Surface is pleased to welcome Under the Rug by second year Fine Art students from Nottingham Trent University.

Under the Rug is an exhibition produced by ten collectives, formed by second-year Fine Art students. Developed through an experimental residency at Surface, each group has explored their own way of working together, testing the possibilities of collaboration. As an exhibition, it explores themes and issues that not only affect our everyday lives but also globally, some of which are often overlooked or are swept “under the rug.”

This February sees the return of the annual Surface collaboration with Nottingham Trent University with the 15th NTU Festival: Thought Forms.

Following the success of last year's festival, The Push and the Pull, this year's selected Fine Art students will use a critical and reflective approach to curate group exhibitions in response to the festival's theme Thought Forms. They will reflect on ideas such as the relationship between the real and the imaginary.

Surface is delighted to welcome back the International Postcard Show. This vibrant, long-running exhibition is a highly popular feature of our calendar and includes hundreds of original artworks from established and aspiring artists from all over the world. All submissions are included, from painting and print through to textiles and illustration, creating a wonderfully eclectic mix of artwork.

The Surface annual volunteer show makes a loud return with Interchange: In Voluntary Voices. Showcasing an exciting array of artworks from creatives within the gallery, distinct expressions feature throughout the exhibition. Join us for this end-of-year show, and a noisy celebration of creative dialogue and diversity.

Surface is delighted to announce the exhibition for our fifteenth East Midlands Graduate Project, EM25: Intervals.

Surface welcomes Untergang, an exhibition by Nigel Addison and Damien McGinley, featuring a range of mixed media artworks. Hard edges of stone, architecture, man and machine merge into blended essences. Constantly changing associations are released as the observer is pulled into a process of continuous transformation, a melting pot of relationships with past, present, and future landscapes.

Three committed painters present a selection of their recent work. Each artist explores a variety of subject matter, engaging with the application of paint and colour, and what it can represent in the modern world.

An exhibition and poem by Reuban Worthington-Warnell, winner of the coveted Loovre prize for last year’s Street Art Festival.

Return of the most anarchic, the most spectacular show in town: the Nottingham Street Art Festival!

June blossoms with work from a group of artists whose sensory antennae are picking up the everyday, the ritualised, the mysterious, the chance poetic encounter. Join us for this year’s studio artist show, and tune in to the creative rhythms of Encounters

Shadows of Colonisation invites you to reflect upon themes of power, identity, and memory. The exhibition explores colonisation from a range of perspectives in different photographic styles to present colonialism in a visually striking and thought-provoking way.

The Street Art Festival celebrates and supports Nottingham’s thriving alternative art scene, showcasing some of today’s best local, national, and international street art. Up to six pieces can be submitted per person and all work will be hung salon style, packed from floor to ceiling. All submissions will be displayed as long as you can get them through the door.

Surface is now accepting submissions for our fourteenth East Midlands Graduate Project: EM25: Nottingham’s only graduate residency. This opportunity supports Fine Art graduates from across the region by offering a free residency and exhibition in an independent contemporary art space to kick-start the transition from university to professional art world.

Surface is delighted to present Look Away or Close Your Eyes, the culmination of work from the 2025 graduating BA Photography degree students at Nottingham Trent University.

Diary or a Creative Mess-Mum Edition follows a period in McMillan's life just after graduating where she used her creative talent for illustrations and writing to alleviate her mental health. The Mum Edition came into effect after the birth of her child when she was suffering from postnatal depression, and trying to preserve her sense of self.

Surface is delighted to welcome first year NTU Fine Art students, and a brief exhibition entitled Delicate Fortuity. As you explore the exhibition and its unique elements, consider the fortuitous nature and the individuality that collides to create a varied, developed, and distinctive collection.

Surface is pleased to welcome Picky Bits, an exhibition produced by eight collectives, and formed by second-year Fine Art students. Developed through an experimental residency at Surface, each group has explored its own way of working  together, testing the possibilities of collaboration as both method and idea

Return of the annual Surface collaboration with Nottingham Trent University, and the 14th NTU Festival: The Push and the Pull. This year, four selected group exhibitions respond to the theme by exploring ideas such as closeness and distance, belonging and not belonging, the pull of childhood nostalgia and push of adult expectations.

Surface is delighted to welcome Zillah Farey, winner of the coveted People’s Prize for last year’s International Postcard Show, and an exhibition entitled, Lazurite.

Dave’s World presents an autobiographical voyage. The topics explored are direct; the artworks are engaging, playful, accessible. The work speaks for itself. Visit and explore the visual landscape of Dave’s World, you will not be disappointed—more importantly, you may be inspired.   

Surface is delighted to welcome back the International Postcard Show. This vibrant, long-running exhibition is a highly popular feature of our calendar and includes hundreds of original artworks from established and aspiring artists from all over the world. All submissions are included, from painting and print through to textiles and illustration, creating a wonderfully eclectic mix of artwork.

Surface is delighted to present our Derby Print Open 2024 winner, Sue Clegg, and her solo exhibition Brain Dump in La Loovre.

Chaz Howkins has been creating daily self-portraits every day since January 1st 2021. 730 Daily Self-Portraits represents the first two years of this ongoing project. Howkins now intends to continue creating a self-portrait every day for as long as they are able :)

Silver Surface: Volunteer Show

Surface is delighted to present Silver Surface, our annual volunteer show, which this year commemorates the gallery’s 25th anniversary.

Surface invites artists from across the world to participate in our annual International Postcard Show. All submissions will be included in this vibrant and hugely popular exhibition. The International Postcard Show will feature hundreds of original creations in an array of different media by established and aspiring artists from all over the world.

Surface is excited to announce the exhibition for our fourteenth East Midlands Graduate Project, EM24: Escape Simplicity.

Surface is proud to present Timestamp, a group exhibition that brings together the work of five distinctive artists. Explore how their artworks interact, discover unexpected connections, and reflect on the impact of their gathering in Nottingham.

A spectacular range of interpretations and reflections on the intricacies of human experience: figurative paintings, line drawings, bold dioramas and pop-art prints, encounter futuristic landscapes and curios from the Ersatz Museum, while Maximillion descends into realm of dreams to further extend the scope of our visual experience.