Organizer Information
SPIRA9 is an East London–based curatorial platform and art organisation dedicated to supporting established, emerging, and under-represented artists across disciplines. Through exhibitions, editorial projects, and artist development programmes, it builds pathways for visibility, collaboration, and critical dialogue. Its programming spans large-scale group exhibitions, intimate solo presentations, and experimental pop-ups, alongside a quarterly publication — Re: Art magazine — and an ongoing Artist of the Month series. SPIRA9 has produced more than 10 exhibitions internationally, supported over 2,000 artists, and reached audiences across 14 countries. Guided by an artist-centred ethos, the organisation prioritises intersectional perspectives, inclusive frameworks, and sustained engagement with the cultural and technological conditions shaping creative production today.
The exhibition venue, Gallery 46, is a Londonewcastle project space housed in a pair of renovated Georgian houses in the grounds of Whitechapel Hospital, set over three floors and eight rooms. Since opening in September 2016, it has hosted works by prominent artists and exhibitions in collaboration with the Whitechapel Gallery.
Title & Description
B*O/D&Y — Open Call for Artists, Designers, and Performers
B*O/D&Y is a conceptual contemporary art exhibition produced by SPIRA9 ART, structured as a research-led curatorial inquiry into the entanglement of body and glitch — the points at which systems cease to operate in seamless continuity. The body is understood broadly: not only the human form, but environmental and ecological systems, mechanical infrastructures, and social structures of power. The glitch is addressed not as failure but as threshold — a moment of interruption, error, repetition, or breakdown that exposes the limits and tensions of systems.
Rather than resolving these conditions, the exhibition sustains, repeats, and allows them to persist. Fragmentation, malfunction, looping, and stasis become sites of attention. Works are not treated as isolated objects but as components of a relational field of tensions and conceptual resonances.
Selection is reviewed by a nine-member interdisciplinary jury spanning performance art, neuroscience, queer studies, sociology, creative technology, new media art, and contemporary art criticism, with curatorial decisions emphasising conceptual clarity and the spatial dialogue between works.
Theme
The body and the glitch — moments when bodies, systems, and structures fracture, loop, interrupt, and reorganise. The body is treated as both a material presence and a constructed subject; the glitch as a mode of revealing alternative logics of structure and time.
Categories
- Visual Arts
- Painting
- Sculpture
- Installation
- Performance
- Sound/Music
- Video/Film
- New Media
- Interactive
- Interdisciplinary Arts
- Mixed Media
- Digital
- Multimedia
Eligibility
- Open to artists, designers, performers, and interdisciplinary makers
- No geographic restriction is stated in the source
- No career stage, age, or medium restrictions stated in the source
- All media and disciplines are welcome
Program Benefits & Awards
- Official programme listing across the SPIRA9 website and through media partner New Exhibitions
- Curated placement at Gallery 46, Whitechapel, East London, with close curatorial support from SPIRA9
- Professional photography and documentation of all exhibited works for portfolio, press, and archival purposes
- Individual pre-exhibition feature for each artist across SPIRA9 channels; outstanding artists may be selected for in-depth artwork reviews, editorial interviews, or Artist of the Month coverage
- Curatorial and technical exhibition support, including installation coordination, framing and mounting solutions, plinths and display furniture, fine art printing assistance, wall texts, artwork labels, and technical equipment
- Invitation to a private view event with access to collectors, curators, and industry professionals
- Permanent archival listing on the SPIRA9 website and post-exhibition promotion through SPIRA9 publications, annual catalogues, newsletters, and social media
- Potential additional exposure through SPIRA9's media network
- Official invitation letter and letter of recommendation
- Artwork sales at 0% commission with access to SPIRA9's collector network and market guidance
Application Fee
None
Application Requirements
- Artwork Images/Video Screenshots
- Artwork Description
- Artist Statement
How to Apply?
Online Application
Key Dates
- Application Deadline: 10 July 2026
- Exhibition dates: 18–20 July 2026
Location
Gallery 46, 46 Ashfield Street, London E1 2AJ, United Kingdom
Additional Details
- Space is limited and proposals are reviewed on a rolling basis; early submission is encouraged.
- Only selected works will be included; the curatorial team will not respond to all submissions.
- Artists who submit by 30 June 2026 are considered for curated features across SPIRA9 media channels in advance of the exhibition.