Contemporary Visual Arts Network East Midlands

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.

Latest Activity

Updates, features, and insights from the visual arts community.

OttM Diary Entry: Learning to Make the Work

OttM Diary Entry: Learning to Make the Work

I’ve been working with a lightweight 30 micron material. It isn’t glamorous, but it does something very interesting. Light passes through it. It diffuses colour. It disappears when the light changes. It folds. It catches air. It’s so thin, it can become almost nothing, and then suddenly become a large glowing form.

21 Sep 2026
Listening differently: SCORE

Listening differently: SCORE

SCORE is an evolving practice for noticing how listening is organised across cultural organisations and exploring how it might be composed differently. It can be used within governance, staff and organisational life, curatorial and artistic relationships, and public programmes.

10 Sep 2026
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Events & Exhibitions

Discover exhibitions, workshops, talks, performances events and creative activity across the region.

From Type To Page: A Year In Letterpress
10am - 4pm one Saturday per month

From Type To Page: A Year In Letterpress

Leicester Print Workshop are delighted to offer a real exploration of type in all its formats across a huge range of projects that come together to create a comprehensive toolkit for any artist interested in beginning or developing their Letterpress practice. The course is designed to build understanding of the detailed nature of Letterpress through monthly sessions which will work best if extended by using the free membership that goes with this course.

18 Apr 2026 - 20 Mar 2027
Leicester Print Workshop, 50 St George Street, Leicester LE1 1QG
Eren Armitage: Fluctuations
Mon to Sat – 10am-5pm Sun – 10am-4pm Bank Holidays – 10am-4pm

Eren Armitage: Fluctuations

Eren Armitage is a ceramicist originally from Yokohama, Japan, now practicing in the English countryside. She draws on her Japanese heritage and the natural rhythms of her adopted home to create stoneware and porcelain vessels that balance form and surface, inviting quiet reflection and a contemporary sensibility. Her practice bridges tradition and experimentation; the precision of Japanese making meeting elemental forces of nature expressed through quiet materials, measured rhythm, and a sense of enduring presence.

18 Jul 2026 - 08 Nov 2026
Hub Navigation Wharf, Carre Street, Sleaford, Lincolnshire, NG34 7TW
Common Ground: Sleaford’s Shared Stories
Mon to Sat – 10am-5pm Sun – 10am-4pm Bank Holidays – 10am-4pm

Common Ground: Sleaford’s Shared Stories

This major new collaboration with Sleaford Museum will explore local heritage through contemporary art and community participation. The project will culminate in new exhibitions presented at both the Hub and Sleaford Museum, with new artist commissions and residencies shown alongside heritage and historical objects. Together, these will unearth and reinterpret objects from Sleaford Museum’s collection. Commissioned Artists: Madara Vimba, Emily Andersen, Andrew Bracey, Harriet Plewis, Liz Kelleher, Danica Maier, Dino Zhang and Madhu Manipatruni

18 Jul 2026 - 08 Nov 2026
Hub Navigation Wharf, Carre Street, Sleaford, Lincolnshire, NG34 7TW
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Jobs & Opportunities

Funding opportunties, residencies, creative roles, commissions, open calls, and professional or creative development.

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Looking for small ceramic works for 'Oops... That Did Not Work' Exhibition

I am the curator of @the_assembly_room, a petite gallery (80cmx80cmx30cmDeep) in Long Buckby showing contemporary art to a rural public. Our next exhibition (working title: Oops… that did not work!) is about the unplanned results of ceramic making. We're looking for works where the process did not go to plan and where accidents led to unexpected results, works showing mis-timing, clash of material, mis-application, mishaps of some sort. Works that despite those ‘errors’ did not end up on the scrap pile. Would you have kept any such results and if so, would you consider loaning a small piece for this exhibition? I will take care of all the arrangements for collection and return of the piece. If you are interested, please could you email a couple of photos of the work with work details for consideration. Thank you.

Deadline: 19 Oct 2026
£1,500

Project Assistant

We’re seeking an artist with digital editing and moving image skills to support an Arts Council England funded project across three Leicester City libraries. You’ll co-deliver two 2-hour workshops at each library, introducing smartphone filming, storytelling, digital collage, sound, animation and free editing apps. Sessions will explore identity, place and representation, using local environments to create collaborative “Leicester Idents”. You’ll support participants with little experience, bringing your own moving image practice and expertise. A third session will focus on final edits, feedback and preparing work for public exhibition. You’ll also spend two days editing final pieces into branded showreels/slideshows for Leicester City centre screens in January alongside New Media Art Club’s COMPUTALA Digital Arts Festival. Apply with a CV, cover letter and links to relevant digital/moving image work. Interviews: Zoom, 29 October. Decision: 6 November. Sessions start from mid-November.

Deadline: 23 Oct 2026
£30,000 FTE, pro rata (£24,000 actual salary)

BACKLIT Building & Operations Manager

The Building & Operations Manager oversees the day-to-day operation of BACKLIT’s new ground-floor public facility and is responsible for the safe, efficient and well-maintained operation of Alfred House.

Deadline: 26 Oct 2026
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