Now in its second year, ‘Unconsumed’ aims to showcase of our region’s creatives as an inclusive, artist-run event.

With generous funding from Norfolk Contemporary Art Society and Norfolk County Council we are delighted to announce the return of our exhibition ‘Unconsumed II’ to The Shoe Factory Social Club in Norwich. Curated by Eleanor Rodwell and Georgia Green, this latest exhibition will celebrate 100 artists with a strong connection to East Anglia.

Our open-call for artist is currently live. Deadline for applications 7th May

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Exhibition dates & opening times:

Exhibition week 7th-15th June 2024

Opening night: Friday 7th June 5-9pm.
With plenty of refreshments from our sponsors and live performances, free entry and all are welcome! The first hour of the opening night will be masked and limited to 50 people to allow those who are shielding or require a quieter environment to view the exhibition. Masks will be available at the entrance for free.

Open Daily: Sunday 9th to Thursday 13th June 12-6pm every day, & Saturday 15th June 12-6pm.

Late opening hours: Saturday 8th June 3-7pm & Friday 14th June 4-8pm.

The first hour of the these opening times will be masked and limited to 50 people to allow those who are shielding or require a quieter environment to view the exhibition. Masks will be available at the entrance for free.

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A note on venue accessibility:

The ground floor is wheelchair accessible, with step free access from the pavement. The flooring inside is concrete and level, but may have small uneven patches. You can see a 360 degree view of the space here. Upstairs is not wheelchair accessible. There is no lift. There are approximately 22 stairs to the second floor.

Toilets: Unfortunately, the venue does not have suitable wheelchair accessible toilets. We are working to find a solution to this. There are two disabled toilets in other buildings nearby, one at the Hub, and one in a Church opposite (both 100-200m away). We know this doesn’t create an accessible space for many people. Further details will follow once we review these toilets in person to provide clear information about how they are designed. The venue has temporary gendered toilets on the ground floor. They are not step free, there are two steps to enter them. The toilets will be gender neutral for the exhibition.

Seats: There will be seating throughout the exhibition and a quieter area for people to sit in.

Covid Safety: We know many immunocompromised and disabled people are still shielding and are very isolated. There will be masked and quiet hours of the exhibition with a capacity limited to 50 people. Details will follow. Masks will be available at the entrance, the door will be open for ventilation. All attendees are encouraged to test regularly and wear a mask to keep others safe. The first hour of the opening night (5-6pm) on Friday 7th June will be masked and limited to 50 people.

Car Parking: There is parking immediately outside, which needs to be paid for on a meter. There are free disabled parking bays at the Church 200m away.

Public Transport: The nearest Bus Stop is on St Crispins Road, a 6 minute walk away with buses going towards NR3, Hellesdon, Alysham. Buses from Norwich Train Station take 14-20 minutes and stop on Magdalen Street at Anglia Square, Stop C, which is an 8-10 minute walk away.

Taxis: ABC Taxis charge £7 from the train station. They have an App you can download to book, search for ‘ABC Taxis’ in your App Store. Alternatively, you can call 01603 666333 to book.

Full Address: The Shoe Factory Social Club, St. Mary’s Works - St. Mary’s Plain, Norwich, NR3 3AF

If you have any queries regarding accessibility please email us at unconsumed.theshoefactory@gmail.com

Key Details

There is no submission fee or theme for ‘Unconsumed II’.

We are taking submissions in any medium. Up to three artworks will be accepted per artist for the exhibition. We welcome everyone including amateurs, students, semi-professionals and/or graduates, professional or established artists.

Artists who have exhibited with us previously are welcome and encouraged to submit new work for this second exhibition.

This open-call is for artists who live/practice in East Anglia, or with a strong connection to the area (eg. raised here, has lived here for an extended period of time in the past). For this brief East Anglia includes Cambridgeshire as well as Suffolk and Norfolk.

The exhibition will take place in Norwich at The Shoe Factory Social Club. We have two floors, and it is a big building! We’re eager for large pieces in order to use this space well. Examples of the artworks installed in the space during our previous exhibition can be found on this website.

There is a £20 participation fee for each successful exhibitor. This fee will go directly into supporting the promotional aspects of our event, as well as the hire of a professional videographer and photographer to document the exhibition. All of our participating artists will have access to this documentation during and after the show. Professional documentation from our previous ‘Unconsumed’ exhibition can be found on this website.

We will be using our two grants and the money raised by participation fees to fund paid, artist-run workshops open to the public for free during the exhibition. There will be an opportunity to apply to run one of these workshops during the application process.

We will take a 10% cut of any sales made during the exhibition. This will cover our transaction fees, and go towards supporting future ‘Unconsumed’ exhibitions.

There will be a shop space where artists are free to sell work, we will be sending a call-out for shop submissions once we have selected our final exhibitors.

The exhibition will be free to visit!

We welcome and appreciate any offer to help us install and invigilate the show.

The open-call selection panel consists of the co-curators Georgia Green and Eleanor Rodwell, alongside three independent judges working as professionals within East Anglia’s art scene.

Key Dates

Deadline for submissions: Tuesday 7th May 2024 (up to 11:59pm)
Selection results announced: Sunday 12th May

Delivery & collection dates:
In-person delivery of selected work/s: Monday 3rd or Tuesday 4th June (10:30am-8pm).

In-person collection of unsold work/s: Saturday 15th June (8-9pm), Sunday 16th June (11am-4pm) or Monday 17th June (11am-6pm).

In-person delivery/collection address: The Shoe Factory Social Club, St. Mary’s Works - St. Mary’s Plain, Norwich, NR3 3AF

Postal Deliveries & Returns: If you are selected for the exhibition but you are unable to delivery and/or collect your work in-person we will accept and return work via tracked delivery to our personal address. This will be something you will need to arrange with us in advance of the show. There will be a £10 admin fee to cover our time transporting the work to Norwich ourselves. As our address is in rural Norfolk and our car is very small, we advise in-person delivery for larger works. We will charge the same amount (£10) should you wish to have your work shipped back to you.

Opening Night: Friday 7th June 5-9pm With plenty of refreshments from our sponsors and live performances, free entry and all are welcome! The first hour of the opening night will be masked and limited to 50 people to allow those who are shielding or require a quieter environment to view the exhibition. Masks will be available at the entrance for free.

Exhibition Opening Times: Saturday 8th - Saturday 15th June Open daily from Sunday 9th to Thursday 13th June 12-6pm, & Saturday 15th June 12-6pm. Late opening hours are Saturday 8th June 3-7pm & Friday 14th June 4-8pm. The pop-up shop will also be available and selling work during these opening hours. The first hour of the these opening times will be masked and limited to 50 people to allow those who are shielding or require a quieter environment to view the exhibition. Masks will be available at the entrance for free.

Any questions? Send us an email - unconsumed.theshoefactory@gmail.com