Making Things Move
A Hands-On Robotics Workshop for Makers. What if your artwork could breathe, blink, or hesitate?
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.
Better Together #17: From Survival to Strategy | Building Stronger, More Sustainable Arts Organisations
The session will include practical advice, common pitfalls and space for live questions around funding, income and sustainability.
Ode to the Midlands Commissioned Artists Announcement
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.
19 May 2026
Events & Exhibitions
Discover exhibitions, workshops, talks, performances events and creative activity across the region.
Open Monday to Saturday during school holidays. Term time opening times: Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday 10am – 4:45pm. Closed on Sundays, Christmas and Bank Holidays.
Stories of Bassetlaw: Original Works by Christy Burdock
An exhibition of artworks by Christy Burdock, an RCA artist, created in response to Bassetlaw Museum's collection and the communities it serves. Burdock draws on the stories held within collections and the ways ideas move across time and place. Her deeply researched, immersive process was enriched by local voices and memories. Displayed throughout the museum near the objects that inspired them, the beechwood-panel works respond to history, offering new perspectives rather than direct illustration. https://www.christyburdock.com/
07 Apr 2026 - 12 Sep 2026
Bassetlaw Museum, 40 Grove Street, Retford, DN22 6LD
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
10am - 4pm
Matrika: She Who Makes Worlds by Saroj Patel
Matrika: She Who Makes Worlds by Saroj Patel is an exhibition exploring women’s strength, ancestral memory, and the future. In Hindu cosmology, Matrika refers to the divine mothers, a group of powerful feminine energies connected to creation, protection, and transformation. Drawing on mythology and intergenerational stories, the works reflect on how worlds are carried forward through courage, care, and transformation. Through material, gesture, and collective presence, the exhibition honours the power of women to shape the past, present, and future.
30 May 2026 - 12 Sep 2026
New Art Exchange, 39 - 41 Gregory Boulevard
Jobs & Opportunities
Funding opportunties, residencies, creative roles, commissions, open calls, and professional or creative development.
£30,000Urgent
The Artist Prize
A new £30,000 open art prize for UK artists. The Artist Prize is a new £30,000 open art prize awarded to a single UK-based artist, alongside a solo exhibition at Firstsite in 2028. There are no nominations and no gatekeepers. Any UK-based artist aged 18 or over can enter, regardless of career stage, location, background, or representation. Twenty shortlisted artists will exhibit together at Firstsite from 30 January to 16 May 2027, with shipping and installation covered and an artist fee of £350 each. A further 200 longlisted artists will be selected by a national network of around 80 curators drawn from arts organisations across the UK, bringing distributed curatorial expertise to bear on what UK artists are making right now. The prize is co-founded by Guy Armitage (Zealous) and Sally Shaw MBE (Firstsite, Museum of the Year 2021).
Deadline: 08 Jul 2026
N/A
0410 COLLECTIVE
0410 COLLECTIVE at Mansfield Museum and Palace Theatre are looking for young creatives aged 16 to 25 to join the next cohort beginning in September. 0410 is a visual arts collective for young and early career artists. Over the 12 month programme successful candidates will have the opportunity to work alongside their peers, shadow established artists, develop their skills and access collections and spaces at Mansfield Museum and Palace Theatre. At the end of the project there will be opportunity for members to secure a micro commission, based on their artform.
Deadline: 16 Jul 2026
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Street Art Open Call
Submissions are now open for our expansive floor-to-ceiling saloon-style exhibition in August. The annual Street Art Fest celebrates the best local, national and international street art. Join us this Summer for a refreshed look at Notts' vibrant alternative art scene, featuring guest speakers, creative workshops, and ground breaking street art. Up to 6 Pieces of work can be submitted per person and they must relate to street art. Prizes TBC. Please bring your submissions to the gallery on the scheduled drop-off date. Application forms will also be available to collect in the Gallery from 5th June! Please check our website for our opening times. Follow the link below to take part.
Deadline: 20 Jul 2026
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