Indirect Portraiture / Self-portraiture without direct gaze

This exhibition explores identity shown indirectly, inviting artists to approach portraiture without literal likeness or direct eye contact. Works might include figures turned away or absorbed in an action, reflections caught in mirrors or objects, still life's made up of items the artist considers part of who they are, or sculptural works that act as a stand-in for the self. The emphasis is on self-description rather than depiction - expressing something true about the artist through absence, gesture, objects, or choice, rather than performance or direct representation.

Submissions will open February 25 2026 - Please keep an eye on socials for info or check back here then.

This is a small-scale exhibition where size is intentional rather than limiting. The idea is that some subjects are too close to the heart - intimate, vulnerable, personal, current, or topical - and call for an immediate response rather than expansion. Big ideas on small surfaces: work that holds weight and urgency without needing to become large, inviting the viewer to lean in rather than be impressed.

Submissions will open May 20 2026 - Please keep an eye on socials for info or check back here then.

Plateau Prize: what gets said when nothing is explained

This prize asks artists to rely on the work itself to communicate - through form, material, composition, and resolution - without explanation doing the work for it. Artist statements still exist for audiences, but judging takes place without them. The focus is on whether the work can stand on its own in the room: holding attention, creating feeling, and communicating something recognisable to a viewer through what is seen and experienced, rather than what is explained.

For viewers and collectors, this is an exhibition that invites personal interpretation. Artists may have an intention, but meaning isn’t fixed - what you notice, feel, or connect with is valid. There is no single “right” reading here. This is a space where conversation, curiosity, and trusting your own response are part of the experience.

The refined Entry Details will be announced late March. Please keep an eye out on our Socials for this.

This exhibition focuses on how a work behaves once it enters a space. The emphasis isn’t on subject matter so much as effect - works chosen for their ability to bring calm, balance, or a sense of grounding, subtly changing the feeling of a room over time.

Connection here often happens through atmosphere rather than narrative. Viewers are encouraged to notice how a work makes them feel in the space - whether it offers ease, steadiness, or quiet reassurance - and to trust that response as meaningful. These are works people choose to live with, particularly in homes, waiting rooms, clinics, offices, and shared environments, where art supports the space rather than dominates it.

Submissions will open August 26 2026 - Please keep an eye on socials for info or check back here then.