OCTOBER | Open Call Exhibition | Shadows & Light

OCTOBER/NOVEMBER  - Open Call for Artists | Shadows & Light

Light reveals. Shadow conceals. Between the two lies the space where stories emerge.

Shadows & Light

Shadows & Light invites artists to explore one of the most enduring and evocative elements of visual art: the interplay between illumination and darkness. From dramatic contrasts and fleeting moments of light to subtle tonal shifts and atmospheric ambiguity, this exhibition considers how light and shadow shape not only what we see, but how we experience and interpret the world.

We welcome work that responds to ideas of contrast, atmosphere, perception, memory, transformation, and emotion. This might include explorations of natural or artificial light, architectural spaces, landscapes, portraiture, abstraction, or conceptual approaches where shadow becomes a metaphor for absence, mystery, vulnerability, or the unseen. Artists may examine what is revealed, what remains concealed, and how light can alter form, colour, space, and meaning.

Submissions may consider illumination, reflection, silhouette, dusk and dawn, chiaroscuro, transparency, obscurity, hope, tension, stillness, or the passage of time; the poetic relationship between presence and absence; or the ways in which light and shadow become integral to process, material, and narrative.

Submitting Your Work

This open call is for emerging and established artists working in any medium, including (but not limited to) painting, drawing, print, photography, sculpture, ceramics, mixed media, installation, and time-based work.

All submissions will be reviewed by the curatorial team. Selection will be based on how strongly the work responds to the theme, alongside considerations of artistic quality, diversity of practice, and how works sit together within the exhibition as a whole.

Please complete the submission form carefully, providing clear images and concise supporting information. By submitting, you confirm that the work is available for the exhibition period and that you are able to deliver and collect work in line with the schedule below.

This exhibition encourages thoughtful, imaginative, and visually compelling work that explores the relationship between light and darkness, inviting viewers to pause, look closely, and discover meaning within moments of contrast.

Accessibility & Inclusion

We are committed to creating an open, welcoming, and inclusive exhibition programme. We encourage submissions from artists of all backgrounds and levels of experience, including those who may face barriers to accessing the arts.

If you have access needs, require adjustments to the submission or installation process, or would like to discuss your work in a different format, please get in touch. We are happy to have a conversation and will do our best to support you.

Theme keywords

light · shadow · contrast · atmosphere · perception · reflection · silhouette · mystery · transformation · chiaroscuro · presence · absence · illumination · time

Key Dates

Submission deadline: Monday 28th September 11:59pm
Successful applicants notified: Wednesday 30 September
Artwork drop-off: Sunday 4 October
Private View: Saturday 10 October 6.30-8.30pm
Exhibition dates: 5 October – 15 November 2026