Our Exhibitions
Explore our current and upcoming exhibitions, featuring artists from Sussex and beyond. Our programme includes exhibitions developed through both selected and democratic open calls, giving artists opportunities to exhibit their work.
You can also browse past exhibitions to discover more about our previous projects and collaborations.
Current & Upcoming Exhibitions
THE SUSSEX 2026: SHELTER
BN9 Studio, Marine Workshops Newhaven
7th November - 29th November 2026
Our annual selected exhibition for Sussex Contemporary, The Sussex, returns for the 5th year running.
THE SUSSEX 2026 is our annual major showcase of Sussex-linked artists and makers. This selected open call invites artists to explore the powerful theme of SHELTER, calling for creative responses to the spaces we build, seek, and share, whether lasting or fleeting, visible or hidden.
Selected by a leading panel of judges, all works in the exhibition will be available to purchase.
Free entry; Thursday - Saturday 11 am - 4 pm, Sunday 11 am - 3 pm
PASSAGE
BN9 Studio, Marine Workshops Newhaven
6th - 28th March 2027
Our first exhibition of 2027, PASSAGE, returns to the light-filled BN9 Studio in Newhaven.
PASSAGE is an international, democratic, open-call exhibition inviting artists at any stage of their careers and working in any medium to respond to the theme of passage. Artists are encouraged to interpret the theme in their own way, whether politically, personally or poetically.
Free entry, open Thursday–Saturday 11 am – 4 pm and Sunday 11 am – 3 pm
UNFOLD
Fabrica, Brighton
16th April - 3rd May 2027
A partnership exhibition between Sussex Contemporary and Fabrica, one of Brighton's best-known contemporary art spaces.
Unfold is an open call exhibition inviting artists from across the UK, working in any medium, to respond to the theme of Unfold. Open to both amateur and professional artists with a UK connection, the exhibition will present work selected from the open call by an independent panel of selectors.
Free entry, opening times TBC
Past Exhibitions
INSPIRED BY STANDEN
Standen House & Gardens
2 July – 30 September 2026
Presented by Sussex Contemporary in partnership with the National Trust
Inspired By Standen: The Future of Arts & Crafts brought contemporary art into the historic setting of Standen House, exploring the continuing influence of the Arts and Crafts movement.
Developed through a national open call, the exhibition brought together selected artists whose work responded to the theme Living Standen: A Contemporary Response to the Arts & Crafts Movement. Displayed alongside original Arts and Crafts artefacts, the works offered contemporary perspectives on the house's creative heritage.
The exhibition marked the beginning of a partnership between Sussex Contemporary and the National Trust, creating new opportunities for artists to exhibit in this historic setting.
WE WUNT BE DRUV
Lewes Town Hall
5 - 6 September 2026
We Wunt Be Druv was a democratic open-call exhibition presented as part of Artwave 2026, East Sussex's annual arts festival.
Inspired by one of Sussex's most defiant declarations, the exhibition explored a spirit of independence, stubborn pride and resistance to being pushed around. Artists with UK links were invited to interpret this distinctly Sussex expression in their own way.
Curated by Creative Director Jo Myles, the exhibition brought together artists responding to a shared theme at the historic Lewes Corn Exchange.
Explore the theme: We Wunt Be Druv: Sussex Identity in Contemporary Art
The Sussex, 2025
Newhaven, East Sussex
The Art Of Everyday Life