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OPEN CALL:
1926 GENERAL STRIKE CENTENARY
Marking 100 years since the 1926 General Strike
In May 1926, Britain came to a standstill. Over 1.7 million workers walked out in support of the coal miners, whose wages and conditions had been pushed to breaking point. For nine extraordinary days, the General Strike brought the country to a halt: trains fell silent, newspapers stopped printing, docks and factories closed, and communities organised in new and inventive ways.
It remains one of the most powerful displays of working-class solidarity in British history and a pivotal moment in the story of labour, power and resistance. One hundred years on, we invite artists, makers, writers, historians, activists and members of the public to respond to this landmark event through a new open call.
TIMELINE OF EVENTS
Enter by midnight on Sunday 21 June 2026.
We will begin posting materials out to those who have already entered the open call from Monday 25th May 2026.
Full completed artwork must be sent back to us by Friday 7th August 2026.
Artists through to exhibition will be notified by Friday 14th August 2026.
‘The General Strike Centenary Exhibition’ opens Thursday 27th August 2026 at Nicholas Cliff, Scarborough.
How to Take Part
As with our previous open calls, competitions and exhibitions that mark great historical events, we're asking artists to work on materials that are easy to mail to us. Better still, we will post the materials to you. You then create your artwork and then post it back to us.
You can submit work on one of two surfaces:
Postcard – £15 per entry (£5 for each additional entry).
Newsprint – £25 per entry (You can enter as many times as you like, but it remains £25 for any additional entry). Scroll down to the bottom of the screen to see an example of how we prepare the newsprint as well as examples of completed artworks on newsprint.
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The postcard option measures 10.5cm x 14.8cm and is quality Winsor & Newton 300gsm watercolour paper.
It is up to you what media you use to create your artworks. Please ensure all materials are secure, dry and do not protrude from the surface by more than 1 inch. Please don't use any organic materials that will decay, grow or become putrid.
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The newsprint option is comprised of four pieces of blank newsprint. It is taped together (by us) and measures 102cm x 76cm. The taped-together newsprint surface arrives folded and rolled in a cardboard tube.
Newsprint is fragile which is a drawback but this is also the reason why it is beautiful and precious. You will have one chance to get your artwork right, so prep well! Newsprint will crinkle and warp when you add materials such as acrylic and ink, but that's ok. Again, that's the beauty of it. Oil paint can be used on newsprint. The oil seeps out into a stain, but again, this is gorgeous. If you love materials like we do, then you'll be for accident and mishap. Other materials that work well on newsprint are oil pastels, pencil crayons and charcoal. If it tears, you can always tape it up on the back, or let it be! The fragility and decay is a big part of it. Whatever you choose to do, it must be folded, rolled back up, put in the tube it came from and sent back to us. With this in mind it would be wise not to have lots of collage elements that make it difficult to roll. We think the folding and rolling does beautiful things to the newsprint, so don't be put off. Embrace this material for what it is. Please do not substitute the newsprint we send you for anything else. But please do contact us if you have any questions.
All work must be sent back to us. Each work is photographed and will be available to view on our website.
Up to 20 works on postcard and up to 20 works on newsprint will get through to exhibition stage. Read on for more details about the exhibition.
Why Participate?
This is an opportunity to engage with a defining moment in British social history through your own practice. Whether you explore the solidarity of the strikers, the role of the media, the impact on families and communities, questions of class and power, or the strike’s relevance to today’s struggles, your voice and interpretation matter.
The General Strike of 1926 was as much about communication as it was about labour: homemade news-sheets, flying pickets, and word-of-mouth kept the movement alive when official channels were shut down.
By working directly onto postcard and newsprint surfaces, we echo that spirit of grassroots expression and distributed creativity.
Solidarity. We need your help.
Another reason to take part is to help us complete the work on our gallery space - Nicholas Cliff, which is situated next to the iconic Grand Hotel in Scarborough.
Our various projects have always been about a direct appeal to the public. Not in a charity sort of way, but in the way we put genuinely inclusive projects together with broad appeal for everyone. This is borne out in the way people continue to sign up to our services - be they classes, courses, workshops, retreats, 'staycations', or indeed, projects like this one.
We have never sought after, nor received government funding of any kind. We like it this way. It means we are in charge of what we do with no interference from bureaucrats and 'suits'. We answer only to the people that pay our wages, and that's you.
So yes, the project and the price of entry, will go toward building what will be a beautiful new gallery in Scarborough. This gallery will be dedicated to - mostly - challenging painting, and not seaside fare. Nicholas Cliff is not going to be a seaside gallery.
The fruit of this OPEN CALL - selected from your entries - will be the inaugural exhibition at Nicholas Cliff. We are asking you to help complete what we have already started.
Timeline
Enter this open call by midnight on Sunday 21st June 2026.
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We will begin posting materials out to those who have already entered the open call from Monday 25th May 2026.
Full completed artwork must be received by Friday 7th August 2026.
Successful artists will be notified by Friday 14th August 2026.
Exhibition opens Thursday 27th August 2026 at Nicholas Cliff, Scarborough.
Guidelines and exact deadlines will be provided with your materials.
Up to 20 postcards and up to 20 newsprint entries will be selected for exhibition. All entries will be available to view online.
This open call is open to everyone – professional artists and complete beginners alike. Whether your response is personal, political, historical or playful - we want to see it. No age limit applies.
A winner will be selected from the two categories. Both winners will receive a £500 cash prize. Other prizes will be announced closer to the exhibition.
The judges will include Wendy Barratt, winner of the Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year 2023.
We will treat all artworks with the utmost care and respect; however, we would like to make it clear that we will not be held responsible for any lost or damaged works.
Works can be returned to you after exhibition. Additional fees apply.
Ready to take part?
Sign up via the form below to receive your chosen surface(s).
Don't forget! We post out the materials to you. You then post them back.
The Judges
An example of how we prepare the newsprint you will receive in the post.
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