Baltic Open Submission 2026
People in the North East were invited to submit artwork earlier in 2026 for a major open-call project. The resulting exhibition, Baltic Open Submission 2026, will showcase painting, sculpture, photography, video and more by artists, makers, self-taught creatives and hobbyists based in the North East of England.
People in the North East were invited to submit artwork earlier in 2026. for a major open-call exhibition due to open at Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art in September 2026.
The resulting exhibition, Baltic Open Submission 2026, will showcase painting, sculpture, photography, video and more by artists, makers, self-taught creatives and hobbyists based in the North East of England.
Baltic’s Open Submission initiative, now in its third iteration seeks to give visibility to arts practice from individuals and collectives that may not previously have been seen by a public audience. No training, qualifications, or experience of exhibiting publicly is necessary to submit an artwork. A record 1400 artists and makers submitted artworks in 2024, of which 104 artists were selected to be displayed in the six-month exhibition.
Works seen in in Baltic Open Submission 2026 will be selected by a panel comprising the North East-born and internationally renowned artists, Laura Lancaster and Rachel Lancaster; Will Hughes, Tees Valley Artist of the Year 2025; and Baltic Assistant Curators, Rose McMurray and Rosie Coleman Collier.
The exhibition, supported by iconic department store Fenwick, will open on Saturday 19 September and present up to 100 works drawn from the submissions.
This year, Baltic also launches a Youth Open Call supported by Fenwick, inviting artwork submissions by young people aged between 11–17 years old. Budding artists in this age range are invited to consider the theme of Local and for submissions to consider local places, local stories, and local viewpoints.
