Artist Call Out: Shape Open 2025

Call for artwork.

Our annual call out is now open. This year, to address the cuts to payments and funding that threaten disabled people’s lives, we are seeking work which responds imaginatively to themes of rights, protest, power, and the state of the British welfare system.

We are also interested in work that reflects on how protest itself is changing: becoming more digital, more restricted, and increasingly under threat, for example by surveillance.

This exhibition is supported by our National Disability Movement Archive and Collection (NDMAC), which is collecting the heritage story of the disability rights movement. Our show will include photographs by Keith Armstrong, a disabled poet, artist, musician, and activist. His photos of disability rights protests in the 1980s and 1990s are part of our NDMAC archive and collection. We have included a selection further down this page. We hope they inspire you.

The exhibition will be at The Engine Shed in High Wycombe. It’s a big space, so we’re looking for work that can stand out and make an impact. Think bold colour schemes, big messages, or eye-catching formats. We’re keen to find work that can be hung across the space or projected. We’d be interested in light-weight sculptures and installations that can be easily dismantled and rebuilt in the venue.

This show is a kind of protest in itself. We’re especially keen on artwork that clearly tackles the themes, maybe with large text, clear slogans, or strong visual messages.