TERMS & CONDITIONS

Submissions

Purchase of one Submission Pass for a fee of £25 will entitle you to submit up to five individual works (or fewer).

You may purchase more than one Submission Pass if you would like to.

The fee for the Submission Pass is non-refundable.

Irving Gallery is run by one person, the gallery’s curator Vanessa Lacey, who manages all aspects of the gallery single-handedly. The submission pass fee is due to the substantial amount of admin and time involved with running an open call of this scale, as well as the time and expense involved in curating, marketing, and hosting the exhibition. The fee supports the Irving Open exhibition to ensure it is sustainable, and enables the gallery to host future exhibitions within its spaces.

The 2026 Irving Open Call is open to all artists regardless of their location, so long as they are able to ensure that their work will be delivered and collected in accordance with the dates and guidelines below.

All mediums of visual art will be considered, providing the artworks submitted are one-off, unique pieces. This year there are no size restrictions, though artists are encouraged to consider the domestic scale of the gallery which inhabits two rooms of a Victorian terraced house. So if you plan to submit one or more large works, you would be advised to submit one or more smaller works as well (e.g. up to 45 cm in any direction), since space is limited and the majority of selected works are likely to be smaller (as above, up to 45 cm in any direction), rather than larger.

Works submitted should ideally have been made in 2023/2024/2025.

The deadline for submissions has been extended to 11.59pm (UK time) on Sunday 9th November 2025.

Submissions will be reviewed by Irving Gallery’s Curator Vanessa Lacey within November 2025, and all artists will be notified by 1st December whether or not their work has been selected.

The Curator’s decision on selection is final, and we will not be able to provide individual feedback to artists whose works which are not selected.

Important Dates

Purchase your Artist Submission Pass.

Artwork Submissions: submit your artwork(s) by the deadline of Sunday 9th November 2025 (11.59pm, UK time). Submission will be via email to vanessa@irvinggallery.com.

All artists will be notified whether or not their work has been selected for exhibition by 1st December 2025.

Delivery of selected artworks: Wednesday 14th, Thursday 15th or Friday 16th January 2026.

Exhibition dates: Saturday 31st January to Saturday 28th February 2026.

Opening party: Saturday 31st January, 3pm-6pm.

Collection of unsold artworks: in person - Tuesday 3rd, Wednesday 4th, Thursday 5th March or Friday 6th March 2026. By third party/courier, on Thursday 5th or Friday 6th March (to allow time for packing).

One artist selected for the 2026 Irving Open Exhibition will be awarded a solo exhibition at Irving Gallery in 2027. The dates and duration of the exhibition will be decided by Irving Gallery, in consultation with the artist.

Key Information

Artists are responsible for delivering their work to the gallery (28 Essex Street, Oxford OX4 3AW), and for collecting it at the end of the exhibition. We do not have storage space here to store your work, and with a fast turnaround of exhibitions, you must either collect yourself or arrange collection of your work on the dates provided. If you wish to arrange for a third party to collect your work, you must make those arrangements and book the collection for Wednesday 4th or Thursday 5th March 2026. Wherever possible, we will keep and re-use your packaging, so you can assume the same dimensions and weight for booking the collection of your work.

All works selected for the 2026 Irving Open Exhibition must be for sale. Please do not submit works which are under consideration elsewhere. All selected artworks will be consigned exclusively to Irving Gallery from the point we confirm selection until 31st March 2026.

Substitutions are not guaranteed. Please be aware that if a selected work sells before delivery to the gallery for exhibition or becomes otherwise unavailable, or it turns out to be too expensive to ship to Oxford for exhibition, there is no guarantee that another work can be substituted.

Irving Gallery will retain a 45% commission on all sales. 

Irving Gallery believes in prompt payment of its artists. All artists will be informed of any sales of their work within 7 days of the sale being completed. They will be asked to invoice Irving Gallery for the value of the sale minus the gallery commission, and Irving Gallery will settle the invoice within 14 days of receipt.                                                                     

Step 2 | Please purchase your Submission Pass, then move to Step 3 (below) to complete and submit the form to register your details.

Check your shopping cart in the top right corner of the screen to complete the purchase.
If you have difficulties completing your purchase, you can alternatively pay by bank transfer. Email vanessa@irvinggallery.com for more information.

Step 3 | Once you have purchased your Submission Pass (above), please complete and submit the form below to register your details.