Carrying The Songs | Embassy of Ireland, the Netherlands | Hamilton Gallery | July 2026

Description

Embassy of Ireland, The Netherlands | Hamilton Gallery, Sligo | Pulchri Studio, The Hague

Carrying the Songs

an open call for submissions to visual artists living and working on the Island of Ireland and The Netherlands.

About Carrying the Songs

Embassy of Ireland, The Netherlands, in collaboration with Hamilton Gallery Sligo and Pulchri Studio, The Hague, invite submissions for an exhibition of new paintings by artists who are resident on the island of Ireland or in The Netherlands.

The exhibition is themed on Carrying the Songs a poem by Irish poet Moya Cannon. The poem is a prescient meditation on how music and song can be one of very few things people bring with them when forced from their homes, or to abandon their native country. 

Carrying the Songs will feature 200 art works in total drawn from submitted entries. The exhibition will be a significant cultural interchange between the artistic communities and lovers of the contemporary arts in The Netherlands and Ireland.
Submissions can only be made through this Artcall.org submission process.
All artworks are to be unframed and MUST comply with the dimensions 30cm X 30cm X 2cm deep. 
Submitted artworks must be made on canvas or board. 
Artists may submit a maximum of 2 original artworks in total.
Only one art work per artist will appear in the final exhibition. 

The exhibition will take place at Pulchri Studio, The Hague, The Netherlands, from July 4th - July 26th.
Artists are asked to closely follow the guidelines below. 

About the Poem
Read / Download Carrying the Songs by Moya Cannon from the Hamilton Gallery website via this page link. 
Poem Download   

About Pulchri Studio
Carrying the Songs will open at Pulchri Studio, The Hague, Netherlands in July 2025. (Final Dates TBC)

Visit Pulchri Studio

About the curators
Hamilton Gallery has curated five exhibitions in association with Irish Embassies abroad, involving hundreds of artists. Previous exhibitions, themed on the lives and work of writers Leland Bardwell, Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin and Eva Gore-Booth have been shown in London, Beijing, Dublin, Berlin and New York.  Hamilton Gallery recently curated Europe in the Heart of Ireland, an exhibition featuring work by 100 Irish artists, which launched the Europa Gallery at the new EU Commission Building in Dublin in November 2024.
Bloodroot, an exhibition themed on the poetry of Annemarie Ní Churreáin; curated by Hamilton Gallery in partnership with The Embassy of Ireland The Netherlands and featuring new paintings by 125 Irish women artists was shown at Pulchri Studio in February 2025. 
Visit Hamilton Gallery

Submission Guidelines  

Submissions for Carrying the Songs  can only be made via this website.

Please see the new user tutorial below for instructions on how to submit your art work.

Significant Dates:

Closing Deadline for On-Line Submissions: 1st May 2026
Selection Notifications: 8th May 2026
Deadline for Artwork Delivery to Hamilton Gallery 4 Castle Street, Sligo: Friday 29th May 2026 (Irish Resident Artists)Deadline for Artwork Delivery to Pulchri Studio, The Hague, The Netherlands: Friday 19th June 2026 (Dutch Resident Artists)
Exhibition will run from July 4th - July 26th in the Hardebergzall, Pulchri Studio The Hague, the Netherlands.

Important Notes:

This open call is open to professional artists resident in The Netherlands and on the island of Ireland
Art works must be unframed.
Art works must be themed on Carrying the Songs by Moya Cannon. Art works must be new, original, not previously exhibited. 
Submission for this open call is free of charge. We will request the cost of returning unsold art works once the exhibition schedule is completed if artworks cannot be collected by the artist. Once you have watched the video below on registration and application, please see our General Guidelines (below) and also our Terms and Conditions page before submission.
All inquiries relating to this exhibition must be made to Hamilton Gallery (Island of Ireland) or Pulchri Studio (The Netherlands).
Please do not contact either Embassy of Ireland, The Hague, Moya Cannon or Carcanet Press for information about this submission process.

Note: If you are not already registered with artcall.org you will be able to use your registration to participate in this and many other on-line submission calls.

