Visual Arts South West

Visual Arts South West We work to connect, support and advocate for communities in the South West visual arts sector.

We create opportunities for artists, organisations, professionals and groups to develop their practice, share ideas, knowledge, resources, and cultivate relationships with each other. Follow us on twitter:
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Final call! Eastleigh Borough Council are invit­ing sub­mis­sions from Artists to devel­op and deliv­er a Pub­lic Art Co...
03/09/2026

Final call! Eastleigh Borough Council are invit­ing sub­mis­sions from Artists to devel­op and deliv­er a Pub­lic Art Com­mis­sion, which marks the 90th anniver­sary of the Basque children’s camp.⁠
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This collaborative project aims to use funding available to raise awareness of hidden histories through public art at Suffolk Drive Open Space in Chandler’s Ford.⁠
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Artists should respond to one or more of the following themes: ⁠
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🙌 Welcome – Chandler’s Ford has a proud history of offering refuge⁠
and hope to displaced communities.⁠
💛 Childhood – making connections between the young people who⁠
lived there in 1937 and today.⁠
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💎Fee: £9000 ⁠
🚨Deadline to apply: 8th September ⁠
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For more info, visit our website: https://vasw.org.uk/opportunities/lead-artist-for-basque-childrens-camp-public-art
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2126: What If? unites artists María de la O Garrido, Alice Hume, and Matt Westbrook to envision alternative futures for ...
02/09/2026

2126: What If? unites artists María de la O Garrido, Alice Hume, and Matt Westbrook to envision alternative futures for Portsmouth in 100 years. ⁠
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The exhibition asks what might happen if communities, creativity and sustainability were placed at the centre of Portsmouth's development. The artists invite us to consider how places are shaped not only by infrastructure and policy, but also by relationships, shared knowledge, and collective care. ⁠
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26/06/26 – 06/09/26⁠
Aspex Portsmouth⁠
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For more info, visit our website: https://vasw.org.uk/whats-on/2126-what-if
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Image: María de la O Garrido, 2026.⁠

Cultural Connections: Artist In Conversation at Somerset Rural Life Museum 💫⁠⁠Join Candace Bahouth, Gladys Paulus, and H...
01/09/2026

Cultural Connections: Artist In Conversation at Somerset Rural Life Museum 💫⁠
⁠
Join Candace Bahouth, Gladys Paulus, and Helen Cammock, three internationally acclaimed women artists of mixed heritage who live or grew up in Somerset, showing new and existing work in the Abbey Barn. Facilitated by creative producer Laura Shacham⁠
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Saturday 10 October⁠
2.30- 5.00pm⁠
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The artists will talk about how their heritage and culture informs their work, how women are often juggling different aspects of their lives alongside their practice. ⁠

For more info, visit our website: https://vasw.org.uk/whats-on/cultural-connections-artist-in-conversation-at-somerset-rural-life-museum
⁠

The Burton at Bideford are recruiting for two exciting roles as they look ahead to the next chapter of their work in Nor...
28/08/2026

The Burton at Bideford are recruiting for two exciting roles as they look ahead to the next chapter of their work in Northern Devon.⁠
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📌 Deputy Director (Operations and Business Development)⁠
🗓️ Deadline: 10am, Tuesday 1 September⁠
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This role may be of interest to someone with extensive experience in operations, business development and/or a senior leadership role, looking to contribute to an organisation at a pivotal moment of its journey.⁠
⁠
📌 Curatorial Fellowship in Ceramics⁠
🗓️ Deadline: 10am, Wednesday 9 September⁠
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This Fellowship has been designed for an early-career curator who is ready to take the next step in their career, deepen their curatorial practice and develop expertise in ceramics. ⁠
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For more info, please visit our website, or contact The Burton at Bideford. ⁠
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Images: courtesy of The Burton at Bideford⁠
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Ani­ma Mun­di are delight­ed to present ​‘To Set the Dark­ness Echo­ing’, the sec­ond solo exhi­bi­tion of fig­u­ra­tive...
26/08/2026

Ani­ma Mun­di are delight­ed to present ​‘To Set the Dark­ness Echo­ing’, the sec­ond solo exhi­bi­tion of fig­u­ra­tive ceram­ic sculp­ture by Claire Curneen.⁠
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Curneen’s iconic sculptures are poignant contemplations on the liminal and precarious nature of the human condition, exploring themes around death, rebirth and the sublime.⁠
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17/07/26 – 05/09/26⁠
Anima Mundi, Cornwall⁠
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For more info, visit our website: https://vasw.org.uk/whats-on/claire-curneen-to-set-the-darkness-echoing
⁠

