28/08/2026
Finally, we have an exhibition space again. We hated losing it to make way for classrooms as the school took off but it's great to once more have a place to build exhibitions. That's where we started and we want exhibition-making to be a big part of what we do.
Last night marked the opening of our Open Call exhibition in what, next year, will be Nicholas Cliff. A new space for building an ambitious programme of exhibitions.
We took this place on just over 12 months ago. Since then it has been a struggle to get to a position where we could open. We have battled with uneven floors, flood damage to the ceiling and limited funds to do what we really want to do.
What people turned up to last night - 150 of them - is phase one. It is not finished. The ceiling still needs completing. There is a new floor to come. A new partition wall toward the opening and the walls need plastering and painting. And because this room is a sun trap we need blinds. So after this exhibition, we plan to carry on and get the rest of the work done, and then re-open in spring 2027. But we are now open because enough people decided this Open Call was worth getting involved with.
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We asked artists to respond to the 1926 General Strike, an event that happened a hundred years ago when more than a million and a half people walked out in support of the miners. This caused the country to briefly come to a standstill. Trains, presses, docks, factories all ceased production over a nine day period. It was a time of solidarity, hardship, argument, community, and speaking up with one voice and saying – 'No'.
We asked people to work on two humble and workaday surfaces: newsprint and postcard. Materials you can easily post. Materials that do not pretend to be precious before the work begins. Over 360 people answered the call. From those very strong entries, 21 works on newsprint and 20 postcards were selected.
That’s 41 artworks, chosen from hundreds, now hanging in a room that did not exist as a gallery this time last year. So this open call - this lending a hand - has helped us get Nicholas Cliff to the point where we can open. Every entry helped. Every person who posted work back to us got us to this stage. As we often like to say - we are not a top-down institution. We are a bottom-up initiative and it only works if people turn up. If people affirm us by saying – 'Yes'.
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The competition aspect of the Open Call was tough and competitive. We were joined on Wednesday (see pictures) by four very special guests: our judges. We would like to thank not one but two Sky Arts Portrait Artists of the Year Wendy Barratt and Chloe Barnes, and last year’s finalists Katie Jones and Lauren Ross. Thank you for giving this exhibition your attention, your eye, and your time, especially when you have been busy teaching for us this week at Cober Hill.
There was a lot of conversation and debate during the judging process and many of the works were contenders for the prize. Each judge had their own shortlist of winners as well as runners-up. So it was when opinion overlapped that progress could be made. It was a really difficult decision, but they did finally come to a single entry in each category that they could all get behind.
The results.
The winner of the Newsprint category is Katherine Rousselange for her piece “Coalface” created using Seacoal and gum Arabic. The judges felt Katherine’s piece really cut through and connected most strongly with the premise of the theme, taking viewers to the heart of the matter. Katherine turned up to the event, but only found out she won when Andrew announced her name in front of everyone. Her face was a picture!
The winner of the Postcard category is Paula Hall for her piece “Not a Penny More” whose muted daubs of watercolour depict individuals - you can see their flat caps and collars - dissolving into one voice. The collective demands; that collective 'No' to power, however, is softened into dainty floral embroidery which women in the community would have sewn into protest banners. Paula’s piece suggests you can speak truth to power, but will they listen?
Both Katherine and Paula each win £500, paid for by all those who entered the competition. Congratulations to them both.
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The story of the Open Call does not end here. All of the finalists' artworks will be available to view online in the next few days. Then, in September, the entries that did not make it through to exhibition will go online, and the public will decide a People’s Choice winner who will be awarded with £100 worth of Bookaclass vouchers. This matters to us. This project began with an open call. It should end with an open vote.
To everyone who entered: Thank you. Whether your piece is on these walls or not, you are part of why this gallery is now open. To everyone who has supported the school, the shop, the building work, and this slightly stubborn idea that Scarborough can have a space for work that is not just seaside fare: thank you as well.
The exhibition is open Thursday–Sunday 11am-3pm until 25 October 2026 at Nicholas Cliff (34 St. Nicholas Cliff, Scarborough. YO11 2ES).
