Apply to our open call

We invite artists attentive to the hidden lives of materials to apply for Enchanted Matter, an exhibition co-curated by Qloud Collective and SustainLab RCA. 

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Inspired by Jane Bennett's Vibrant Matter, the exhibition explores enchantment as a way of paying attention - noticing the often unseen relationships between things. In ecosystems shaped through exchange and entanglement, organic, synthetic and waste materials circulate across environments, carrying qualities and consequences far beyond their original context.

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We are looking for works that engage with:

• Circulation — movement of matter and energy

• Transmission — how materials carry and impart qualities across environments

• Afterlives — what happens to materials over time

• Entanglement — connections between systems, bodies and ecologies

 

Material choices and processes are part of the work. Artists are asked to reflect on sourcing, transformation, reuse and the longer life of their materials as part of their application.

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This exhibition marks Sustainlab RCA’s first collaboration beyond the Royal College of Art, initiated through an alumni connection with Qloud Collective, founded by Alumna Dana Goh.

 

Open to all artists and designers beyond RCA

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Open call period: 21 April - 29 May 2026

Exhibition Period: London Design Festival 12 - 20 September 2026

Bloomsbury, London

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*There will be a non-refundable £10 submission fee per work

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