OPEN26 - Sustainability

There will be two rounds of selection, one online and one in the museum.  This is to help reduce the amount of people who need to physically arrange delivery and collection for the selection process. Here is an outline of what will happen:

• You enter your information about the artwork you will be submitting, and upload images of each artwork.

• You do not need to deliver your work for the FIRST ROUND ONLINE selection.  The FIRST ROUND ONLINE selection will be done online after submissions have closed. (See dates below)

• You will be notified if your artwork is shortlisted for the FINAL GALLERY selection.  A list will also be available online.

• If your work is shortlisted for FINAL GALLERY selection you will need to arrange for it/them to be delivered to Worthing Museum for this process on the specified date (see dates below).

• FINAL GALLERY selection takes place at the museum and you will then be notified  whether your work is SELECTED for display, or UNSELECTED and to be collected. The results will also be available online.

• If your artwork is SELECTED it will be displayed in the OPEN26 exhibition.  If your artwork is UNSELECTED you will need to arrange for it to be collected on the specified date (see dates below).

• Everyone who submits to the OPEN26 will receive an invitation to the big opening event regardless of whether your work is selected for either process. 

After submitting this form and making your payment you’ll need to make a note of the following dates and events:

• Mon 23 Feb at 5pm - submission of details to OPEN26 closes. (You can submit up until this time)

• Tue 24 - Thu 26 Feb - FIRST ROUND ONLINE selection takes place

• Tue 3 Mar - Results of FIRST ROUND ONLINE selection available online and via email

• Tue 10 Mar - If selected for FINAL GALLERY selection your artwork should be delivered to museum between 10am and 4pm (ensure all work is clearly labelled on the back with the same name/title details submitted on this form)

• Wed 11 Mar - FINAL GALLERY selection day

• Fri 13 Mar - Results of selection available online and via email

• Tue 17 Mar  - Collection of unselected work between 10am and 4pm

• Thu 26 Mar - Launch event 6-8pm, all submitting artists invited plus one guest

• Sat 28 Mar -  Exhibition open to public

• Thu 10 Sep - Collection of exhibited/sold work between 10am-4pm

The exhibition is open to anyone, of any age, who lives or works in Sussex. Both professional and amateur artists are welcome to enter but please do not enter work that has previously been submitted.

Up to 3 pieces of work can be entered per person.  We accept both 2D and 3D work but 3D work must be sturdy and free standing, or wall mounted.  There is limited availability to provide a power supply for exhibits and any entries requiring this must be PAT tested.

Details should be submitted between Mon 1 Dec 2025 and Mon 23 Feb 2026 at 5pm. The website will not accept entries after this, and hardcopy forms must be delivered to the museum before this.

Details cannot be altered once submitted so ensure the correct information is given on this form. 

Due to support from The National Lottery Heritage Fund entry is FREE, but we thank you in advance for considering a donation of £5, or any amount to support the future development of the museum

Your work must be clearly labelled on the back only for anonymous selection (or in a suitable place for anonymity) with your name and the title of the work.  THE NAME AND TITLES ON YOUR work MUST BE THE SAME AS THE NAME AND TITLE GIVEN ON THIS FORM. We cannot accept any work that does not have your name and title on it.

All work must be delivered/collected on the correct collection days if your artwork is selected for FINAL GALLERY selection. There will be a storage charge of £5 per item per week if anything is not collected. Work will be disposed of if not collected after 6 weeks. 

All wall mounted work must be framed or suitably backed so that a mirror-plate screw fixing can be attached.  We cannot accept work mounted in clip frames or aluminium frames.  All other fixings must be removed.

Work exceeding 1 metre square is unlikely to be accepted due to space restrictions.  Work must be movable by no more than two people.

All work must be unpacked on delivery. There are no facilities to store packaging.

All work must be given a value whether it is for sale or not. Work selected for the exhibition will be insured using the sale value. (if you do not wish to sell you work you can select NFS when filling out the relevant section of this form) We cannot insure work that is not selected for the exhibition, so it will not be insured prior to selection.

This year we will not take commission on work sold during the exhibition thanks to the support received from The National Lottery Heritage Fund.

No liability will be accepted for works not selected for the exhibition.  Artists should visit wtm.uk to find out whether work has been selected or whether they need to collect their work if unselected.

All artists who submit work will be invited to the launch event on Thu 26 Mar 6-8pm. You should receive an email invitation automatically once you have completed your submission.

Please note that by submitting your work to the WTM OPEN26 you agree to those works being photographed and possibly used in future publicity and promotional material relating to WTM.