Scrumping apples
A recent visit to Tate Britain inspired this inaugural online exhibition. Smitten by the work of Hurvin Anderson, whose work often moves between memory and history, belonging and estrangement, his paintings resonate deeply with our own liminal sense of being.
In his painting, Scrumping, Anderson revisits a childhood memory of his brother stealing apples from a local orchard (a term we were unfamiliar with- but now love). The painting overlays an apple tree onto the fading image of a mango tree, merging both Anderson’s Caribbean and British landscapes into one. The figure gathering fruit becomes a symbol of someone suspended between places, cultures, and ideas of home.
This exhibition brings together artists whose practices emerge from similar experiences of movement, migration, and re-rooting. It considers what it means to belong to more than one place at once; to carry memories of one landscape while existing in another. The works reflect on departure and return, inherited histories, and the fragile architecture of ‘home’. They ask whether home is a fixed location or something continually assembled through memory and care.
Anderson has described the act of scrumping as formative: children climbing trees, making their own rules, working with what was available to them. There is something quietly radical in this. It suggests resourcefulness, self-determination, and the desire to claim space within systems that were not built for you. These ideas align with the ethos of Small Works as we support artists who continue to make work despite financial, personal, and systemic pressures. Our guiding principle—do what you can, work with what you've got—echoes the spirit of scrumping itself.
Scrumping Apples is dedicated to artists who have crossed borders, built homes in unfamiliar places, and continue to make work through uncertainty. It is also a reflection on artistic persistence: holding on to the early impulses that first compelled us to create while remaining open to transformation. Like Anderson's figures moving between continents and histories, the artists in this exhibition occupy spaces of transition. Their works remind us that identity is not fixed but continually negotiated, shaped through movement, memory, and imagination.
This is the first of a new series of online exhibitions, each centred around a theme led by a guest curator. These exhibitions will create new opportunities for artists to share their work, connect with wider audiences, and contribute towards a growing ecosystem of mutual support. Working with the guest curator, we will help review submissions and select the artists, with one artist selected to receive the Artist Spotlight Award. This is an exciting development in which one artist will receive not only a £250 award but also a dedicated feature on the Small Works website and additional promotion across our platforms.
The exhibition will remain online for three months, providing artists with sustained visibility. Artists will also have the option to make their work available for sale throughout the duration of the show.
We will announce the Guest Curator shortly. Check back soon, or follow us on Instagram and Substack.
Submission Guidelines
This is an online exhibition open to international artists over the age of 18 and at any stage of their career.
Only one artwork submission per artist is allowed.
There is a £5 submission fee, which helps cover administrative and curatorial fees, as well as contributes towards the Artist Spotlight and Community Art Fund Awards.
We are accepting original, unique, unframed works, including painting, drawing, sculpture, printmaking, and mixed media, as well as audio and video work. We will not accept photography, digital drawing, digital prints, or editions.
If photography is a part of a larger process, list it as mixed media and give more details in the artwork description.
There is no size restriction, but bear in mind that if you’re offering your work for sale, you are responsible for shipping. While at the buyer's cost, we still strongly advise you to consider what is manageable for yourself.
Deadline to submit is midnight (BST), 12 July 2026.
Artists have the option to offer their work for sale, with 20% commission going towards Small Works CIC.
In the case of sales, artists are responsible for P&P, and we will liaise with you on all inquiries. Artists acknowledge that work is sent at their own risk, and while Small Works CIC will take the utmost care of promoting work and communicating with buyers, ultimately, we are not liable for missing or damaged work due to shipping or other unforeseen circumstances.
Artists agree that Small Works CIC shall have the non-exclusive, unlimited right to reproduce their artwork in the advertising and promotion of the exhibition, including on our website, via printed promotion, and/or through third-party websites or applications (such as Instagram and Substack).
All other rights to the artwork are reserved by the artist. The artist retains copyright to their work.
The exhibition will launch on 27th July 2026 and run to 25th October 2026.
Artists also agree to receive updates via the Small Works newsletter (via Substack), but can opt out anytime.
Any questions can be sent to: smallworksopencall@gmail.com