This Is My Brighton is Wach’Art Spaces & Creative Development’s only open call of 2026, marking The Vault’s anniversary month. We invite artists, photographers, illustrators, makers, writers and multidisciplinary creatives to help co-author a collective portrait of Brighton through four evolving September themes: Places, People and Communities, Hidden Brighton and Future Brighton.

Existing and newly created work are welcome, and no previous professional exhibition experience is required.

“This Is My Brighton is not only our 2026 open call,  it is the beginning of what we intend to become an annual Brighton project: a lasting visual archive and recurring celebration of the city through the people who shape it." J.J. Wachter, Managing Director.

We strongly encourage submissions from artists from Global Majority Heritage and backgrounds across all four sections, as well as people and communities whose perspectives remain underrepresented within traditional galleries and cultural institutions.

Key dates

• Applications close: 22 August 2026
• Curatorial review: 24–29 August 2026
• Artwork delivery and production: 1-3 September
• Exhibition programme: September 2026
• Location: The Vault Arches, 42-43 Kings Road, BN1 2LN, Brighton

Fees

• Non refundable submission fee: £8
• Registration fee if selected: £22
• A reduced registration fee: £12 (Conditions apply - FAQ)

Full Description

Brighton is many things.

• A place of arrival.
• A place of protest.
• A place of reinvention.
• A place of refuge.
• A place of creativity, memory and belonging.

But no single artist, organisation or institution can define it.

This September, Wach’Art Space & Creative Development invites artists and creative people to help co-author a collective portrait of Brighton.

Rather than asking, “What is your best work?”, we are asking:

What does Brighton mean to you?

Your response might be joyful or difficult, personal or political, quiet or colourful. It might celebrate a place, reveal a hidden experience, recognise a community or imagine what Brighton could become.

You may submit existing work or create something completely new.

Whether you have lived here for forty years or arrived four months ago, your perspective matters.

More than an open call

September is The Vault’s anniversary month, and This Is My Brighton is our only open call of 2026.

We wanted to make it count.

This is not simply an invitation to exhibit. It is an invitation to participate in Brighton’s cultural story and help create something that can remain, develop and continue to serve the city.

As an independent grassroots organisation, we believe culture is not created only within major institutions. It is created from the ground up by artists, residents, workers, students, families, activists, newcomers and communities whose experiences give a place its identity.

Throughout September, The Vault will become a living exhibition that changes and develops week by week, introducing new works, artists, conversations and interpretations of the city.

The four September sections

Applicants should respond to at least one of the following sections. You may select more than one where relevant.

Week One — Places

The streets, buildings, landscapes, coastlines, neighbourhoods and everyday locations that shape our relationships with Brighton.

Week Two — People and Communities

The people, cultures, friendships, movements and communities that give the city its character and sense of belonging.

Week Three — Hidden Brighton

Overlooked stories, alternative histories, private experiences, invisible labour and less visible sides of the city.

Week Four — Future Brighton

Ideas, hopes and visions for a healthier, fairer, more creative, inclusive and connected city.

Together, the four sections will create a growing portrait of Brighton as experienced by the people who make it what it is.

Purposful Art for Healthier Communities

At Wach’Art, we believe art can do more than decorate a wall.

Art can create connection, support wellbeing, recognise lived experience, challenge exclusion and help people imagine positive change.

We are particularly interested in work that contributes to a more generous and human portrait of Brighton: work that creates hope, encourages reflection, supports community wellbeing or helps people feel seen and connected.

Positive imagery does not have to mean uncomplicated, cheerful or decorative work. Artists may explore protest, grief, inequality, displacement, isolation or difficult experiences where the work creates space for understanding, dignity, dialogue, healing or transformation.

This reflects our wider philosophy of Altruistic Art as Social Practice: creativity that contributes to the lives of others as well as to the development of the artist.

Who can apply?

This opportunity is open to anyone with a meaningful creative response to Brighton, UK, including:

• Professional and emerging artists
• Students and recent graduates
• Photographers and filmmakers
• Illustrators and designers
• Painters and printmakers
• Sculptors and makers
• Writers and poets
• Mixed-media and multidisciplinary artists
• Socially engaged practitioners
• People who may not usually describe themselves as artists
• You do not need to have exhibited professionally before.

We strongly encourage submissions from artists from Global Majority Heritage and/or backgrounds across all four sections, as well as people and communities whose perspectives remain underrepresented within traditional galleries and cultural institutions.

Selection will consider the relationship between the work, the project themes and the wider collective story being created, not simply professional status, reputation or previous exhibition experience.

