Heat: GroundWork Gallery Spring 2027 Open Call

About this call

GroundWork Gallery, a small, independent gallery dedicated to art and environment in King's Lynn, Norfolk, United Kingdom, invites visual artists to its first open call, for a Spring 2027 exhibition on the theme of heat. The show will display work that makes heat visible, tangible and resonant, treating heat as a condition that connects climate, energy, labour, vulnerability, resilience and change; suggested angles include climate and adaptation, inequality and exposure, the more-than-human, energy and industry, materials and metaphor, and bodies and minds. Painting, sculpture, photography, print, film, installation, ceramics, live art, movement, dance and textiles are welcome, and both existing works and new proposals are considered. Up to 12 artists will be selected and notified by 18 December 2026; the exhibition runs from 12 March to 5 June 2027, and every entry is automatically considered for the £500 Tom Burke Heat Prize.

Who can apply

• Open to applicants of any nationality
• Medium: Painting / Sculpture / Photography / Printmaking / Video / Installation / Ceramics / Performance / Textile
• Entry fee: £10
• Open to all, but the gallery may not be able to cover costs for works that would need to be transported from outside the UK. Works must respond to the theme of heat; existing works and new proposals are both considered, and works can be at most 2 meters in size. Submit through CuratorSpace (a free account is needed): full name and contact details, a 250-word statement on how your work relates to the theme, a short biography (max. 100 words), and the size, medium, year and price of each work with at least one image of each (example images if you intend to make new work). The £10 submission fee covers up to five artworks and is paid by card after submitting. The gallery covers the costs of creating and installing the exhibition, but not artists' personal travel or the cost of making work. Work can be for sale, with a standard 40% commission. Up to 12 artists are selected, prioritising artists who best respond to the theme of heat. Every entry is automatically submitted for the £500 Tom Burke Heat Prize, given for the work that best responds to the question "Is there a visual image that connects our personal experience of heat to our planet's experience of heat?"