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.
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.
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 legacy exhibition dedicated to the community-focused event, Chippy Tea. Chippy Tea is a recurring supper held at the Hub, bringing together people who identify as ‘outsiders’ to share personal stories around identity and belonging. Attendees are welcomed with a portion of chips (and a sauce of their choice) and invited into an informal, welcoming space for conversation, listening, and connection. Over time, Chippy Tea has become a moment of personal and cultural exchange, intergenerational conversation, and community care.
Funding opportunties, residencies, creative roles, commissions, open calls, and professional or creative development.
We are seeking a Deputy Director to play a key role in implementing Primary’s strategic direction and strengthening the organisation’s skills, knowledge, and capacity. This is a pivotal role for someone with fundraising and financial expertise, and a genuine commitment to supporting the organisation’s future. The Deputy Director will take an active role in decision-making at regular staff meetings and lead on development, fundraising, finance, HR, and governance. This is an exciting moment to join Primary as it enters a new phase of development. Working closely with the Director, the Deputy Director will support financial and organisational sustainability, diversify income, and implement a purpose-driven business plan that advances our mission. The role offers space to shape strategy, contribute to organisational development, and grow within the position.
We are seeking to recruit a Collaborative Programme Curator to make an important contribution to our work and expand the range and depth of skills within our organisation. This is a key role responsible for implementing Primary’s Collaborative Programme, continuing and developing new relationships with communities. This role builds on a decade of programme at Primary that has embedded collaboration, socially just approaches and community-centred practice in the organisation’s work. It will suit someone with exemplary knowledge and practice in socially engaged arts as well as a genuine commitment to supporting the development of Primary’s future. They will be expected to take an active role in the decision-making processes of the organisation at regular staff meetings.
We are accepting applications from independent makers, designers, small businesses and more to fill our venue with a vibrant range of handmade goods for the weekend. We will start on Friday at 5pm with a launch evening and open again on Saturday from 10am - 4pm. This event will take place at Modern Painters, New Decorators. Please note, we will only be taking applications for both Friday and Saturday. Stallholders will be required to accept their own payments at their stall – please ensure you have a suitable point of sale system. Each stall holder will be provided with 1 table and chairs. The fee for each stall is £50 for a standard table or £60 for a table with wall space. The deadline for applications is Thursday 4th June, and successful applicants will need to pay the stall fee by Saturday 20th June to confirm their spot.
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