THE GROSVENOR MUSEUM’S 16th OPEN ART EXHIBITION
Exhibition for artists to showcase their work – entries on any theme accepted from artists over the age of 16 based in the North West, North Wales, and Cheshire’s bordering counties.
Online submissions open Monday 21 September 2026 and close Sunday 15 November 2026
Exhibition opens 6 February to 4 July 2027
PRIZES
1st £1,000
2nd £500
3rd £250
Visitors’ Choice £150
SELECTORS
Jessie Petheram, Senior Curator, West Cheshire Museums
Georgina West, Community Programme Manager, Storyhouse
Maria Hayes, Education Officer, Ruthin Craft Centre
Vicky Lewis, Textile artist
Grosvenor Museum, 27 Grosvenor Street, Chester, CH1 2DD
Email: open.art@cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk
Tel: 01244 972197
ENTRY GUIDELINES – Please read carefully
WORK
Entries are invited from artists living and/or working in the North West Region and Cheshire’s bordering counties: Cumbria; Lancashire (including Merseyside and Greater Manchester); Yorkshire; Derbyshire; Staffordshire; Shropshire; Denbighshire; Wrexham and Flintshire.
Work may be in any visual arts medium except giclée prints (although digital photography is accepted), installation, performance or work requiring electricity.
Three-dimensional work is welcome, but should be sufficiently robust for open display on plinths, which the museum will supply.
Each work should not exceed 6 ft or 1.8 m (including frame) in any dimension, and should not need more than two people to carry it.
Artists must not use non-reflective glass or clip frames.
Whilst artists may submit background information alongside works for judging, no interpretation will be displayed in the exhibition. Hanging instructions may be provided and will be followed where possible.
ENTRY
There are two rounds of judging: the first to select entries; the second to select prize winners.
First round entry is online, via the form on our website [westcheshiremuseums.co.uk]. If online entry is a barrier to you, please get in touch by email or phone to discuss how we can help.
Images must be JPEGs, no larger than 5MB and clearly named with the title of the work.
If you are successful, you will be invited to bring your work/s to the Grosvenor Museum on 22 or 23 January 2027 for prize judging. Works may by submitted by post or courier, or brought in yourself. More guidance will be provided if successful.
Up to three works may be submitted by each artist. The entry fee is £10 per work, payable when submitting the online form. This is non-refundable and goes towards artist prizes and costs of the exhibition.
Works are submitted at the artist’s own risk and must not have been submitted to any of the Grosvenor Museum’s previous Open Art Exhibitions.
Any work accepted and sold at the exhibition is subject to a commission of 30% payable to the Grosvenor Museum.
Works should not be available for sale anywhere else during the run of the show and cannot be removed from display until the exhibition closes in July 2027.
Judging will consider the quality and effectiveness of work, skill in the medium used, intrigue, personal preference, and the overall diversity of exhibits.
The selectors’ decisions will be final and binding, and no discussion will be entered into. If you have submitted multiple works, any, all or none of your entries may be selected. Judging is subjective and feedback will not be given.
By entering the Open, artists consent that works may be photographed to publicise the exhibition, including on the museum’s website www.westcheshiremuseums.co.uk, in the press, and on our social media channels.
TIMETABLE
Monday 21 September 2026, 9am – online submissions open
Sunday 15 November 2026, midnight – online submissions close
4 December 2026 – artists notified of outcome
22 and 23 January 2027 – bringing in days at the Grosvenor Museum for successful artists
26 January – prizewinners notified
5 February 2027 – Official opening of exhibition with evening event and prize-winner announcements/presentations
6 February – 4 July 2027. Exhibition open to the public, Tuesday – Saturday 10.30 am – 5.00 pm & Sunday 1.00 – 4.00 pm.
6, 7, and 10 July, 10.30 am – 4.00 pm. All unsold or otherwise remaining works must be collected from the museum.
Please put all these dates into your diary now!
Here is the link for submissions:
ENTER HERE