FUTURE FOCUS, organised by QUAD and FORMAT, is an Open Call for submissions aimed at graduates from UK based BA Degree courses who graduated in 2020 and 2021 – during the Covid-19 pandemic – who were unable to exhibit their final work, or were limited in opportunities to show work.
Deadline: 2 October 2021
From the Open Call 5 Artists will be selected to exhibit their work in QUAD Gallery by the QUAD and FORMAT Curatorial team and a jury of industry experts.
The Open Call is aimed at graduates from UK based institutions and a range of artistic disciplines – photography, fine art, contemporary art, illustration, graphic design, animation, performance, installation, sculpture, film, and moving image.
Submissions to the FUTURE FOCUS Open Call are FREE. From the Open Call a longlist of approximately 100 artists will be selected by the QUAD/FORMAT Curatorial Team. A shortlist of 25 artists will then be selected from the longlist of 100 by the Open Call Jury, and will be featured in a slideshow on QUAD’s large interactive screen that is situated by the entrance to our main gallery. From the final shortlist of 25 artists approximately 5 artists will be selected for an exhibition in QUAD Galleries that will take place from 29 January – 27 February 2022.
This is an opportunity for recent graduates to exhibit work, or perhaps realise an unmade project, to produce collaborative projects with other artists/ collectives and to submit your work for consideration by a selection panel made up of experienced curators and artists. Artists selected for exhibition will receive bursaries, with exhibition costs covered — as well as mentoring support in developing, exhibiting and marketing your work. Exhibiting artists will also be eligible for various Awards – see the FAQ section for full details.
Awards, Prizes & Opportunities
FORMAT Award – £1000
QUAD Award – £1000
John E Wright Print Award – £100
Audience Award
5 physical exhibition opportunities, with bursaries for exhibition fees and travel/accommodation costs.
Exhibiting artists will receive Portfolio reviews from the FORMAT/QUAD Curatorial Team.
25 shortlisted artists to have one image featured on a digital screen at QUAD, Derby.
Opportunity Type
Prize/AwardContact Name
Format FestivalContact Email
info@formatfestival.comWebsite
https://contests.picter.com/future-focus-2021Start Date
1st September 2021Closing Date
2nd October 2021