Inspired by Standen: The Future of Arts & Crafts
An open-call opportunity for the makers, designers, craftspeople, and artisans of the UK.
Presented by Sussex Contemporary in Partnership with the National Trust.
OPEN CALL 2026
Standen House is well known for its significant expression of the ideas and principles behind the Arts & Crafts movement.
Designed by the ‘father of Arts and Crafts Architecture’ Philip Webb with interiors by William Morris & Co.
Standen embodies the belief that everyday life should be enriched by things that are both beautiful and useful.
THEME
Living Standen: A Contemporary Response to the Arts & Crafts Movement
The Standen House Open Call 2026 marks the start of a beautiful partnership between the National Trust and Sussex Contemporary, offering multiple benefits if the judging panel selects your work.
Leading Exhibition: Selected works showcased in the South Room, expertly curated by our Creative Director, Jo Myles.
House Display: Key pieces curated in every room of Standen, creating a living dialogue between contemporary making, makers, and historic interiors. Curated by the National Trust’s Head of House and Collections, Ruth Young.
Selling: All selected works will be available for purchase throughout the three-month summer show.
Additional Opportunities: Selected creatives may be invited to participate in events, talks, or workshops during the exhibition’s three-month run in July, August, and September 2026.
Sussex Contemporary and the National Trust present the Standen House Open Call 2026.
An innovative exhibition inviting UK-based and UK-connected makers, designers, craftspeople, artisans, and artists to create contemporary responses to the Arts & Crafts movement.
The theme encourages submissions in media such as quilting, embroidery, painting, metalwork, tiles, domestic ware, rugs, wallpaper, furniture, dinnerware, kitchenware, glassware, lighting, textiles, ceramics, mixed media, illustration, and many more.
The works to be shown in Standen House will be selected by a panel of world-leading expert judges, chaired by Ruth Young, the Head of House and Collections at Standen.
KEY INFORMATION
WHY ENTER?
Expert Panel:
Your work will be seen by a panel of judges
Career-Enhancing Prizes:
Significant prizes and professional opportunities for outstanding submissions. Our prize partners select prizes.
Unprecedented Access:
The chance for contemporary makers to be exhibited and sold within Standen House
Engage Audiences:
Reach a broad, engaged public through the National Trust’s summer visitors.
Unique Opportunity:
To exhibit your work alongside Original significant Arts and Crafts artefacts and makers within a historic setting
Legacy Exhibition:
Be part of an exhibition shaping the future of contemporary craft and design
WHO CAN APPLY?
Living makers, designers, craftspeople, artisans, and artists working in any medium
All career stages are encouraged to apply, be it emerging, mid-career, or established.
UK-based or UK-connected, by birth, residence, work, or education
Inclusive and open to all backgrounds, practices, and disciplines
UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY: functional contemporary wares
Contribute to a brand new installation in the Dining Room that celebrates the enduring legacy of the Arts and Crafts movement through a curated selection of functional contemporary wares.
This display will explore how today’s makers reinterpret Arts and Crafts principles, honesty of materials, craftsmanship, and beauty in utility, all within the context of modern dining.
Each piece will be selected for its functionality, aesthetic quality, and alignment with Arts and Crafts values. The installation will evoke a sense of warmth, domesticity, and intentional living.
The Dining Room will be transformed into a living tableau featuring:
Hand-thrown ceramics: plates, bowls, and serving vessels.
Textiles: woven table runners, napkins, and upholstery.
Woodwork: handcrafted furniture, utensils, and serving boards.
Metalwork: artisan cutlery, candle holders, and decorative accents
HOW MUCH IS IT TO ENTER?
£20 per work, with a maximum of three entries per creative
Purchase your entry/ies on this webpage. After purchase, you will be sent an order confirmation and then a link to our creatives page, where you will find all the project information and link/s to submit your entry form/s.
KEY DATES
Open Call Launch: 12th November 2025
Submission Deadline: 31st May 2026, 23:59
Selection Results Announced: 8th June 2026
Exhibition Dates: 2nd July – 30th September 2026
Venue: Standen House, West Sussex
TERMS & CONDITIONS & FAQs
You can read our full T&Cs HERE
And our FAQS can be read HERE
Imagine your work inside Standen House - all summer.
Standen is one of the great houses of the Arts and Crafts movement. Designed by Philip Webb, furnished by William Morris & Co. and cared for by the National Trust. For three months this summer, it will also be home to the work of contemporary makers selected by some of the most respected figures in craft, design and decorative arts.
Inspired by Standen: The Future of Arts & Crafts is an open call for UK-based and UK-connected makers, designers, craftspeople and artists working in any medium.
Submit your work for consideration by our expert judging panel. If selected, your work will be exhibited - and available for sale - within Standen House itself, from July through September 2026. There are very few opportunities like this. Standen House is both a living historic interior and a nationally significant venue. This opportunity offers the potential of three months in front of a broad, engaged National Trust audience. And the chance to place your work in conversation with some of the finest Arts and Crafts objects in the country.
Entry is £20 per work. Up to three entries per maker. Deadline: 31 May 2026.
An Extraordinary Setting
Standen is a Grade I listed Arts and Crafts house in West Sussex, designed between 1891 and 1894 by architect Philip Webb, William Morris's closest collaborator and the man widely regarded as the father of Arts and Crafts architecture. Built using only local materials and traditional construction methods, every room is a statement of belief: that the things we live with should be made with integrity, skill, and care. Today, cared for by the National Trust, Standen draws visitors from across the country throughout the summer season. To have your work selected for display here, placed within those rooms and among those original interiors, is a rare distinction.
Selected by World-Leading Judges
This is a juried exhibition. Your work will be seen and evaluated by a panel of expert judges chaired by Ruth Young, the National Trust's Head of House and Collections at Standen - one of the leading authorities on Arts and Crafts interiors in the UK. Our panel brings together world-class expertise in craft, design and decorative arts, and their selection will be made with both rigour and care. Being selected by this panel is a meaningful credential in itself. It signals that your work stands in genuine dialogue with one of the movement's most significant living legacies.
Three Months Inside Standen
Selected works will be displayed across two distinct exhibitions running simultaneously throughout July, August, and September 2026:
The South Room Gallery - a dedicated contemporary exhibition, curated by Sussex Contemporary's Creative Director Jo Myles, showcasing selected works in a focused gallery setting within the house.
The Whole-House Display - key pieces placed in every room of Standen, curated by Ruth Young, creating a living conversation between new making and historic interiors. All selected works will be available for sale throughout the three-month run, with the opportunity for selected makers to participate in events, talks and workshops during the exhibition. This is not a temporary pop-up or a satellite show. Your work will live inside Standen, one of Britain's finest historic houses, for the whole of the summer.