The Museum of Chelmsford gallery ‘Our Chelmsford’, is a space for Chelmsford artists to exhibit their work in a public gallery in a venue with over 80,000 visitors a year. A permanent, high-quality space dedicated to the work of Chelmsford based creatives. Showcasing a range of artforms, themes and perspectives from artists across Chelmsford City.
This will be an opportunity for artists work to be visible to local and regional audiences.
In collaboration with Ignite Chelmsford, each year the artists will be selected by a panel made up of Ignite partners, artists and museum staff, following an open call. An open call will take place once a year to determine the exhibition slots available for the following 12 months.
We welcome applications from all artists over the age of 16, living, working or studying in Chelmsford and particularly encourage applications from those who are underrepresented including non-graduates, disabled, D/deaf and neurodiverse people, LGBTQ+ people, and people from Black, Asian and Global Majority backgrounds. We welcome applicants from a range of educational backgrounds and there is no minimum formal qualification for this programme.
Opportunities:
Regular visitors to the Museum of Chelmsford will remember the exhibition programme that took place on the Gallery Wall downstairs, featuring 2D work from local artists. From this year, we are relaunching this programme in a new space, the Our Chelmsford Gallery, and will start taking applications from Monday 2 June with a closing date for all applications by Thursday 26 June.
In this call, one artist/group will be selected for an exhibition slot from 8 September to 21 November. You must be available in the week leading up to your slot to install your work.
Our Chelmsford Gallery is on the first floor of the Museum, comprising four display spaces on walls of varying sizes, and one display case.
Eligibility criteria:
- We welcome applications from a variety of art genres.
- Applicants must be over 16 years of age.
- All artworks must be 2D, except for work placed inside the case.
- Artists must be living, working or studying in Chelmsford district.
- Applications can be submitted by an individual artist or a group.
Key terms:
- You will need to be available to install your work in the week before the stated exhibition slots (1 to 5 September). Pieces must be prepared in advance to be hung, and there will be assistance from a member of the team to install and deinstall.
- You will need to submit text for a small panel to introduce and explain the exhibition (max 125 words) and text for a small label for each exhibit – title, artist name, price (if work is for sale). The Curatorial Team will support the writing of labels on a case-by-case basis and in discussion with individual artists.
- Any of the exhibiting works can be for sale with the artists agreement. The Museum reserves the right to receive a commission of 30% for all sold works. A full price list must be provided. Any commission generated will support the running costs of the Museum.
Download the full terms and conditions here
The Selection Panel:
The selection panel will choose the artists to display from those that meet the eligibility criteria. Decisions about which to display will be based on creating a Gallery Wall space that has a balance programme over time, showcasing different art forms and themes, and the work of different communities and demographics.
If your work is not chosen first time you can resubmit in the future.
To apply:
Please contact us via the Museum website’s online enquiry form, including a selection of examples from your portfolio.
If you have any questions or would like to discuss the Gallery Wall with a member of staff, please do get in touch. Please contact us if you require any accessibility provision.
