CALLING Artists & Writers.
open calls, questionnaires, research projects & residency opportunities
We look forward to seeing what work you propose for our opportunities, which are open to anyone, and everyone who wishes to enter, the only restriction is your imagination!!!
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Open calls for artists, writers, and creators
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OPEN CALL: SMALL ACTS
Deadline 5th February 2026
Small acts are often overlooked—quiet gestures, subtle resistances, daily rituals, moments of care, or fleeting decisions that ripple outward.
They may be personal or political, intimate or communal, intentional or accidental. Together, these acts shape how we move through the world and how the world changes around us.
This open call seeks artworks and written pieces that explore the power, poetry, complexity and nuance of small acts:
acts of kindness, refusal, repair, or attention
everyday gestures that carry meaning
minor interventions that produce lasting impact
quiet moments that resist spectacle
small acts that have changed your art practice
We welcome submissions in all media, including but not limited to visual art, photography, sculpture, printmaking, painting, collage, textile art, ceramics, video, sound, performance documentation, text-based work, and experimental practices.
Eligibility
This open call is open to artists at all stages of their practice. Emerging and underrepresented voices are especially encouraged to apply.
Submission Guidelines for ARTISTS
You must provide:
A brief description of the proposed or existing work (max. 300 words). The description should explain how the work connects to the theme and explain the context. This is one of the key ways we select your work.
A clear, well-photographed image of your work. Please ensure that your work is resolved.
Your Instagram tag is a MUST. We will not select artists who do not have an Instagram tag.
We welcome the strange, the intimate, the bold, and the quietly profound.
For Writers:
Genres: Short stories, essays, poetry, experimental writing, and cross-genre works
Length: Up to 1,000 words for prose; up to 3 poems
Format: Word document only
Synopsis: A brief summary of the piece (50 words) explaining how it connects to the theme.
Terms and Conditions
All submissions must be original works created by the applicant.
Selected works will be featured in an online exhibition and/or a publication.
By submitting, you grant us the right to display, publish, and promote your work as part of this project.
Typically, the works are online for six months, but this is not guaranteed.
Artists and writers retain all rights to their work.
Apply here: https://www.curatorspace.com/opportunities/detail/open-call-for-artists-and-writers--small-acts/10232
Feel free to get in touch via the form below with your ideas & questions …
Good Luck! 🍀
from the editors
Nichola and Jenna
Follow us on:
https://www.instagram.com/haus_a_rest
https://www.facebook.com/haus.a.rest
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We are always looking for good quality pieces of writing, be a story,
critique, poem, prose, spoken word, music, or other written work.
*** Haus-a-rest upcoming themes***
February 2026 - Issue 68 - Small Acts
March 2026 - Issue 69 Foraging as Art Practice
April 2026 - Issue 70 - ???
Follow our social media for more updates and open calls: @haus_a_rest
Enter your ideas on one of our social media platforms and use the #HAR, and if your idea is selected, you will be our featured artist.
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OPEN CALL - FOR ART RESIDENCY
We are seeking a multimedia artist to be a resident for at least three months on our art zine to write or film guides each month. The guides can be written pieces or short videos, and would offer tips and tricks for using different materials, processes and ideas for making. The residency would be for three months across three issues, with the opportunity to write additional pieces.
This is a great opportunity for an artist to be our resident 'expert' to write short tips, tricks and guides as a residency opportunity.
They could be top ten tips, short guides or videos. The artist would be featured and could show examples of their work to demonstrate the guide.
This role can be expanded as we value initiative and creative thinking, so you can really own this and use this platform to promote your knowledge and ideas.
apply below
*** PLAYSCAPES *** Dr Jenna Fox has a residency at Jelly Studios in Reading, UK, for two weeks and will be creating a fantastical doll's house. This open call seeks micro artworks to be positioned within the doll's house as part of the installation, be part of an online exhibition and included in an exhibition at The Treasure Chest, micro gallery.
