Celebrating female resilience through art, sport & storytelling

We’re inviting open-call submissions for Touchlines of Fortitude – a high-profile physical and online exhibition that will be part of a vibrant programme of cultural arts events running across the Twickenham, Teddington and Richmond area this September, during the 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup.

What is Touchlines of Fortitude?

Supported by Arts Council England and rooted in the spiritual home of rugby, Touchlines of Fortitude celebrates the intersection of art, sport and storytelling to celebrate female representation, resilience, empowerment and creativity.

As Touchlines of Fortitude will be taking place with the backdrop of the 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup, this is a unique opportunity to exhibit alongside a dynamic community of artists, athletes and change-makers at a landmark once-in-a-generation cultural moment for women’s sport. 

As a result, we expect this event to gain a notable audience and media attention in the Twickenham, Teddington and Richmond area. 

We will also be celebrating the most inspirational works from Touchlines of Fortitude - call for writers with awards for the article/essay, Story, poem, or any other form of written work.

Touchlines of Fortitude’s guiding theme: female resilience

We’re looking for artworks that explore the many ways in which women rise, persist, endure and transform – whether it’s through sport on the pitch, in a creative studio space, at home or at work, or in the face of personal, social or physical challenges.

Resilience can be quiet or fierce. It can be vibrantly active and dynamic, or it can be calm and passive. It can take the form of recovery, action, resistance, or healing. This exhibition is a celebration of that strength in all its forms.

What sort of works are we looking for? 

We welcome submissions across all media – whether it be painting, photography, yarn art, print, sculpture, or mixed media. Artworks can be figurative or abstract and maximum in width/height  is 50cm. 

It can be about you, or someone you know; a friend, a colleague, someone in your family, or an inspiration from the world of sport, media, culture, charity, business or politics.

Equally, artists don’t need to be female to tell a story about female resilience.

You can submit up to 3 Artworks.

The submission fee is non-refundable.

One Artwork £10. 

Up to three artworks £20. 

Please note: although the exhibition will be taking place alongside the 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup, we don’t necessarily want cover paintings that only celebrate rugby and rugby stars.

This exhibition is about thinking broader and being inspired by all forms and interpretations of female resilience.

When and where will the work be shown?

Work that is selected from the open call will be featured in:

• A physical group exhibition at The Beach Gallery in Teddington

• An online exhibition hosted on our website (fortitude-touchlines.com), reaching wider audiences beyond the gallery walls

The physical exhibition will be taking place from Wed 24 Sep to Sun 5 Oct.

The online exhibition will be available to view for 12 months (until Oct 2026).

As part of the project, participating artists will receive professional documentation of the exhibition, including high-quality photography and video, to support their portfolios and future opportunities.

Who are the open call judges?

Tahira Mandarino - inter disciplinary artist working with themes around Exposure, what is seen and not seen inviting viewers to have autonomy when viewing the work

Gina DeCagna - visual artist & cultural producer | interested in palimpsests, archives, material traces of time, social & ecological concerns 

Lynn Szygenda - exhibitions & audience development manager, Guildford Borough Council

Mark Vellacott - The Beach Gallery director 

Who do we expect to attend Touchlines of Fortitude?

By taking place alongside the 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup, Touchlines of Fortitude also opens itself to up to 82,000 fans set to attend the finals at the Allianz Stadium in Twickenham on and around Saturday 27th September.

Based on this, alongside the vibrant community of 100+ artists who will be directly involved with Touchlines of Fortitude, we expect a minimum of 1,500 people to engage with and attend Touchlines of Fortitude through its exhibitions, events and school outreach programme, with an anticipated online audience of 80,000+ across the year to Oct 2026.

How will we be promoting the event?

We’ve already built a strong network of cultural partners, prominent local arts institutions, charities, schools and local government organisations for Touchlines of Fortitude, helping us amplify the event’s reach through newsletters, press and targeted community engagement.

These include: Orleans House Gallery, Twickenham Art Circle, Richmond Art Society, Richmond Arts Services and Creative United.

We will be promoting Touchlines of Fortitude online and through our soon-to-be-launched social channels, as well as with a comprehensive marketing, press and PR campaign.

Equally, we will be asking artists, speakers and participants to amplify the Touchlines of Fortitude events through their own channels.

KEY DETAILS

Exhibition dates: Wed 24 Sep – Sun 5 Oct
Location: The Beach Gallery, Teddington
Eligibility: Open to all UK-based artists
Media: We welcome artworks across all types of media, including paintings, prints, photography, yarn art, drawings, and 3D works.

This project is funded by Arts Council England and includes two exhibitions, a schools outreach program, a workshop, community storytelling events, and digital legacy content. We invite both emerging and established artists to join us in creating a vibrant and inspiring exhibition.

OPEN-CALL SCHEDULE

Wed 20 Aug: Submission deadline: open-call closes

Wed 27 Aug: Selection online by judging panel

Mon 1 Sep: Shortlist announcement

Sun 21 Sep: Delivery of shortlisted artworks to The Beach Gallery, Teddington

Wed 24 Sep: Press morning

Wed 24 Sep: Private view / networking

Thu 25 Sep: Exhibition opens to public

Sun 28 Sep: Meet the artists event

Sun 5 Oct: Exhibition closes

Tue 7 Oct: Collection of unsold works

All works must be for sale and prices stated on the Application Form must include The Beach Gallery’s commission of 20%.    Once a work has been submitted, any sale made by the gallery before or during the exhibition takes precedence over private sales.   

After submitting your first artwork, you will then be directed to make a payment. Select the amount for the number of submissions you would like to make.

If this is more than one, you will then be able to make further submissions by submitting additional forms up to the number of artworks you have paid for.

If you submit more than one artwork, we suggest copying and pasting your artist statement from a different document; otherwise, you will have to type it in repeatedly.