Open Call for Moving Image Works
The Whole and The Hole | Presented by Visual Arts Scotland SCIO.
Deadline for submissions: August 31 2026
Exhibition Dates: October 8-11 2026
Exhibition Location: Dalkeith Palace, Dalkeith Country Park, Dalkeith EH22 2NA
About the Exhibition
Visual Arts Scotland (VAS) presents The Whole and The Hole, a new exhibition of moving image works exploring the void of the hole. Opening this October at Dalkeith Palace, the exhibition offers an opportunity for moving image artists and film-makers to show their work.
Concept and Context (Notes for Applicants)
Henry Moore described 1932 as “the year of the hole,” when both he and Barbara Hepworth first began piercing their sculptures. Absence became form, void became volume and since then artists have continued to explore the paradox of the hole, emptiness that generates presence, negative space that defines matter. These apertures are not merely voids; they are intimate spaces, reminding us that the hidden interior can be as powerful and seductive as the outer surface.
“The Whole and the Hole” proposes that art’s most radical gesture may be the simplest: the act of cutting through. A gesture that continues to open new ways of seeing, feeling, and imagining, not only the object before us, but the invisible forces and relationships it frames.
The hole allows us to be seduced by the play of positive and negative, by the rhythm of shadow and light, by the ways that absence can feel as present as matter itself. “The Whole and the Hole” asks moving image and film artist to respond to the hole, whether this is carving absence into mass; connecting interior and exterior; seen and unseen spaces; a portal as a threshold to other realms; or a metaphor for wound, memory, or transformation.
Submissions
TO APPLY: https://app.dapplehq.com/o/visual-arts-scotland-scio
Please ensure you are a VAS Member with an up-to-date subscription. You can join VAS via our website or emailing admin@visualartsscotland.org. This is a members only exhibition opportunity.
If you have any questions about the exhibition or submissions process please direct these to admin@visualartsscotland.org, DO NOT contact the venue directly.
Submission Guidelines
You are invited to submit up to three original works of maximum duration 7 minutes each. All forms of art-based moving image and experimental film work can be accepted. Works should have been completed in the last 5 years.
Please submit a viewing link to the work on a hosted platform (such as YouTube or Vimeo), along with any password required for access. You will also be asked to submit a brief description of the work, a still image for promotion, technical or installation requirements, and whether the work is silent or open sound. If selected, you must provide a downloadable version of the work.
The preferred film format is MP4 (H.264 codec) or .MOV file, 1920 x 1080, stereo audio, maximum bitrate 20 Mbps.
Films must be original works or submitted with the authorisation of the rights holder and the artist has the rights to show the film in public on the exhibition dates. VAS does not accept responsibility for copyright infringement or unauthorised use of third-party materials. Films should comply with applicable laws and must not contain material promoting harm or discrimination.