The Fold Open Call

Virtual exhibition with Virga Gallery, coming in September 2026.

CALL FOR ENTRIES

Online Exhibition

Virga Gallery

30 September 2026 – 31 January 2027

[c]CC Art School, in collaboration with Virga Gallery, invites entries for an international virtual exhibition launching 30 September 2026. Curated by Dr Jane Boyer, this exhibition will inaugurate Virga’s exhibition programme. Virga Gallery is a virtual exhibition space hosting curated gallery environments for international group exhibitions and thematic collections.

Exhibition Prompt

The Fold

This exhibition is inspired by the philosophical framework of Gilles Deleuze, particularly his essay The Fold, and the wider thinking that emerges from his engagement with Leibniz, Baroque architecture, interiority, multiplicity, and the continuous surface of experience.

The Fold is not merely a visual motif. It is a condition.

For Deleuze, The Fold describes:

interior and exterior as continuous rather than opposed.
matter and thought as endlessly inflecting one another.
subjectivity as layered, pleated, and in process.
the world as something that bends, curves, gathers and disperses.

The Fold is not a binary. It is not either/or. It is both/and, and more. It suggests:

concealment and revelation
compression and expansion
repetition with variation
the baroque spiral
the architectural crease
the psychological interior
the digital screen as layered surface
time folding back on itself
memory as pleated matter
bodies as sites of inflection
politics as pressure and counter-pressure
visibility and invisibility
thresholds, veils, skins, membranes

The Fold might be literal.
It might be conceptual.
It might be structural.
It might be spatial.
It might be temporal.

We are interested in works that consider bending, inflection, curvature, interiority, multiplicity, pressure, density, concealment, permeability, and transformation. This prompt is intentionally expansive. Artists are encouraged to interpret freely and rigorously.

Eligibility

Open to visual artists 18 years or older.
All disciplines within visual practice are welcome.
International submissions are encouraged.
Only AI imagery generated within arts based research is allowed.

Submission Requirements

1 image only per entry, but you may enter as many times as you like.
JPEG files only: 2400px on the longest side and 72 dpi resolution.
File name should look like this: FOLD_[artist name]_[artwork title].
Please include this information in your email entry:
- Artist Name
- Pronouns (if desired)
- Title
- Date
- Medium
A short statement (max 200 words) explaining how the work relates to The Fold theme. If you are submitting AI images, please include how the images are related to arts based research.
Send entry, including a screenshot of [cloud] Shop entry payment, via email to virga_info@virgagallery.net with the subject title: ‘The Fold Entry’.
Entry fee is £5, or equivalent currency exchange.

Purchase your entry

From these submissions, the curator will select works to shape the exhibition narrative and digital spatial configuration. Please include all the information above to ensure your entry is eligible.

Key Dates

Submission deadline: 30 July 2026
Notification of curation decisions: Late August 2026
Exhibition launch: 30 September 2026
Exhibition duration: 1 October 2026 – 31 January 2027

Public Programme

The exhibition will include:

A virtual launch event.
Online symposium exploring contemporary artistic practice through philosophical frameworks.
Recorded conversations and discursive contributions from participating artists.

Why This Matters

Virga Gallery is conceived as an international, discursive, and critically engaged platform for artists working across boundaries. This inaugural collaboration with [c]CC Art School affirms our commitment to collective visibility, shared inquiry, and intellectual generosity.

The Fold is not a closed concept. It is a living one.
We invite you to bend it.

Community Ethics

No hateful, abusive, pornographic, or other imagery deemed offensive.