Shelter Not necessarily a roof. We invite artists working in any medium to submit work that responds — directly, obliquely, or unexpectedly — to the question above. The work does not need to explain shelter. It does not need to illustrate it. It needs only to hold something true about what protects you, and to do so with intention and care. We are not looking for a particular aesthetic or form. We are looking for specificity — for artists who have identified something real, and found a way to bring it into the room.

Shelter

Not necessarily a roof.

The Concept

Shelter is the first thing we build and the last thing we let go of.

It is a wall, but it is also a person. A room, but also a routine. A door that locks, but also a silence we keep because it protects something.

We build shelter out of houses, and out of habits.

We find it in people who make us feel unbreakable, and in the ones we call home even when they are nowhere near a house.

We shelter each other, sometimes without noticing — a hand on a shoulder, a text sent at the right moment, a room kept exactly as someone left it.

We also shelter ourselves from things: from grief, from truth, from the version of ourselves we'd rather not meet.

This exhibition asks artists to locate their own shelter — and to ask, honestly, what it protects them from, and what it might be keeping out.

The pull toward safety. The architecture of comfort. The walls we build without realising we're building them.

“What is your shelter, and what does it cost you?”

This is the only question. Every work is an answer.

The Invitation

We invite artists working in any medium to submit work that responds — directly, obliquely, or unexpectedly — to the question above.

The work does not need to explain shelter. It does not need to illustrate it. It needs only to hold something true about what protects you, and to do so with intention and care.

We are not looking for a particular aesthetic or form. We are looking for specificity — for artists who have identified something real, and found a way to bring it into the room.

What We're Looking For

Strong submissions will demonstrate a clear and personal relationship between the artist's intent and the work itself. You might approach the theme through:

• A person — someone who makes you feel safe, or who you shelter in turn
  
  
• A place — a home, a room, a landscape that holds you
  
  
• A body — skin, bone, and breath as the first shelter we're given
  
  
• A boundary — the walls we build to keep something out, or someone in
  
  
• A ritual — a habit that functions as protection
  
  
• A memory — a place that no longer exists but still shelters you
  
  
•  Isolation — the shelter that becomes a cage
  
  
• Community — the collective structures that hold us when the individual can't
  
  
• Or something else entirely — something that shelters you that has no easy name

These are starting points, not requirements. The most interesting answers often come from somewhere we did not anticipate.

Submission Guidelines

Who Can Apply

• Open to artists at all career stages — emerging, mid-career, and established
• Local, national, and international applicants welcome
• Collaborative and collective submissions accepted — please name all contributors
• No entry fee

What to Submit

• Up to 5 high-quality images (minimum 300dpi) or a video link (maximum 6 minutes)
• Title, medium, dimensions, and year for each work
• Artist statement — 150 to 300 words — explaining what shelters you and how the work responds
• Short biography — 200 words maximum
• Contact information and a link to your website or portfolio

On the Artist Statement

The statement matters. Not because we need it to justify the work, but because we want to understand the particular shelter you're responding to.

Be specific. Name the person, place, or thing if you can. Tell us how long it has sheltered you. Tell us what the work does in relation to it — whether the work protects, exposes, dismantles, or simply sits inside it.

Generality is the enemy of a good statement. “Shelter” is a concept. What protects you is a fact. Start there.

Selection & Curation

Submissions will be reviewed by the curatorial panel. Selection will be based on:

• The clarity and specificity of the artist's relationship to the theme
• The quality and intentionality of the work itself
• The potential of the work to contribute to a coherent and dynamic group exhibition
• Diversity of medium, perspective, and approach across the exhibition as a whole

All applicants will be notified of the outcome by 22nd September 2026. Selected artists will receive full curatorial and installation support.

Key Dates

• All entries must be received by 23:59 BST,30th September 2026
  
  
• Selected and waitlisted artists informed by email by 10th October 2026
  
  
• Confirmed artists will need to deliver their work on 29th October 2026
  
  
• Opening Night: 31st October 2026 — Private view, music, drinks, artists, invited guests, and press
  
  
• Exhibition Open:31st October–4th November 2026
  
  
• Collection of your work on 4th November 2026
  
  
• Public access — artist talks and events programme TBC

The Exhibition

Shelter explores what protects us, and what that protection costs — not only walls and rooms, but people, habits, rituals, and the boundaries we build without noticing.

Artists are invited to reflect, through their work, on what holds them, what they hide inside, and what shelter might be keeping out as well as keeping in.

The exhibition provides a carefully organised environment where each artwork is displayed clearly, without overcrowding, ensuring a visually coherent and immersive experience.

The exhibition will take place in a large contemporary space in Central London. Its generous scale allows room for ambitious artworks, immersive installations, and pieces that benefit from an open, spacious environment.

Viewings are arranged by appointment to encourage intentional, focused engagement with the work.

Rather than fast-moving footfall, this approach supports meaningful encounters with collectors, curators, and art-interested visitors.

We had over 2000 visitors at our last exhibitions.

A public opening night will welcome guests into the space with drinks and music alongside, creating an atmospheric dialogue between body and artwork.

Artists are also invited to participate in a mix-and-meet gathering during the exhibition — an opportunity to connect with fellow exhibitors, curators, and invited audiences.

In addition, artist talks will be programmed, allowing selected artists to share insight into their practice, themes, and methods, encouraging dialogue between artists and attendees.

Advantages for Participating Artists

• Full curatorial and installation support from the team
  
  
• Professional photographs and videos of your work and the exhibition
  
  
• A certificate of participation acknowledging your contribution
  
  
• A private view with drinks and a live art component, in a professional gallery space
  
  
• The opportunity to engage directly with art enthusiasts, collectors, and gallerists
  
  
• Promotion locally through printed materials, and online through the curator's Instagram platform with 13K followers, alongside targeted promotional campaigns aimed at collectors and art-interested audiences
  
  
• A collaboration agreement issued alongside your participation certificate at the end of the exhibition

This opportunity is organised by curator Monica Mardare, an independent London curator committed to creating thoughtful, sensory exhibitions that foreground emotional depth, introspection, and the complex layering of human experience.

The intention is to offer artists a meaningful platform in Central London — one that values clarity of intention, experimentation, and the unfolding of the inner world within community.

Participation Fees & Conditions

• If accepted, a participation fee will apply according to the following structure:
  
  
• Participation fee: £150 per piece, whether physical, digital, or 3D work.
  
  
• Plinth — available on request, additional cost

Larger works, multiple pieces, or oversized/installation-based work may be submitted upon discussion, with the participation fee adjusted accordingly.

Payment & Cancellation

After confirmation of acceptance, payment should be completed within 7 days; otherwise, the application will be cancelled. The participation fee is non-refundable.

Sales

All submitted artworks should be for sale. A 20% commission will be applied to sales, with 80% going to the artist.

Application deadline: 30th September 2026