LIFE WITH WATER | SSA AT AN TOBAR
The SSA is pleased to be collaborating with An Tobar, Isle of Mull for the first time on a new exhibition with the theme of ‘Life With Water’.
Life With Water: A wave of creativity in response to the Ocean
The sea is not just scenery. It is memory, myth, and movement and the source of all life.
It is the pulse beneath our islands, the force that carves our cliffs, the salt in our stories.
On the Hebridean Isle of Mull, where land and water evaporate into one another, we gather to create, to question, to reimagine.
Life With Water is a call to witness and to wonder at the depth of our love for the sea. In response to UN Sustainable Development Goal 14: Life Below Water, artists converge to explore the vast, fragile world beneath the waves.
The ocean cradles life and drowns cities. It has fed us, carried us, connected us since before humans were humans. Yet, it suffers—overfished, polluted, acidified, dissolving at the edges. What is the role of the artist in this tide of change?
Through painting, sculpture, installation, digital media, and interdisciplinary works, Life With Water invites artists to immerse themselves in imagining a different future filled with the quiet and wild poetry of the sea.
Anchored at An Tobar (Gaelic for The Well), a creative sanctuary shaped by the Atlantic, this gathering places Mull at the heart of a global conversation—where art meets urgency, where creation becomes conservation, where the sea itself is invited to speak.
The exhibition will take place between 18 August – 24 October 2025 and will include work by invited artist Kyra Clegg alongside further works from SSA Professional Artist Members selected from this open call.
30 X 30
We are pleased to also be offering an opportunity for the wider SSA Membership (Professional, Artist, Graduate, Student) to submit work to an accompanying online 30 x 30 exhibition along the same theme, of which a selection of works will be available physically in the An Tobar shop. Further details of the 30 x 30 open call will be announced soon.
ABOUT AN TOBAR
An Tobar and Mull Theatre is a multi-artform creative hub on the Hebridean island of Mull. We are a place for joining in, with a welcoming and joyous heart. We tell stories that matter and we aspire to be an island voice on a national stage in an international conversation.
We support art of all kinds for people of all kinds. Our aim is for our audiences to leave feeling nourished, connected and understood. We value fun, openness, bravery and generosity and aim for innovation in a sustainable way.
The art we make is a beacon; a shining light guiding the way back to Mull.
HOW TO APPLY
All entries must be made through Zealous HERE by the stated deadline.
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- Submissions are open to all SSA Professional Members only.
- All work submitted must be no larger than 140 x 200cm
- Work submitted may be in most media including but not limited to painting, drawing, original prints, sculpture, photography, artist books, textiles and moving image.
- All 2D works must be framed with mirror plates attached. 3D works must be displayed on a plinth supplied by the artist. All technical equipment must be supplied with your work where applicable.
- All artwork selected for exhibition must be retained for the duration of the exhibition and cannot be returned at any time during the exhibition period.
- All submitted work must be for sale. A commission of 35% will be deducted from all sales, with all artists receiving 65% commission. Please include this in your sale price.
- Unless part of a diptych/triptych, each artwork must have it’s own submission.
- Please ensure all artwork details are correct as these will be used for labels.
- Image files should be JPG or PNG and no more than 3MB large. If you are having problems uploading your images please use image-editing software to resize your image to approximately 1600 pixels wide and then save as a new file.
- Save your image files with the title of your artwork as the file name, eg Untitled1.jpg. Do not include invalid characters such as ‘ ” & % * ( ) < > / ~ # + =
>>APPLY HERE<<
ARTWORK DELIVERY & COLLECTION
SSA will arrange a central location in Glasgow for group transport drop-off and return of unsold work. Further details and timings will be communicated upon selection.
Artists are also invited to deliver their works directly to An Tobar between Monday 4 – Friday 8 August.
Delivery: In person delivery: 4-8 August 2025 / Glasgow drop-off date to follow.
Collection of unsold work: Week beginning Monday 27 October / Glasgow collection date to follow.
An Tobar, Argyll Terrace, Tobermory PA75 6PB View Map
KEY DATES
Online Submissions open: Friday 4 April 2025, 12 noon
Online Submissions close: Monday 19 May 2025, 12 noon
Selection notification: by Friday 6 June 2025
Artwork Delivery: See above
Exhibition Dates: 18 August – 24 October 2025
Private View: Saturday 16 August 2025
ENTRY FEES
Professional Members
Maximum no. of submissions: 2
£FREE