CVAN EM celebrates and supports visual arts and culture in the region, fostering an inclusive long-term future for the sector, emphasising equity and access for all arts workers.
Updates, features, and insights from the visual arts community.
CVAN EM and CVAN WM are proud to announce the artist and organisation partnerships for Ode to the Midlands (OttM), a major new cross-regional programme investing in artists, organisations, and audiences across the Midlands through digital contemporary art.
for emerging lens-based artists living in the East Midlands
Unlock the secrets to a thriving creative career. This event is in partnership with CVAN EM, CVAN WM & Ode to the Midlands.
Discover exhibitions, workshops, talks, performances events and creative activity across the region.
Flat Earth is a solo exhibition by Bristol-based artist Phil Root, presenting new ceramic works. Working with foraged and industrial materials—unprocessed clay, wood ash, and brick dust— Root explores the limits of traditional ceramics through experimental casting, glazing and firing, inviting clay to behave on its own terms. Whether casting asphalt textures from outside his studio or firing slabs of raw clay dug from a Bristol building site, he lets materials shape themselves—altered by heat, pressure, and time.
A new Hayward Gallery Touring exhibition of screen-prints by Eduardo Paolozzi, open at the Usher Gallery as part of a national tour. Paolozzi's General Dynamic F.U.N is a series of fifty screenprints and photolithographs created between 1965 and 1970. Here Paolozzi employs the technologies of mass-reproduction and gorges on its idols – the household names of consumer advertising, high fashion and Hollywood. Image: Paolozzi Eduardo, Totems and Taboos of the Nine-to-Five Day © 2026 The Paolozzi Foundation, Licensed by DACS.
Expressive creatures tell a playful, other-worldly story in this sculptural series by Sofía Barbé. Working with mixed media, including discarded wood cuttings, wire, needle felting, and paint, Sofía creates tactile figures; characters defined by their distinctive poses and expressions. Alongside these are felted wall hangings that tell visual stories, with certain characters reappearing across the works.
Funding opportunties, residencies, creative roles, commissions, open calls, and professional or creative development.
This open call aims to showcase the best of UK contemporary art by bringing together emerging and established artists to create a diverse and exciting group exhibition in one of the Midlands foremost Commercial Contemporary Fine Art Galleries. Entries will be open to all artists working in the UK. Artwork can be on any theme and we will be accepting Artworks using all types of media; paintings, original prints, photography, textiles, drawings, works on paper and 3D works – including sculpture and ceramics. - Entries open 20th April – 20th May, 2026. - Winning submissions will be included in a group exhibition from 27th June – 9th August 2026. – A Cash Prize of £250 for the Winner – We will invite multiple artists to take part in next year’s exhibition programme.
Attenborough Arts Centre is one of the UK’s leading centres for art and culture with 100,000 visitors per year. As part of the University of Leicester, the organisation provides a dynamic cultural hub for our diverse public, student and staff communities. This new role will produce Attenborough Arts Centre’s extensive exhibitions and visual arts programmes and work with the Director to develop an ambitious visual arts strategy. This post will manage all aspects of our visual arts programmes and work with a range of guest curators, internal and external colleagues to further grow the profile and reach of our exhibitions. While this is not predominantly a curating role, the ability to provide curatorial advice and guidance is an important aspect of the job. As part of the Senior Management Team, the postholder will contribute to delivering the organisation’s mission of ‘Art For All’, raising national reputation and achieving financial sustainability.
Arts funding specialist, Mark Devereux will be leading an online talk for artists who are planning an application to Round 24 of Arts Council England’s Developing Your Creative Practice (DYCP) programme. Taking place on Thursday 28 May (6-7:30pm), this workshop will take a deep dive into the application process, breaking down the core questions and helping you to create a strong application. In this online workshop (via Zoom), Mark will pick apart the questions, what they mean and the detail the assessors are looking for. We will look at every aspect of the application process including: eligibility, structuring your project, budgeting, access support and the language you use. Mark will share top tips and advice that he has built up over 15-years receiving & helping other artists gain successful Arts Council England funding to help you in the writing of your application. This workshop is independent from Arts Council England.
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