The Shipping Brow Gallery is inviting submissions from emerging artists across Cumbria. Successful artists will be featured in our upcoming group show that will spotlight artists in the early stages of their careers.

Maryport's Shipping Brow Gallery is currently accepting submissions from young or emerging artists across Cumbria and the North-West.

Selected artists will be part of an exciting group show taking place between Tuesday, 18th August 2026 and Sunday 20th September 2026, the first of its kind in our gallery.

We are hoping to spotlight talent that is underrepresented across our region, and we welcome submissions from artists regardless of their educational background or whether they have previously exhibited in a gallery.

About the gallery

The Shipping Brow Gallery is a small community art gallery based in Maryport, Cumbria.

Entry is free for all visitors and we operate a shop to contribute to our running costs as a charitable organisation that recieves no permanent funding.

We are known in West Cumbria for holding the largest (and only) permanent collection of work by Percy Kelly, a renowned Workington born artist who often worked in Maryport.

Last year we welcomed over 5000 visitors from near and far and displayed work by over 25 local artists.

We also maintain a good online presence and currently sit at 986 followers on Instagram, receiving around 12000 views per month on our stories and posts.

This opportunity

For this group show, the Shipping Brow Gallery is accepting submissions from artists based in Cumbria and the North (UK) who identify as being at an "emerging" stage. "Emerging" can mean different things to different artists.

The purpose of this exhibition is to support those who are establishing a presence as an artist and would benefit from the experience of exhibiting with our small but friendly gallery.

This opportunity could benefit artists who qualify as "emerging" in one or more of the following ways:

• You may not have exhibited in a gallery, or in our gallery, before
• You may be under the age of 30
• You may not have benefited from a residency, paid commission and/ or artist grant
• You may not have attended university or studied art professionally in a further education setting

This list is not exhaustive, but should give you an idea as to whether this opportunity matches your career stage.

What kinds of art can we accept?

We are interested in visual art including paintings, drawings, photographs and prints.

Due to the nature of our space, we are currently unable to accommodate 3D work such as sculptures or installations, and we are unable to support work in videography/ audio.

Important to know:

•  Work submitted to this exhibition must be available for sale. Purchases will be handled by our team, and we take 40% commission on sales to contribute to our running costs as a small charitable organisation. 
• Installation usually takes place on a Sunday evening/ Monday prior to our preview evening. We will organise this with artists closer to the date.
• We appreciate artists collecting any unsold work promptly after the exhibition closes to allow for a smooth transition for our next artist.

Promotion for successful artists

Selected artists will enjoy promotion across our website and social media pages: we post regularly to encourage visitors to the gallery, and will create individual posts spotlighting each artist included in the exhibition.

You can see previous examples of this on our Instagram page (@shippingbrowgallery), and we welcome your input; we will be happy to collaborate on posts that you create relating to the exhibition, sharing them with our audience as well as yours.

We distribute posters in Maryport and surrounding towns and work with local media outlets, including CACN and Curated Cumbria, to generate interest in the press.

Being part of a Shipping Brow exhibition is also an excellent opportunity to network, as we have a strong community of artists, writers and patrons who support our work: we encourage you, as an emerging artist, to make the most of the connections you will make through showing your work in our space.

Private view

A preview evening, or private view, will be held for this emerging artists' show on Tuesday, 18th August 2026. Our previews are always enjoyable and vibrant events with refreshments provided by the gallery and coverage on our social media.

This is an excellent opportunity to connect with potential buyers, so we encourage you to attend if possible and engage with visitors.

We invite all trustees and volunteers to the gallery, and we suggest that you share the event with your mailing list, also.

Previews take place between 6-8 pm, and often exhibiting artists will get together afterwards to socialise and celebrate!

Photography/ documentation

While we do not currently offer professional photography or documentation of work to exhibiting artists, your work will be included in highlights shared on social media. You are also welcome to take your own photographs of your work in situ.

The curator

This show is curated by Charlotte Stephenson, the gallery manager.

Charlotte is an oil painter and one half of Eyesores Collective, a visual arts group that seeks to establish a place for contemporary art across Cumbria and the rural North.

As part of her role as manager, she has organised open call opportunities and provided photography and copy for the gallery's publicity.

If you have any questions regarding this opportunity, Charlotte will be happy to help, so please get in touch via the 'Contact curator' tab.