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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Bruce Asbestos: Bootleg Shreg 2 is an exhibition of paint­ings, inflat­able sculp­ture and dig­i­tal art­works that expl...
01/06/2026

Bruce Asbestos: Bootleg Shreg 2 is an exhibition of paint­ings, inflat­able sculp­ture and dig­i­tal art­works that explore the evolv­ing world of Shreg — a mutat­ing car­toon character and amalgam of well-known green characters in pop culture. ⁠
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The exhibition explores how characters are generated and develop over time into icons. Bruce Asbestos pokes at morphing ideas around creative authenticity with a subversive nod to ideas of the illicit bootleg version or the ‘knocked-off’ derivative of officially sanctioned intellectual property. ⁠
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He considers how in an age hurtling towards AI generated perfection, the rough-and-ready, hand-built, sketched out, or flawed rendering may accrue more cultural and creative value.⁠
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25/04/26 – 20/06/26⁠
Exeter Phoenix, Devon⁠
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For more info, visit our website⁠: https://vasw.org.uk/whats-on/bruce-asbestos-bootleg-shreg-2

The Everyday is a new col­lec­tive exhi­bi­tion at Pound Arts Cen­tre by Art in Motion (AIM), exploring the beau­ty, hum...
27/05/2026

The Everyday is a new col­lec­tive exhi­bi­tion at Pound Arts Cen­tre by Art in Motion (AIM), exploring the beau­ty, humour, and mean­ing in dai­ly life.⁠
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The theme is open, playful, and deeply personal, interpreted differently by each artist. Some explore still life through objects they encounter daily, others are experimenting with scale by transforming familiar items into sculpture, and some capture quiet moments from their own lives. ⁠
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AIM collaborates with learning-disabled and neurodivergent artists to create artwork.⁠
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Until 6 June ⁠
Pound Arts Centre⁠
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For more info, visit our website: https://vasw.org.uk/whats-on/the-everyday
Image: The Passionate Kiss (2025), Peter Sutton⁠
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📢 Studio KIND Summer Open - Call for Artists ✨️⁠⁠Inviting artists from across Devon to be part of this excit­ing cel­e­b...
26/05/2026

📢 Studio KIND Summer Open - Call for Artists ✨️⁠
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Inviting artists from across Devon to be part of this excit­ing cel­e­bra­tion of cre­ativ­i­ty and con­tem­po­rary artis­tic practice.⁠
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The exhibition highlights the breadth and diversity of work being produced across the region, and is open to artists at all stages of their careers working across all mediums including painting, photography, moving image, sculpture, printmaking, drawing and ceramics. ⁠
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The Summer Open will run from Saturday 11th July to Saturday 15th August.⁠
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🗓️ Deadline to apply: 15th June⁠
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For more info, visit our website⁠: https://vasw.org.uk/opportunities/studio-kind-summer-open-call-for-artists

Final week to see Simon Bayliss - It's just a feeling⁠⁠Simon Bayliss - a potter and artist based in St Ives, Cornwall - ...
25/05/2026

Final week to see Simon Bayliss - It's just a feeling⁠
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Simon Bayliss - a potter and artist based in St Ives, Cornwall - was invited by Dr Peder Clark, a cultural and social historian, to develop work in response to his research on Ecstasy (M**A). ⁠
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He was given access to Clark’s archival and oral history materials on 1990s Ecstasy consumption, spanning rave scenes and alternative communities, including writing on gender expression within club culture, psychedelic rave art, and harm reduction campaigns.⁠
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The resulting exhibition brings together slipware ceramics, music video, and print, playfully reprocessing this material through the circular logic of the pottery studio. Moving between archive and painterly expression, the works explore subcultural appropriation, emotional communities, and the material culture of Ecstasy. ⁠
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Until 30/05/26⁠
Auction House, Cornwall⁠
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For more info, visit our website⁠: https://vasw.org.uk/whats-on/simon-bayliss-its-just-a-feeling

Figuring Out... Developing Your Creative Practice is an online talk by Mark Dev­ereux for artists plan­ning an appli­ca­...
22/05/2026

Figuring Out... Developing Your Creative Practice is an online talk by Mark Dev­ereux for artists plan­ning an appli­ca­tion to Round 24 of ACE’s DYCP programme.⁠
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Devereux - an arts funding specialist - will unpick every aspect of the application process including: eligibility, structuring your project, budgeting, access support and the language you use. He will share top tips and advice that he has built up over 15-years receiving & helping other artists gain successful Arts Council England funding.⁠
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28/05/26⁠
6:00 - 7:30pm⁠
Online (Zoom)⁠
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For more info and booking, visit our website: https://vasw.org.uk/opportunities/figuring-out-developing-your-creative-practice-workshop

