Open Call: The Great British Summer Holiday Exhibition

After the fun of our mini pop-up exhibition on Gravesend Town Pier in August 2025, we’re very excited to be bringing The Great British Summer Holiday Exhibition back for two weeks this July to the St George’s Arts Centre, and we’d love for you to be part of it!

The exhibition will run from Tuesday 7^th – Sunday 19^th July 2026.

The theme of the exhibition is the history of the Great British Summer Holiday, from day trips in the Victorian era, the introduction of the summer holiday camp, to the resurgence of the popularity of the staycation in the early 2020s.

We are inviting you to submit up to three pieces work.

Submissions can be in 2D or 3D media including but not restricted to painting, drawing, print, photography, collage, upcycling, recycled materials and sculpture, and must reflect the theme of the Great British Holiday. For example, think: the Kentish seaside, postcards, beach balls, ice creams, deck chairs, vintage travel posters, end of pier entertainment, beach huts etc.

Please note, this exhibition is open to anyone to submit work.

There will be a small charge of £10 for every piece of work chosen to be part of the exhibition, however the work can be sold and there will be no commission fee charged.

Submission deadline: 11.59pm on Sunday 21^st June 2026

Successful entries will be informed during the following couple of weeks with instructions for delivering the work.

It is the artists’ responsibility to insure their work.

The Gallery is unable to return artwork by post. 

To submit your work, please visit: https://www.gravesham.gov.uk/great-british-summer-holiday and complete the application form.

Notes for Submitting your work

Please label the photographs with the title of the piece so that we can easily identify.

When completing the description of work field, please include the following (as if you are successful, we will use this information to create the gallery cards and exhibition list)

• Artists Name (as you wish it to appear on the card)
• Title of Piece
• Medium
• Price
• Additional Notes (if you have anything you want added to the card)

• Website or Socials (if applicable)

Please note, we only put ages on the card if under 16.

Your stories

There is also another way you can be involved in the exhibition.

We would love to hear from anyone who has pictures, souvenirs, or memorabilia from holidays at seaside resorts, or holiday camps from the 1930s-1990s. We are also interested to hear from anyone who has photographs, memorabilia or stories passed down from family members from the Victorian era.

We are looking for scanned photos/images to form picture boards and showcase some physical souvenirs/items in cabinets to form part of the exhibition.

Please contact the Arts and Culture team at: artsandculture@gravesham.gov.uk if you have anything that may be of interest. Deadline: Sunday 31^st May 2026