Traction Project Space

With some new people around here and with our recently renovated space, we thought it was time to reintroduce ourselves! 👋 Traction Project Space is an artist-led window gallery in Exeter city centre. It is housed within EP Sidwell Street, a community art space and studio complex on Sidwell Street, and is supported by @exeterphoenix and @positivelightprojects Set in the left hand side of the building's large street-facing windows, the gallery provides a flexible space to test new ideas and present work in all formats, in a 24/7 accessible location. The gallery's focus is to develop ideas and to provide support for emerging contemporary visual artists, showcasing high quality, critically engaged work to a diverse audience in Exeter city centre. Come and visit us at 184-187 Sidwell St, Exeter, EX4 6RD 📷 - our current exhibition, Site Office, by @adamsgarratt

Traction Project Space x @auto___amor open call! Situated on a busy thoroughfare in and out of the city, the large street-facing windows of Traction provide a flexible space to present work in all formats, and creates a publicly accessible gallery that is visible and ‘open’ 24/7 in the city centre. We are excited to present a range of artworks to our large and wide reaching audience, the constant hustle and bustle of the street providing an ever-shifting crowd. This is the first large group exhibition in the space, and we are keen to reflect a range of styles, themes and media. All artists will be working to the same scale, on the Auto Amor 24 x 30cm gessoed boards, and we are looking for distinctive responses to the challenge. Works will be on display in a three week long exhibition, and there will be a closing party with the option to swap artworks on the 18th July. Where: 184 - 187 Sidwell Street, Exeter, EX4 6RD When: Closing party/art swap 18th July More info: @auto___amor or via the link in bio SUBMIT BY: 23rd May

Now open! Altered Images, a duo exhibition by textile artist Jonathan Price @price9382 and Janet Sainsbury @janetsainsbury Reflecting on the crossovers and links between the individual practices of two artists who share a household, the exhibition explores what elements of each practice might be mutualistic and what might be seen as parasitic. Recycled textile hangings incorporate found materials, new fabrics and discarded paint rags, the oil pallette influencing the depth and colours used in the piece; while oil paintings on Hessian echo the way light is both absorbed and reflected, and materials float or sink into the surfaces of the textile works. The exhibition continues until 19th June and is viewable from Sidwell Street.

We are thrilled to announce the guest curator erikac_art for our exhibition in Exeter at @traction.projects this spring. About Traction Projects Artist and curator Erika Cann transformed a disused kitchen and playroom into a DIY, artist-led gallery, creating a vibrant space for experimental exhibitions and community engagement. Nearly two years on, the programme has showcased bold, boundary-pushing work, from immersive installations to unconventional sculpture, while continually evolving alongside the artists involved. Driven by a passion for alternative, accessible art spaces, Cann’s project reimagines the high street as a site for creativity. A recent community-led renovation has expanded the space to include a 4m gallery wall, now set to be put to the test with their biggest group show yet. All submissions are blind-judged. 📣Open Call: Traction Project Space × Auto Amor We’re opening the door for emerging artists by removing portfolios and past achievements, giving everyone an equal chance to try something new and take part. We can’t wait to see what you create. ✨ Key Dates - Buy your board now - Submit by May 23rd - Private View/Closing Party July 18th #opencall #artistopencall

Thanks all for coming last night to celebrate the opening of Altered Images by Jonathan Price and Janet Sainsbury! The exhibition is now open and viewable 24/7 in our street facing window gallery until 19th June.

OPEN CALL✨Traction Project Space x Auto Amor Key dates: Buy a board Submit by 23rd May Private View 18 July Auto Amor is parking up at @traction.projects in Exeter for our longest running group show from June to July 🚘 This show contributes to a national catalogue capturing a snapshot of 500+ artists and partner galleries across the UK in 2026. All submissions are blind-judged, giving every artist an equal chance to experiment and be seen. Selected artists will exhibit at Traction Project Space, be listed on Artsy, and appear in the Catalogue Collectif 2026. Works must be made on our 30 × 24 cm Auto Amor Board. (link in bio) On closing day, artists with unsold works are invited to take part in our Artist Swap, trade your piece with another exhibitor and take home something new. Buy your board via the link in bio. All Open Calls are blind-judged by a guest curator. Explore the full 2026 Programme via programme page (link in bio). #opencall #exeter #opencallforartists

Join us to celebrate the opening of our new exhibition this Friday 1st May, 5-7pm! 🥂 Altered Images by Jonathan Price and Janet Sainsbury brings their work together for the first time in an exhibition that explores recent textile works by Jonathan, and new experimental paintings on Hessian by Janet. Jonathan’s practice explores the psychological impact of humankind’s destruction of nature. Motifs that are suggestive of natural forms are placed alongside eyes and lips and are partially buried under accreted layers of fabric and stitches, creating abstract patterns and blends of colour. Janet researches the lives of female artists and writers whose stories she finds remarkable. For this exhibition she has included several portraits of the writer and poet Beatrice Hastings (1879 -1943), editor of avant garde literary magazine, The New Age. Come along, meet the artists and enjoy a sunny evening of new art! 🌞 The exhibition continues from 1st May - 19th June at Traction Project Space, 184 Sidwell St, Exeter, EX4 6RD