Image: You and I, Louise Ward Morris, 2023. Image: courtesy of the artist.⁠
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How to Enter the Art World... with Hettie Judah⁠⁠Head to KIT FORM to hear from Bristol-based artists (TBA) about their p...
21/05/2026

How to Enter the Art World... with Hettie Judah⁠
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Head to KIT FORM to hear from Bristol-based artists (TBA) about their practices, and from renowned critic and curator Hettie Judah.⁠
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The presentations will be followed by a relaxed hour-long Q&A with Hettie. We will be seated in a circle, and everyone is invited to participate and ask Hettie their questions.⁠
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Saturday 23rd May⁠
6:00pm (doors open 5:00pm)⁠
KIT FORM⁠
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For more info, visit our website⁠: https://vasw.org.uk/whats-on/how-to-enter-the-art-world-with-hettie-judah
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Artist-led is an ongoing series pro­fil­ing artist-led groups in the South West. This month we celebrate Contemporary Ar...
12/05/2026

Artist-led is an ongoing series pro­fil­ing artist-led groups in the South West. This month we celebrate Contemporary Art Membership Platform (CAMP) - a member-led support and professional development network for artists, arts workers, and other creatives across Devon, Cornwall, and the Isles of Scilly! ⁠
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CAMP promotes and supports doing, making, and sharing contemporary art. ⁠
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We want to discover and share artist-led initiatives in the region, profiling the projects and people doing incredible work in the South West. Get in touch to tell us about the brilliant people you know.⁠

https://vasw.org.uk/editorial/artist-led-camp
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This is the final week to see ‘Unknown Futures : Hope, Longing, Grief & Other Distortions’ by contemporary British artis...
11/05/2026

This is the final week to see ‘Unknown Futures : Hope, Longing, Grief & Other Distortions’ by contemporary British artist Andrew Litten, presented by Anima Mundi. ⁠
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Here, Litten presents a reflective body of work over three floors of the gallery, comprising multi-scale painting, sculpture and works on paper. The work reaches into our contemporary world of global turbulence and uncertainty, tracing the contours of a shared human moment and suggesting through vulnerability a pathway of empathy and connection for us all.⁠
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Until 16/05/26⁠
Anima Mundi, Cornwall⁠
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For more info, visit our website⁠: https://vasw.org.uk/whats-on/andrew-litten-unknown-futures-hope-longing-grief-other-distortions
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image: Seeds & Cuttings (With Shadows and New Hopes), Andrew Litten.⁠

We’re proud to support Art in Motion (AIM) 💛⁠⁠AIM is a Bristol-based organisation working alongside learning-disabled an...
07/05/2026

We’re proud to support Art in Motion (AIM) 💛⁠
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AIM is a Bristol-based organisation working alongside learning-disabled and neurodivergent artists to create bold, ambitious work - while building confidence, connection, and creative independence. They’re currently fundraising at a critical moment - and we’re helping spread the word.⁠
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For small, community-led arts organisations, funding is becoming harder to secure. At the same time, the need for inclusive, accessible creative spaces like AIM has never been greater.⁠
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Through their studio, residencies, and programmes, AIM supports artists to collaborate, build confidence, and connect with wider audiences within a professional arts environment.⁠
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This funding will help bridge an urgent gap, keep the studio open, and ensure artists and projects already in development can continue to grow.⁠
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If you’re able to, please consider supporting their crowdfunder. And if not, sharing this post helps more people discover and support their work.⁠
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🔗 Donate here: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/help-keep-aims-studio-open⁠
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An Introduction to Arts Funding with Laura Porter (online workshop)⁠⁠An infor­mal ses­sion dis­cussing fund­ing appli­ca...
06/05/2026

An Introduction to Arts Funding with Laura Porter (online workshop)⁠
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An infor­mal ses­sion dis­cussing fund­ing appli­ca­tions; how to approach them, the dif­fer­ent kinds of funds avail­able, and shar­ing insight.⁠
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During this session, gallery director Laura Porter will be discussing her experience with different kinds of funding, talking about what's available for artists now, and how to start to put together a funding application.⁠
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11/05/26⁠
Studio KIND⁠
17:30 – 19:30⁠
£25⁠
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For more info and the eventbrite link, visit our website⁠: https://vasw.org.uk/whats-on/an-introduction-to-arts-funding-with-laura-porter-online-workshop
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