Open Call 2026: This Is My Brighton

This Is My Brighton

The first edition of a new annual Brighton project

September is The Vault’s anniversary month, and This Is My Brighton is Wach’Art Spaces & Creative Development’s only open call of 2026.

The project invites artists, photographers, illustrators, designers, filmmakers, makers, writers, poets and multidisciplinary creatives 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?

Responses may be joyful or difficult, personal or political, quiet or colourful. Artists may celebrate a place, uncover an overlooked experience, recognise a community or imagine what Brighton could become.

Existing and newly created work are welcome. Applicants do not need previous professional exhibition experience.

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The exhibition will evolve throughout September through four interconnected themes:

Places
Streets, buildings, coastlines, neighbourhoods and locations carrying memory or meaning.

People and Communities
Portraits, cultures, friendships, movements, chosen families and experiences of belonging.

Hidden Brighton
Overlooked stories, alternative histories, invisible labour and experiences beyond the city’s familiar public image.

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

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We strongly encourage applications from artists of Global Majority heritage and backgrounds across all four sections, alongside people and communities whose perspectives remain underrepresented within traditional cultural institutions.

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Selected artists receive exhibition space at The Vault Arches, professional curatorial support, artwork interpretation, an artist profile, promotional support, sales assistance and opportunities to participate in public events. They will also be eligible for Wach’Art’s proposed ACE-funded 2027 Artist Development Programme, subject to funding.

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Artists selected for the exhibition are expected to help staff The Vault for a minimum of three agreed sessions while their work is displayed.

This is a curated civic project rather than a conventional competition. There will be no single winning artist. Proposals will be considered for their relationship to Brighton, connection with the four themes, authenticity, public relevance, practical feasibility and contribution to the balance of the wider exhibition.

The project is intended to return annually, creating a growing visual archive of Brighton shaped year after year by the people who live, love, question and transform the city.

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Key dates

Application deadline: 22 August 2026
Curatorial review: 23–29 August 2026
Artwork delivery and production: 1–3 September 2026
Exhibition programme: September 2026

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Venue

The Vault Arches
42–43 Kings Road
Brighton
BN1 2LN

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Fees

Application fee: £8, non-refundable
Registration fee if selected: £22
Reduced registration fee: £12, subject to eligibility conditions

Fees contribute directly to exhibition production, installation, labels, artist promotion, audience development and the continuation of an independent grassroots arts programme.

Participation is the new patronage. What we see matters.

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