What can be submitted?

We welcome:

• Existing work connected to Brighton
• Work created specifically for this open call
• Painting and drawing
• Photography
• Illustration
• Prints
• Text-based work
• Sculpture and small installations
• Mixed-media work
• Digital or moving-image work, subject to technical requirements
• Socially engaged or participatory work

How will the exhibition work? 

Rather than presenting one fixed exhibition for the entire month, The Vault will host an evolving September programme.

New works and ideas will be introduced throughout the month, allowing the exhibition to develop through different perspectives and conversations.

Works will be curated through themes, relationships and shared questions rather than ranked within a conventional competition.

There will be no single winning artist.

The purpose is to create a collective civic project in which individual voices remain distinctive while contributing to a larger portrait of Brighton.

Artists may be selected for one or more sections, depending on the work, available space and curatorial structure.

What selected artists receive

Selected artists will receive:

• Exhibition space at The Vault during September 2026
• Eligibility to our 2027 Artist Development ACE-funded program
• Reimbursement of snacks and drinks up to 15£ per day attending The Vault upon receipt
• Professional curatorial support including labels, signage and brochure, as well as sales support during the exhibition
• An artist profile through Wach’Art’s platforms:
  • Social media:
    • Instagram Mid Street Lab (3500 local followers, individuals, art enthusiasts and collectors) 
    • Instagram The VAult (910 followers, local art enthusiasts, small businesses and institutions)
  • Newsletter: covering over 10,000 local art enthusiasts, collectors, small businesses and institutions
• Promotion as part of the wider September programme:
  • Brighton Journal Articles (40,000 readers each week)
  • Argus Journal Article (5,000 distributed)
  • AOH Newsletter + Blog + Instagram (20,000 readers)
  • Bright & Hove Art Council Magazine (9,000 distributed)
  • ROSA Magazine + Instagram (7,000 followers)
  • Active ecosystem of institutional reach including  Phoenix Art Space, Sussex Contemporary, The Old Market, Fringe, PhotoFringe, Brighton Dome Brighton Festival and Adelaide Salon
• Opportunities to develop prints, cards or merchandise where appropriate

Participation may also open opportunities to contribute to talks, workshops, public events, future exhibitions and commissions, while being considered for inclusion in the developing Brighton Archive, the coffee-table year book with 500 copies at local professional practices and local offices, the proposed 2027 Brighton Calendar, and longer-term artist development opportunities with Wach'Art.

Artists may offer selected work for sale during the exhibition. Any sales commission and payment arrangements will be clearly explained before artists confirm their participation (typically 15-25% commission).

Application fees and transparency

A standard application fee applies, with reduced rates for:

• Wach’Art Artist Members
• Students and recent graduates
• Applicants experiencing financial barriers, subject to available support
• The Wach’Art member rate is aligned with the student rate in recognition of members’ ongoing contribution to the organisation.

Application fees directly support:

• The operation of The Vault
• Exhibition production and installation
• Artist promotion and profiles
• Labels and public information
• Community events and activities
• Marketing and audience development
• The development of a sustainable independent arts programme

The fee is not simply an entry charge. By applying, you are contributing to a shared cultural project that reinvests in Brighton’s artists, audiences and communities while helping an independent grassroots organisation continue its work.

Submitting an application does not guarantee selection.

Key dates

• Applications close: 22 August 2026
• Curatorial review: 24–29 August 2026
• Artwork delivery and production: 1-3 September
• Exhibition programme: September 2026
• Location: The Vault Arches, 42-43 Kings Road, BN1 2LN, Brighton

Selected artists will receive further information about delivery, installation, exhibition dates and participation opportunities following the curatorial review, as well as the expense policy applied during the exhibition in September.

Why are we doing this?

At Wach’Art, we believe participation is more valuable than prestige.

Brighton’s cultural identity cannot be represented by one institution, one neighbourhood, one generation or one type of artist.

It is created every day by the people who live, work, study, struggle, care, create and build their lives here.

This Is My Brighton aims to make more of those perspectives visible.

It is an exhibition, but it is also an act of collective authorship.

It is an anniversary programme, but it is also a commitment to what comes next.

It is our only open call of 2026, and we want it to create something meaningful, lasting and rooted in the city we serve.

Participation is the new patronage. What we see matters.

After submitting your first artwork, you will then be directed to make a payment.  The submission fee for up to three artworks is £8.  You will then be able to make further submissions by submitting two more submission forms.

You can do this by clicking again on the 'Make a submission' tab.