Exhibit your work here for our collaboration with @auto___amor ! Auto Amor are creating a national Catalogue that documents the 2026 UK art scene - the artists, the work, and the venues that show it. To take part, the first step is to buy a board. One board unlocks multiple Open Calls across partner venues around the UK. Selected works are exhibited and added to the Catalogue. All artists will be working to the same scale, on the Auto Amor 24 x 30cm gessoed boards, and we are looking for distinctive responses to the challenge. The three week exhibition at Traction Project Space will end with an art swap on 18th July. Deadline 23 May Find out more at /programme

Coming soon to Traction Project Space 👀 Altered Images: Jonathan Price and Janet Sainsbury 1st May - 19th June Evening celebration: Friday 1st May, 5-7pm Showing together for the first time, textile artist Jonathan Price and painter Janet Sainsbury use the exhibition to reflect on crossovers and links between the individual practices of two artists who share a household; what might be mutualistic and what might be seen as parasitic. Jonathan’s recycled textile hangings incorporate found materials, new fabrics and most significantly for this exhibition, Janet’s discarded paint rags. The oil paint rags bring deeply saturated and suffused colours, altering the sense of depth and surface, and bringing an embodied sense of haptic intervention and history to the fore. Painting on hessian represents a new strand in Janet’s practice. Using this rough textured material brings challenges; some globs of paint stay on the surface and some are absorbed into the open weave of the fabric. The effect finds echoes in Jonathan’s hangings where light is both absorbed and reflected, and materials float or sink into the surfaces of the work. Traction is an artist-led project space developed by artist/curator Erika Cann. The street-facing window gallery is supported by @exeterphoenix and @positivelightprojects , and is situated within EP Sidwell St. Join us to celebrate the opening of the exhibition on Friday 1st May, 5-7pm at Traction Project Space, 184 Sidwell St, Exeter, EX4 6RD

🚧 SITE MEETING 🚧 Join us on Sunday 12th April, 2pm - 4pm for a meeting at the Site Office. Meet the artist @adamsgarratt and site manager and have a natter over a coffee break ☕ Everyone is welcome, whether you've had a site induction or not. Bring your high vis! 🦺

Site Office | Adam Garratt @adamsgarratt Traction Project Space at Positive Light Projects, 184 - 187 Sidwell St, Exeter, EX4 6RD 27 February - 24 April Site Office brings together previously shown works with new work and reworked ideas. Using only reclaimed materials, the work replicates forms seen in a working construction site office. Abstract and imitated forms are made using hi-vis work wear, hard hats and carpet tiles. Carefully pinned sections of deconstructed work vests in the style of museum bug displays sit alongside mounds of clothing not dissimilar to Venus of the rags. The two sides illustrate the organisation and chaos that can coincide between artist materials and carefully curated ideas. Adam Garratt’s practice is primarily based in sculpture, installation and print and has evolved around constraints of space, the use of material and repetitious making processes. His work is often made with reclaimed materials and is specifically made to expand into an installation when it is not neatly folded, stacked and rolled for storage and re-use in the garden shed. Conscious not to make extra waste, Adam chooses carefully which materials to make work with. They come with their own history of prior use and bare the marks of an embodied labour, often with holes, creases, tears, dirt and stains. Traction Project Space is an artist-led window gallery in Exeter city centre. It is supported by @positivelightprojects and @exeterphoenix . Set in the left hand side of the building's large street-facing windows, the gallery provides a flexible space to test new ideas and present work in all formats, in a 24/7 accessible location. The gallery's focus is to develop ideas and to provide support for emerging contemporary visual artists, showcasing high quality, critically engaged work to a diverse audience in Exeter city centre.

Some details of Site Office by @adamsgarratt - now open at @traction.projects 🦺 "Set up of a site office. Use the images taken of a site office and make studies from the space. Mix in sculptural forms and recreations of objects found in the office. Show a space in flux, the contractors will be back to reclaim these items. Fluorescent yellow and orange stand out from the white space. The shelves store a series of found and constructed forms. Coat hooks hold the raw material. Wall displays show the component parts of the deconstructed work wear pinned to carpet tiles. Taking the form of a pinned insect, museum display." Adam Garratt’s practice is primarily based in sculpture, installation and print and has evolved around constraints of space, the use of material and repetitious making processes. His work is often made with reclaimed materials and is specifically made to expand into an installation when it is not neatly folded, stacked and rolled for storage and re-use in the garden shed. Conscious not to make extra waste, Adam chooses carefully which materials to make work with. They come with their own history of prior use and bare the marks of an embodied labour, often with holes, creases, tears, dirt and stains. Make sure to stop by and check it out! Traction Project Space is based on the left hand window of @positivelightprojects on Sidwell Street in Exeter. The window gallery is accessible at street level and viewable daily (and nightly!). Open until 24 April