Open Call: GHT Artist Shop 2027

Calling all artists and makers! We’re seeking a cohort of up to ten local artists to collaborate with us over a 12-month period. We hope to bring together makers working across a variety of mediums and styles—artists whose work will resonate with our visitors and reflect the many facets that make GHT unique.

For this cohort, we’re especially keen to work with artists who want to get to know the venue and help shape a shop offer that compliments everything we do. Last year we had an overhaul of how we run our artist shop.

In response to an appetite we were feeling from local artists to sell their work, and a desire from us to meet and support more local artists and makers, we moved away from open-ended agreements and created a new structure where we recruit a small cohort every year and work with them, promoting and selling their work for a fixed-term, year-long contract instead. Supporting fewer artists for a shorter length of time has given us the opportunity to get to know them better and allowed us to find more ways to bring them into the creative community at GHT. Almost a year on, we’re delighted with how this new structure has played out, and now we’re ready for the next!

Since 2026 we’ve been learning and growing as an organisation and as a venue and we have a lot to look forward to in 2027 including:

- Extending our opening hours - from April - October we’re open 5 days a week to support a collaborative effort in Southampton to develop the cultural offer to tourists visiting the city

- Extending our shop’s footprint

- We’re trialling a new experimental part of the shop ‘framework’. This will be placed on the walls of the cafe extension and we’re inviting 2D works to be part of this experimental new exhibition / shop display.

- Getting ready for our 25th anniversary - 2027 marks 25 years since ‘a space’ arts was established as a visual arts charity, so we’re getting ourselves ready for a year of opportunity, reflection and further growth.

- Bringing our new vision, mission and values to the fore - as we approach our anniversary year we’re excited to be reflecting on what makes us ‘a space’ arts leading us to revise and refresh our vision, mission and values. We’re now working to ensure that everything we do embodies these values.

Why Sell With Us?

- Get your work out into the world - so far this year, we’ve welcomed an average of 1,276 visitors each month — and we haven’t even reached our busiest time of year yet

- Put your work to work - on average, artists in this year’s cohort have earned around £40 per month after commission. Every sale is a little vote of confidence in your work — and a nice bonus for your pocket, too.

- It could be the beginning of something bigger - the shop isn’t just a place to sell your work. Artists from this year’s cohort have gone on to run workshops, take part in Markets and become part of a thriving creative community in Southampton.