia Ramos Castillo
⭐️ Alexander Stevenson @alexander_stevenson
⭐️ Simon Raven @raven_simon
⭐️ Stuart Crewes @stuartcrewes
⭐️ Lerna Babikyan @lerna_babikyan_hayes /
⭐️ Erika Cann @erikac_art
⭐️ The Pelican Project: Ben, Caspar, Louisa, ⭐️ Robbie, Zoe, Eli, Hannah, Bethany @the_pelican_project
⭐️ Holly Gibbs
Many thanks to all who came along to the fantastic opening of @bruceasbestos show ‘Bootleg Shreg 2’ on Saturday.
It’s a visual treat and runs right through May so do come along!
Reflecting on The Gifts Commission:
The Gifts is a socially-engaged, multisensory sculpture made by Tabatha Andrews for and with learning-disabled and neurodiverse communities of Exeter to form a lasting community legacy.
Co-created through the artist’s long-running relationship with Freefall+, it was commissioned by Exeter Phoenix as part of Tabatha’s wider, 2025 Arts Council funded project, The Slightest Gesture.
The work now resides under the care of The Pelican Project on Sidwell St, available for learning-disabled and neurodiverse communities of Exeter to access, use and enjoy.
You can read more about the commission in our recent blog - link in bio 🔗
Here’s a sneak peek as we install @bruceasbestos 's upcoming solo exhibition in @exeterphoenixgallery 👀
Bootleg Shreg 2 (open Sat 25 Apr - Sat 20 Jun) features paintings, inflatable sculpture and digital artworks that explore the evolving world of Shreg, a mutating cartoon character, without a single fixed appearance.
Join us on Sat 25 Apr, 3pm - 5pm for an exhibition preview (free).
New Opportunity: Curator Bank
We’re excited to be part of Curator Bank, an initiative that supports artists in the South West through mentoring support.
Curator Bank offers one-to-one meetings with the people who build exhibition programmes, commission new work, acquire for collections and champion emerging voices. Curators represent major visual arts organisations in the South West - from experimental spaces to national collections. Their experience spans contemporary exhibition development, public art commissioning, museum acquisition, experimental digital platforms and community and socially engaged practice. The guest curator for this year is Claire Feeley, Artistic Director Focal Point Gallery and Head of Contemporary Visual Arts for Southend on Sea.
How to apply You can find out more and apply online via the @visualartssw website
Deadline 30 April Curator Bank is initiated by Visual Arts South West and The Burton at Bideford, building on an idea by Gilly Fox, with in-kind support from partner organisations: @arnolfiniarts@aspexportsmouth@Bristol Museum and Art Gallery @bsidefestival@theburtonatbideford
#DorsetVisualArts
@exeterphoenixgallery PhoenixGallery
Field Art Projects
#FocalPointGallery
@ginkgoprojects@harbour.house.art.wellbeing@johnhansardgallery@karstgallery@newlynexchange@rammuseum@rwabristol@somerset_art_works@spikeisland
#StudioKIND
@superculturewsm@tatestives@theboxplymouth@thelmahulbertgallery@uniofexeter@visualartssw
We are now accepting submissions from UK based artists for Exeter Contemporary Open 2026.
£10 entry fee for up to 3 artworks
Guidelines & submissions at exetercontemporaryopen.com - Linktree in bio above ⬆️
#contemporaryopen
There’s still time to see Ben Hartley’s installation in Gallery333.
Titled ‘Through yellow light’, the work contrasts feelings of nostalgia with geological time.
The title references both the nostalgia for the yellow light produced by car headlights and streetlights before their replacement with cold white LEDs; and the yellow light through which ancient organic matter preserved within fossilised tree resin is seen and remembered.
Based in Bristol, Ben’s process stems from encounters with material, and utilises fictioning to create sculptural interventions that engage with archaeology, science fiction and ritual.
Open until Sat 11 Apr (Mon – Sat, from 10am).
