All competitions · Open call / exhibition
Exeter Contemporary Open 2026
Exeter Phoenix · Exeter, United Kingdom
Annual open-submission exhibition at Exeter Phoenix for UK-based contemporary artists in any medium. £10 for up to three recent works; £1,000 overall award, £500 additional award and £200 audience choice.
Your eligibility
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Who can enter
- Location
- United Kingdom (by country of residence)
- Age
- No age limit
- Career stage
- Any
- Mediums
- Painting, Sculpture, Photography, Printmaking, Drawing, Video & film, Mixed media, Digital art
- Work made
- Within the last 2 years
- Submission
- Online submission
- Also
- UK-based artists; 1-3 recent works created within the past two years.
About
Exeter Contemporary Open, established in 2006 and hosted by Exeter Phoenix, is an annual open-submission exhibition of contemporary visual art. UK-based artists may submit one to three works made within the past two years in any media including painting, sculpture, photography, print, drawing, video, mixed and digital media. A panel of arts professionals selects around a dozen artists for the exhibition in Exeter Phoenix's two city-centre galleries.
For 2026, submissions closed at 11:59pm on 7 June 2026 via an online form, with a non-refundable £10 fee covering up to three artworks. Selected artists were notified by 1 July 2026 and the exhibition runs 11 September to 31 October 2026. Awards are a £1,000 Overall Award, a £500 Additional Award and a £200 Audience Choice Award. The call recurs annually, usually opening in spring.