The Shape Of Change at MOTE
An Open Call from MOTE – Museum of the Environment
How do we respond to a world that is constantly changing?
From rising sea levels and biodiversity loss to community resilience and sustainable innovation, The Shape of Change invites artists to explore environmental change through their creative practice.
MOTE is creating a museum experience where art, science, research, and public engagement come together. We are looking for artists whose work can inspire curiosity, spark conversation, and help visitors see environmental issues from new perspectives.
Learn more about MOTE’s mission on our About MOTE page.
What is The Shape of Change?
The Shape of Change is an ongoing exhibition programme at MOTE exploring how our environment is shifting and evolving through contemporary art.
Rather than focusing on facts alone, we’re interested in how art can help people connect with complex environmental issues in a more immediate and meaningful way.
We welcome submissions from artists including existing work, new work, exhibition proposals, workshops and artist talks that respond to themes of environmental change.
Opportunities at MOTE
Artists can apply to take part in one or more of the following:
Permanent Exhibition
Selected works may become part of MOTE’s evolving permanent display, helping to tell the story of our environment and the challenges it faces.
Rotating Exhibitions
Take part in themed exhibitions throughout the year, showcasing a wide range of artistic responses to environmental topics.
Artist Talks
Share your ideas, research, and creative process with visitors through public talks and discussions.
Workshops
Lead hands-on creative activities that encourage visitors to explore environmental themes in engaging and accessible ways. Workshops can range from short sessions (1–3 days) to longer programmes, and can be tailored to your practice or developed collaboratively with the MOTE team.
Application for workshops are HERE
Where Art Meets Science
At MOTE, we’re interested in how art and science can sit alongside each other in a really natural way, each offering something different in how we understand the world around us.
Science helps us make sense of environmental change through research and data, but art can take those ideas and turn them into something you feel, experience and connect with in a more immediate way.
Through The Shape of Change, we’re bringing these approaches together and inviting artists to respond to environmental ideas in whatever way fits their practice. That might come from scientific research, ecology, local knowledge, lived experience, activism or simply observing the world closely.
Your work doesn’t need to “look scientific” at all. We’re more interested in how it opens up ideas, sparks curiosity, and helps people think differently about the environment.
Through exhibitions, workshops and talks, we’re hoping to create a space where different ways of knowing the world can meet and inform each other.
Examples of Scientific Themes
- Climate and weather systems
- Biodiversity and conservation
- Marine and freshwater ecosystems
- Pollution and waste
- Sustainable materials and circular economies
- Renewable energy and green technologies
- Ecology and natural processes
- Environmental data and citizen science
- Human impact on the natural world
- Future environmental solutions
Who Can Apply?
We welcome applications from:
- Emerging artists
- Established artists
- Collectives
- Community groups
- Researchers and academics
- Creative practitioners working across any medium
All artistic disciplines are welcome.
Why Get Involved?
✔ Exhibit work in a museum setting
✔ Reach new audiences
✔ Contribute to environmental education
✔ Facilitate workshops and talks
✔ Become part of a growing creative community
✔ Help shape conversations around environmental change
Meet the Curator
Alicia is a recent graduate from the University of Essex and Curator at MOTE.
Passionate about the power of creativity to bring people together, Alicia is helping develop The Shape of Change as a platform for artists, makers, researchers and communities to explore our evolving relationship with people, place and the environment.
She is particularly interested in creating opportunities that combine creativity, education and community engagement, encouraging meaningful conversations and positive change through art.
Ready to Apply?
Whether you’re an artist, maker, photographer, filmmaker, illustrator, designer, researcher, or educator, we’d love to hear from you.