Unfold 2027: Your Work, Brighton’s Most Extraordinary Gallery, and a Theme Built for Ambition
Something is about to unfold
Picture it. A Grade II listed former church in the heart of Brighton’s Lanes. Light pouring through tall windows onto soaring walls. Hundreds of visitors moving through the space, stopping, looking, buying. And your work is right there in the middle of it.
That’s what Unfold offers. Our second UK-wide judged open call with Fabrica is now open, and we think it’s our most exciting yet.
We’ve done this before, and we’re going bigger
In April 2026, Resonance brought artists from across the UK into Fabrica for our first partnership exhibition. The private view buzzed. The building did what it always does and made every piece feel bigger than itself. Artists met collectors, new audiences found new favourites, and red dots appeared on the walls.
We knew straight away it couldn’t be a one-off. Resonance was the opening chord. Unfold is what comes next.
The theme: Unfold
To unfold is to reveal, to develop, to become.
It’s the moment something hidden starts to open. An idea finding its shape. A story coming into focus. A landscape quietly shifting over centuries, or a life changing overnight. A practice that has been growing, layer by layer, for years.
Unfolding can be personal or collective, deliberate or unexpected, a whisper or a roar.
This theme celebrates process as much as the finished piece. It’s about how things become what they are. As Fabrica’s Co-Director Liz Whitehead puts it, if Resonance was about connection and echo, Unfold asks what might be revealed through an active process. That’s exactly how artists work: researching, experimenting, failing, reflecting and finally sharing.
Not sure where to start? Here are a few ways in:
Transformation. Moments of change, renewal and resilience, in people, places or materials.
Discovery and becoming. Identity, memory, and the futures we’re still writing.
The natural world. Growth, decay, seasons, tides, things that open and close.
Society and politics. Change as it happens around us, slowly or all at once.
Time and narrative. Sequence, movement, and stories that reveal themselves gradually.
The work itself. The fold of paper, the layering of glaze, the build-up of a print. Sometimes the material is the message.
These are prompts, not rules. The best responses are often the ones nobody saw coming.
Every discipline. Every stage of career.
Unfold is open to professional and amateur artists with a UK connection. You might have been born, trained, living or working here, or have another clear link.
We want to see painting, drawing, original printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, photography, jewellery, illustration and mixed media.
We’re also actively looking for the ambitious stuff: installation, moving image, sound and performance.
Fabrica’s space was made for work that takes risks. Selected performance pieces will be performed live in the gallery during the exhibition.
Previously exhibited work is welcome too, as long as it speaks to the theme.
Judged on the work, nothing else
Every entry is assessed by an independent panel of five respected figures from across the contemporary art world. The organisers don’t influence selection. It’s about the quality of your work and how it responds to Unfold.
Our first judge is Liz Whitehead, who co-founded Fabrica as an artist 30 years ago and has worked with hundreds of artists in the space since. The rest of the panel will be revealed over the coming months, so watch this space.
Two prizes. Zero extra paperwork.
Every selected artist is automatically considered for both prizes.
🪟 The Fabrica + Sussex Contemporary Window Gallery Award
One artist gets a summer-long spotlight. Their work will go on show in Fabrica’s street-facing window on Duke Street from May to September 2027. Duke Street sits between The Lanes and Churchill Square, one of Brighton’s busiest pedestrian routes, and it’s busy day and night. That’s thousands of passers-by every single day, for five months.
🌱 The WeAreSussex Prize
This prize is about the long game. One artist will receive a year’s access to the monthly WeAreBrighton talks, plus one-to-one mentoring with Jo Myles, Founder and Creative Director of Sussex Contemporary. Together you’ll work on artistic direction, audiences, funding, partnerships and building a creative career that actually sustains you.
Why Fabrica matters
For three decades, Fabrica has commissioned and championed bold contemporary work, often from artists at pivotal moments in their careers. Exhibiting here puts you in that story. Every selected work will be for sale throughout the exhibition, and there’s no hanging fee.
Key dates
📅 Entry deadline: 21 February 2027, 11.59pm
📩 Artists notified: week commencing 8 March 2027
🥂 Artist preview: 16 April 2027
🖼️ Exhibition: 17 April – 9 May 2027, Fabrica, Brighton
Ready? Let’s unfold.
Entry is £20 per work, up to three works. Buy your entries on the Unfold page and we’ll email you a link to our simple submission platform. Keep an eye on your spam folder. You can preview the form questions before you start.
The deadline might feel a long way off. The best work rarely gets made the week before, though, so start now and let it unfold.