What the open call offers
This is an open call for micro art,
The benefits of this open call are:
Inclusion in the Playscapes installation and exhibition - as part of Dr Jenna Fox's residency, where she will create a fantastical doll's house in Reading, UK. Your work will be featured and tagged in all the ongoing and final images that will be posted as the installation progresses. The residency is part of Jelly in Reading, UK, program, which is open to the public for two weeks, from 1st until 13th April 2026.
As part of the residency, your work will be part of the installation and be credited and promoted across the art zine www.Haus-a-rest, @new_haus_gallery, which has 12k followers across their social media platforms. This is a great opportunity to get your work seen and to raise your profile. The art zine haus-a-rest.com has run 68 issues and has a loyal fan base. The work will also be featured on the @new_haus_gallery space, which is a micro gallery which has hosted 23 exhibitions.
Be promoted and tagged in the artzine www.haus-a-rest.com
Be part of an exhibition at Treasure Chest Gallery and be promoted and tagged on their social media @treasurechestgallery
Dr Jenna Fox's Playscape
During her artist's residency at Jelly in Reading, UK, Dr Jenna Fox will be creating a fantastical doll's house installation, and you are invited to be part of the process.
"I am using the residency to create a fantastical doll's house. The wallpaper will be handmade from my many patterns, each room will have a theme, and the furniture will be handmade, and the result will be a 'Playscape'. I will be playing with the themes of the uncanny and the unhomely."
This open call is for artists to create micro, dollhouse-sized artworks to be included in the Playscapes installation. This means they must be to the scale of 1:12.
The micro works can be any form - sculpture or small 2d pieces for the walls, and made from any material. If the piece requires a plinth, then a micro plinth will need to be provided. No films, please.
The fantastical doll's house will be created during the residency and is open to the public at The Jelly Studios in Reading, UK 1st April until 13th 2026.
The process will be documented on the @new_haus_gallery website on @jennafoxartist social media and @haus_a_rest, the art zine (OVER 12K followers).
About the artist.
Dr Jenna Fox is a British artist whose PhD research explores alter egos as a way to tap into alternative and sometimes conflicting creativity within her practice.
Alter egos enable her to question identity and place. The inside, the outside, boundaries, viewpoints and the movement between the two.
She employs playfulness and humour as a coping mechanism and a means of exploring complex, often troubling topics in an accessible manner through painting, sculpture, and installations."
https://jennafoxartist.weebly.com/
@jennafoxartist
About Jelly
Jelly is an energetic collaboration of artists supporting each other and the wider community, acting as a catalyst and making space for art in everyday.
Playing a strategic role in Reading's cultural development, working to improve access to the visual arts for all.
We support and develop visual artists, building pathways towards careers in the creative industries and providing freelance opportunities.
We advocate for artists, improving access to the arts and strengthening the opportunities for emerging and established artists, especially those who may face barriers.
https://www.jelly.org.uk/
@thejellyreading/
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ABOUT THE SUBMISSION PROCESS
There is no fee to submit. But if you are selected, then you may be asked to pay £10 for return postage of your work, UK only, if you wish your work to be returned.
What you need to submit for the open call:
1) A good quality image of your work, and which gallery you are applying to.
2) A title for your piece.
3) Three lines of text to explain your concept why you made the piece and any obstacles you had to overcome.
4) Dimensions of your work. H. W and L in cm.
5) Your Instagram name to tag you.
Information required:
1) Do you want your work returned Y / N?
2) If Y then do you accept the £10 GBP charge UK ONLY ?
3) Please confirm you will be responsible for insurance for your work (transit and duration of the show) Y / N?
4) Do you wish to join our mailing list Y/N? & email contact
Your work will not be accepted if you do not provide all of the requested items. If accepted your work will be featured in the Zine, and all our social media channels for a least one month, and very likely for several.
Timescales:
The open call closes on 12th March 2024.
Selected works need to be sent to Reading, UK by 20th March 2026.
The works will be included at the live residency in Reading 1st April - 13th April 2026 and will be part of the online posts. To include Haus-a-rest @new_haus_gallery.
April - June 2026 - Online posts and The Treasure Chest Gallery exhibition.