Guidelines Must be strictly adhered to.
This call is open to artists resident on the island of Ireland and The Netherlands.The call is subject to an adjudication process which will select artworks from the submitted entries for the final exhibition.Submissions must be inspired by or themed on the poem Carrying the Songs by Moya Cannon.Artworks must not have been previously exhibited. Submitted artworks must be available for sale.
Each artist may submit a maximum of 2 artworks in totalAll artworks must be unframed. Dimensions of 30cm X 30cm x 2cm deep must be adhered to. Artworks submitted which do not conform to these specifications cannot be included in the final exhibition even if selected by the adjudicators. While a total of 2 submissions can be made by an artist a maximum of only one artwork per artist can appear in the final exhibition.  
Submitted artworks if selected, must be unframed on canvas or board and be free from all fixtures and findings at the back.  NO GLASS: Clip frames or glass framed artworks will not be accepted.
Wet canvases or works that could cause damage to other artworks will not be accepted under any circumstances. Fragile or delicate work that arrives damaged or unfit for exhibition due to any materials defect will be deemed ineligible for exhibition and not included.

The Submission Process
To ensure quality of communication and efficient processing of the open call, submissions can only be made via this ArtCall.org website. Accordingly you must register / or already be registered with Artcall in order to make submissions.  
We cannot accept submissions made directly or submitted through other digital methods, (email, digital file transfer, in person, etc).
Updates and communication relating to submissions will be made only through this application portal. Artists must check their Art Call user accounts on this website for submission confirmations, adjudication decisions and other information relating to the exhibition. The organisers are not responsible for missed emails and other communications.
Hamilton Gallery is the designated contact point for this Open Call. Please do not contact Embassy of Ireland, Moya Cannon or Carcanet Press in relation to the open call. 
You will be required to upload one  j-peg image for each artwork submitted. J-pegs must be high quality resolution and must be clearly named with the title of the piece.

The Selection / Adjudication Process
The selection of work for  Carrying the Songs  will be undertaken by a panel of selectors nominated by Hamilton Gallery and Pulchri Studio.The names of artists will not be made available to the adjudicating panel. (ie) the selection process will be anonymous.Where an artist has more than one artwork selected the adjudicators will then be asked to chose one piece from this selection.  
The decision of the selectors will be binding and final.
No correspondence or feedback from the selectors will be entered into under any circumstances. 

Other Guidelines

If your work is selected, you will be asked to download and print application labels, one to be attached on the back of the artwork prior to delivery to Hamilton Gallery or Pulchri Studio.
Artists are responsible for delivering and  insuring their own work during transportation.
All works accepted for the exhibition will be delivered to Hamilton Gallery, Sligo, or Pulchri Studio, The Hague, entirely at the artists risk. The organisers  cannot accept liability for loss or damage occurring during travel and delivery of selected artworks.
The organisers will take every precaution to ensure the safety of Artist’s work. However, Hamilton Gallery, Embassy of Ireland The Hague, Netherlands, Pulchri Studio, and any subsequent participating gallery, cannot be held responsible for damage due to loss or theft of any work selected for exhibition.
The exhibition will open in Pulchri Studio, The Hague, Netherlands, and may tour to Hamilton Gallery, Sligo, Ireland. Exact dates are to be confirmed. It is possible the exhibition will be shown in other international venues. Accordingly no work may be removed from the exhibition until the exhibition programme is completed. All artworks will be available for sale through Pulchri Studio for the duration of the exhibition in The Hague. Pulchri will act as selling agent for all artworks throughout this period and will process payments to artists according to their established gallery terms and conditions. 
Following the exhibition in The Hague all artworks will be available for sale through Hamilton Gallery  and via the Hamilton Gallery website throughout 2026 until completion of the exhibition programme. Hamilton Gallery will operate as the selling agent for all artworks throughout this period and will process payments to artists according to their established terms and conditions. 
The organisers reserve the right to use provided images or to photograph work for publicity purposes, in all media including TV, print, websites, social media and any other promotional method.
Work sold during the Open Submission exhibition is subject to 40% commission, which includes 23% VAT, on the selling price. Prices on entry forms should include this commission.
Artists will be paid 6 weeks after the close of the exhibition if the purchaser has paid for them in full.
Unsold artworks must be collected and signed for on a date TBD, from Hamilton Gallery or alternative arrangements can be made with Hamilton Gallery, Sligo, Ireland.