Spike Island presents Several Chickens Later, Nancy Lupo’s largest exhibition in the UK to date - including new sculptur...
21/08/2026

Spike Island presents Several Chickens Later, Nancy Lupo’s largest exhibition in the UK to date - including new sculptures that probe aspirations, ambiguities and material culture. ⁠
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In her work, which encompasses sculpture, video, writing, sound, drawing, painting, performance and architecturally specific installation, Lupo reflects on how collective fantasies and emotions become embedded in form.⁠
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30/05/26 – 06/09/26⁠
Spike Island, Bristol ⁠
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For more info, visit our website⁠: https://vasw.org.uk/whats-on/nancy-lupo-several-chickens-later
⁠
Image: Meow Meow Real Estate (2026), at the Nicoletta Fiorucci Foundation, Nancy Lupo.⁠
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‘Always Com­ing Home’ is a new solo exhi­bi­tion by Indian artist, eco-feminist, and activist Poulomi Basu.⁠⁠Spanning bo...
19/08/2026

‘Always Com­ing Home’ is a new solo exhi­bi­tion by Indian artist, eco-feminist, and activist Poulomi Basu.⁠
⁠
Spanning both gallery spaces, the exhibition brings together moving image, sculptural installation, and photography. Basu’s work explores migration, systems of power, and their impact on the body - particularly brown bodies - within an increasingly volatile world.⁠
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Basu’s practice is informed by South Asian Futurism, and challenges colonial legacies while addressing urgent political, social, and environmental concerns.⁠
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🗓️ Until 2 September 2026⁠
📍 East Quay Gallery (Contains Art), Somerset⁠
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For more info, visit our website⁠: https://vasw.org.uk/whats-on/always-coming-home-by-poulomi-basu
⁠

Make Space is a new initiative that unlocks space within arts organisations for artists to set up, test and reflect on t...
17/08/2026

Make Space is a new initiative that unlocks space within arts organisations for artists to set up, test and reflect on their work. Many artists in the South West either don’t have a studio, or don’t have adequate space to install work, document professionally, and invite feedback from peers.⁠
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Before applying, review the information packs for each organisation. These will outline key details including:⁠
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• Available dates⁠
• Measurements⁠
• Photos of the space⁠
• Potential uses⁠
• Access arrangements⁠
• Considerations and restrictions⁠
• Expectations and support⁠
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Decide which space best suits your needs, and complete the short application form. If you would like the application form as a Word document, or need an alternative format, please contact [email protected]. ⁠
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We also welcome video submissions.⁠
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4️⃣ Deadline 14 September 2026.⁠
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For more information, visit our website.⁠
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Image: Spike Open Studios 2026, photo Lisa Whiting

Mijitas is the first exhibition in the UK by Franco-Chilean artist Tohé Commaret, featuring two new moving image commiss...
14/08/2026

Mijitas is the first exhibition in the UK by Franco-Chilean artist Tohé Commaret, featuring two new moving image commissions. ⁠
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Commaret’s enigmatic short films move between documentary and fiction, approaching social realities through magical realism. These new works cast a light on feminised labour. Cleaning work in Rosa, and s*x work in Can you hear me? emerge as two different realities linked through forms of constraint and physicality.⁠
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30/05/26 – 06/09/26⁠
Spike Island, Bristol⁠
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For more info, visit our website⁠: https://vasw.org.uk/whats-on/tohe-commaret-mijitas
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Image: 'Rosa' film still (2026), Tohé Commaret⁠
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Bound to Us is a collective show exploring the com­plex and inescapable rela­tion­ships between humans and ani­mals acro...
13/08/2026

Bound to Us is a collective show exploring the com­plex and inescapable rela­tion­ships between humans and ani­mals across cul­tures, belief sys­tems, and environments.⁠
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Animals shape human life in countless ways: as companions, sources of food and labour, objects of entertainment, spiritual figures, and symbols of cultural identity. These roles are shaped by tradition, religion, economy, and ecology, and reflect both care and exploitation.⁠
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Bound to Us invites viewers to consider responsibility, power, and the enduring bond between humans and animals.⁠
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19/06/26 – 29/08/26⁠
Green Hill Arts, Devon⁠
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For more info, visit our website: https://vasw.org.uk/whats-on/bound-to-us
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Image: Juliette Mills

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