South West Showcase Exhibition Open Call
Arts University Plymouth & MIRROR is seeking applications for exhibition proposals from south west based creatives.
What is the South West Showcase?
The South West Showcase is a recurring project established in 2013 as a strategic response to the lack of talent development and professional exhibition opportunities for artists based in the region. The showcase aims to support contemporary artists working and living in the South West through a year-long programme of mentoring and support with an exhibition outcome; presenting a long-term commitment to profiling and supporting the practices of artists in this region.
Exhibition dates:
The successful artist will be selected for a solo exhibition in our Gallery in 2027. The exhibition will fall between March and May 2027, with the exact dates to be confirmed at a later date.
Budget:
The selected artist will be awarded a fee of £2000 to produce their exhibition. Additionally there will be a flexible budget of £3000 to cover costs including production, travel and accommodation and transportation.
Who can apply?
To be eligible for this residency and exhibition opportunity, you must:
- Be based in the South West region, as defined by Arts Council England.
Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Hampshire and Somerset, Bath & North East Somerset, Bournemouth, Bristol, Cornwall & the Isles of Scilly, Isle of Wight, North Somerset, Plymouth, Poole, Portsmouth, South Gloucestershire, Southampton, Swindon, Torbay and Wiltshire. - Have a track record of operating professionally as an artist and can demonstrate that you are able to create an ambitious solo exhibition.
- Be able to demonstrate their ability to deliver a high quality, ambitious solo show.
- Have written a realistic, clear and compelling proposal and thought carefully about what you want to do and how you will do it.
- Have a well presented documentation of your work that demonstrates the quality of your work well.
- Benefit from and make the most of this opportunity.
- Have their own public liability insurance and be registered as self-employed.
What else is involved?
As part of the specified fee, the selected artist is expected to give a public talk about their work, attend their private view event and take an active role in the production and installation of the exhibition. Additionally artists are expected to work with the gallery team to support student engagement and with the marketing team to support the promotion of the exhibition.
As part of South West Showcase, MIRROR will support and sponsor the selected artist towards an application for Arts University Plymouth's Creative Associate Scheme. If successful, the selected artist will have access to a wide range of specialist facilities at AUP to support the development of new work for their exhibition in MIRROR as a Creative Associate through a 6 month residency opportunity. These facilities include ceramics, glass, wood, metal, printmaking, digital fabrication, and more, offering the tools and space to experiment and expand your practice. Throughout the residency, you will receive one-to-one mentoring, including studio visits and tailored feedback to support your creative and professional development.
As part of the role, the artist will also engage meaningfully with AUP students through talks, demonstrations, and collaborative projects, fostering creative exchange and enriching the educational environment.
The selected artists will be paired with a student assistant who will shadow and support the process of the artist taking part in the South West Showcase from the point of selection to their exhibition outcome. This student assistant will join site visits and observe conversations around idea development. They will support the artists through research activity as requested by the artist. This might include researching materials, processes, production and fabrication options as well as contextual information. When appropriate they will support the artist in making and production processes that take place at Arts University Plymouth and will support the process of installing the exhibition.
Selection process:
All applications will be reviewed for eligibility by Andy Cluer, Exhibitions Producer, Stephanie Owens - Dean of Arts, Design and Media, and Dr. Stephen Felmingham, Vice-Chancellor (Academic). They will make an initial shortlist of applications to send to the selection panel.
Each panel member then individually reviews the shortlisted applications and privately makes their own shortlist of four applications. All applications shortlisted by panel members are carefully reviewed at a selection day. A final selection of one artist is agreed on by all panel members.
Selection Panel:
To be confirmed.
Feedback:
As the gallery is staffed by just one person who works part time in the role, it is unfortunately not possible to offer individual feedback to applicants.
How to apply:
We recommend that you prepare and complete your answers in advance (checking the word counts) before copying and pasting your answers into the form and submitting.
Video Applications:
We also accept applications via video. If choosing to submit a video file please see the application form for specified time limits in which to answer the questions.
Please upload your video to Vimeo, YouTube or another online platform or website.
Please paste the link to your video in each text box of the application form. If your video is password-protected, please include the password as well.
As part of your application, we will also ask you to complete a monitoring form to help us better understand who our opportunities are reaching and to work towards a more inclusive section. The information you give is anonymised and is not linked to your application.
Deadline for applications:
Monday 9 February 2026 - at 10AM
Applications made after this deadline will not be accepted.
Applicants will be notified by Monday 30 March 2026
Problems with submitting:
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- If you are still having problems please contact MIRROR at: acluer@aup.ac.uk