Visual Arts Scotland invites artists and makers to apply for inclusion in 2026 Annual Members Exhibition, an exhibition exploring how folklore evolves through craft, imagination, and community.

Ayrshire and the wider Scottish landscape is rich with traditions, from selkie myths and fairy stories to Robert Burns’ Tam o’ Shanter. These tales connect us to land and sea, memory and imagination. Folklore is never fixed; it changes with each retelling.

This exhibition invites you to reinterpret folklore from the past, uncover hidden or overlooked stories, or invent the folklore of the future. We are interested in the ways artists and makers use process itself, the act of making, as a conduit for storytelling, where experimentation, material transformation, and the traces of practice can become part of the narrative.

In a time of rapid ecological, social, and technological change, stories help us understand who we are and where we belong. Folklore continues to offer a living framework for exploring identity, resilience, and imagination. Artists and Makers are uniquely placed to carry these narratives forward. By reworking ancient myths or creating new ones, artists can help shape how communities respond to change, find meaning in uncertainty, and imagine alternative futures.

Reimagining Ayrshire and Scotland’s myths, legends, and ghost stories. Rituals, customs, or “objects of belief”. Folklore as a lens on ecology, migration, technology, or identity. Craft as storytelling: material, process, and the residue of making. Performance and live art as a way of re-enacting, reimagining, or generating folklore. Participatory or collaborative works that invite audiences to contribute their own stories, voices, or rituals. Contemporary myths emerging from digital culture or everyday community traditions. (This is not an exhaustive list, just possible starting points)

Exhibition Dates: 28th March 2026 – 30th May 2026 (Four Exhibition rooms)

Location: Maclaurin Art Gallery, Ayrshire.

Entry Deadline: 11/01/2026, 5pm

Note all mediums are welcome, including but not limited to textiles, drawing, painting, sculpture, print, installation, digital, and collaborative work.

You are invited to submit up to four works in any size for consideration.

A One-Off £15 Hang Fee is charged per artist. Payment must be made when requested via email upon final confirmation of participation. New VAS members, make sure you create a membership account using the links on the VAS website, Ordinary membership is £40 per year.

For more information & too apply: https://visualartsscotland.oess1.uk/