We are delighted to announce that we will be hosting the first East Quay Open in Watchet, in Summer 2024.

We have invited artists from Somerset and further afield to submit artworks which explore and reflect on the theme of identity. For our first Open, we accepted submissions from artists making two-dimensional work only, and were thrilled to receive submissions from 180 artists, with a total of 320 artworks sent in for review.

Identity & belonging is one of our core themes for programming over the coming year. We asked submitting artists to consider: What does identity mean to you? What makes us who we are as individuals and/or collectively, both within ourselves and in the context of our environment? What grounds us as human beings and what is it that informs our sense of self and/otherness? Where does our sense of cultural and creative identity come from and how does this shift and morph over time? How can we reflect on the many different ways in which identity is created, challenged, and reflected?

This year's independent panel of adjudicators is made up of Alice Workman, Amahra Spence and Simon Morrissey, whose collective knowledge and experience is threaded through with an understanding of how art reflects who we are and has the power to bring about change. ⁠Together, the panel chose the final selection of artworks based on the theme, for exhibition in Gallery 1. There are also a range of prizes available, which will be awarded to the chosen artists, as follows: the Judges Favourite; the Student/Under25s Prize; the Somerset Submission Prize, and the Audience Favourite Award, the latter of which will be voted for by visitors throughout the course of the show.