OPEN CALLS AND ARTIST OPPORTUNITIES

Open Call Exhibition 2025 at Sixteen Gallery

Entering competitions or open call exhibitions can be beneficial to artists at any stage of their career. It can be a great way to put yourself out there, help you get involved with an art community, connect with other artists, reach new audiences, or just simply be a way to show the work you are creating.

It can also be helpful if you don't have a cohesive body of work to put together your own exhibition, or can't afford the set-up costs right now, or maybe you just don't want to be out there on your own; joining a group exhibition with one or two pieces can be just the right step for you, and open calls can be the perfect in.

Many of the artists in the collective have been very successful entering different open calls and exhibitions, getting their names out there and finding new avenues to show their work. We are big supporters of artists opening themselves up to the myriad opportunities and of course, always encourage as many of you to get involved with the opportunities we share!

BUT, there are a lot of open calls and competitions, and the reality is, it's not always cheap to enter things. Many (if not most) larger national open calls charge an entrance fee, and this can range from £5 - £40 per artwork, and that's possibly just your payment for rejection - a reality all artists, no matter how good, have to face. If you are lucky enough to be selected for an exhibition, and it's not at a gallery 5 minutes from your house, that's when the real money begins to leak away. Think framing, delivering, private views (important networking), visiting, and, always possibly, collecting the work at the end.

Now. This is not intended to put you off, actually, quite the opposite! The idea is to be open and transparent with artists so that you can make smart, informed choices. Once you understand the financial situation for putting yourself out there, you can budget, think carefully and spend money wisely on opportunities that are the right fit for you.

So this overview of artists' open calls and competitions is designed to give you a rough idea of the opportunities for artists throughout the year. It can give you an outline to think about: what venues or groups might suit your work, what time of the year exhibitions might be, where opportunities are, and how much the entry fees might be. With this knowledge, think about setting yourself a yearly budget (even if just for entries) and using that as a measure for what you enter. Or perhaps just look at opportunities local to you, or ones which really hone in on the sort of work you create. However you choose to use it, we hope this list can be a helpful resource for artists to navigate showing their work throughout the year.

Opportunities are listed by the Month to look out for submissions opening - based on previous years. We will update this as we move through the year and are always open to recommendations for additions!

JANUARY

RA Summer Exhibition - £40

Creative Debuts: Face 2 Face - £FREE

Sixteen Gallery Postcard Show - £10 per board (October exhibition)

FEBRUARY

Sixteen Gallery Members Small Works - Collective members only £FREE

MARCH

Cass Art Prize - £12

Green & Stone Summer Exhibition - £20

No Place Art (Printmaking) - £24

APRIL

RWA Summer Exhibition - £22

MAY

Sixteen Gallery Open Call - £FREE

Royal Society of Marine Artists - £20

RP Drawing Prize - £20

JUNE

Royal Institute of Oil Painters - £20

Ironbridge Fine Arts Printmaking Competition - £22

British Art Prize - £22

Society of Wildlife Artists - £20

ING Discerning Eye - £15

Derwent Art Prize - £15

JULY

South West Academy of Fine and Applied Arts - £20

Bath Society of Artists £15

AUGUST

Broadway Arts Festival - £18

Bath Open Art Prize - £22

The Pastel Society - £20

SEPTEMBER

British Art Prize - £22

Green & Stone, works on paper - £15

Aesthetica Art Prize - £25

Royal Society of British Artists - £20

New Bath Arts Club - £20

Guildford House Open - £15

OCTOBER

Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colour - £20

Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer Portrait Award £40

NOVEMBER

Jackson's Art Prize - £5

Society of Graphic Fine Art - £20

Royal Society of Portrait Painters - £22

The John Ruskin Prize - £25

DECEMBER

RBSA Print - £19