Curators Convening in Venice
Do you live or work in the East Midlands or West Midlands and plan to attend the opening of the Venice Biennale 2026? Would you like to connect with fellow art professionals ahead of your trip?
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.
Ode to the Midlands | Call for Artists
Ode to the Midlands is commissioning six mid-career artists to develop and deliver new digital artworks between April 2026 – March 2027.
09 Feb 2026
CVAN EM's AGM 2026
This year’s CVAN EM AGM takes place at a pivotal moment for the visual arts, both regionally and nationally. The event will serve as both a moment of reflection and a platform for dialogue, raising CVAN EM’s profile and helping ensure our work remains inclusive, relevant, and creative-centred.
30 Dec 2025
Events & Exhibitions
Discover exhibitions, workshops, talks, performances events and creative activity across the region.
9-5pm Monday to Friday
LEVEL Spotlight Award 2026: Souvenirs – Bliss was it in that dawn to be alive
Souvenirs Bliss was it in that dawn to be alive is an exhibition by LEVEL Spotlight Award 2026 artist Helen Grundy. Presented in LEVEL Centre s Gallery Corridor, this provocative and humorous exhibition showcases a series of surreal digital and paper collages - each one a souvenir from the artist's life.
20 Jan 2026 - 10 Apr 2026
LEVEL Centre, Old Station Close, Rowsley, Matlock, DE4 2EL
10-5pm Monday to Friday
Happy Trails: Welcome to Lalaland
Your adventure starts here! ‘Happy Trails: Welcome to Lalaland’ invites you into artist Carla Dee’s vibrant, joy-filled universe. Doodle-tastic and inspired by local life, this colourful, interactive exhibition sparks smiles, creativity and loads of fun. Bring the walls of the exhibition to life, revealing colourful characters along the way. Which local landmarks can you recognise? Escape into a world where anything is possible! Happy Trails: Welcome to Lalaland is suitable for all including day centres, school/community groups and families.
20 Jan 2026 - 10 Apr 2026
LEVEL Centre, Old Station Close, Rowsley, Matlock, DE4 2EL
12pm - 5pm on weekdays & 12pm - 4pm on weekends
Material Worlds: Contemporary Artists and Textiles
An ambitious group exhibition exploring how artists are using textiles in surprising and radical ways. Illuminating the diverse roles textiles play in contemporary artistic practice, the exhibition brings together artists who take the intimate and domestic quality of textiles and transform them into theatrical, bold, unsettling and humorous artworks that inspire, challenge and offer new ways of thinking.
10 Mar 2026 - 03 May 2026
Attenborough Arts Centre, Lancaster Road, Leicester, LE1 7HA
Jobs & Opportunities
Funding opportunties, residencies, creative roles, commissions, open calls, and professional or creative development.
£1,200Urgent
Evaluator
We are seeking an evaluator to deliver a light-touch evaluation of Folk Threads: Connecting Stories, Ecology & Community, drawing primarily on existing documentation and feedback, alongside a small amount of additional engagement. The evaluation should: - Capture key outcomes and learning - Reflect the values of the project - Support reporting to Arts Council England - Inform future programme development Person Specification Essential - Experience in evaluation, research, or socially engaged arts practice - Ability to analyse qualitative and/or quantitative information - Strong writing and communication skills - Ability to work independently and to a tight timeframe Fee £1,200 (inclusive of VAT and all costs) Contract Period April 2026 – July 2026 Final evaluation to be completed by early July 2026 Time Commitment Approx. 3 days total, delivered flexibly across the contract period.
Deadline: 10 Apr 2026
£4,000, October–January, 12 sessions
Art You Way 2026
Art Your Way is a commissioning programme that supports artists, creative practitioners, community organisations and grassroots collectives to create projects rooted in Hyson Green, Nottingham. Through this Open Call, New Art Exchange (NAE) will commission up to six projects between April 2026 and March 2028, encouraging creativity, celebration and shared community experiences. The programme offers three commission types. Applicants may apply for multiple types but can only be awarded one. Each commission has a set fee, timeline and way of working, but all share the same aim: to support high‑quality, accessible and locally grounded creative activity in Hyson Green. Festival Commissions fund short public festivals or event series ( 8,000, June September, 2 5 days). Workshop Series Commissions support free creative workshops at NAE ( 4,000, October January, 12 sessions). Makers Exhibition Commissions offer a 12‑week pop‑up shop for Global Ethnic Majority makers ( 4,000, February May).
Deadline: 16 Apr 2026
Judges Prize - £1000. Public Choice Award - £500
Doddington Young Sculptor Exhibition 2026 - Call for Submissions
Doddington Hall quality images of your work, a detailed plan of proposed work, or photographs of similar work; titles; mediums; approximate dimensions HxWxDcm; prices (if applicable); a maximum 400-word statement about the work. Include any relevant social media/website links. Key dates: Deadline - 3rd May Install - 29th June – 3rd July Exhibition open - 8th July - 6th Sept
Deadline: 03 May 2026
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