Nowadays, it’s not always easy to be creative in the UK, especially if you don’t have the money or family connections for the strongest possible head start. Luckily, our city’s ‘do-it-yourself’ culture has given rise to various creative opportunities, competitions, training projects, and free showcases. Here’s ten of the best in Nottingham, which if you're a creative person might be just what you were looking for…
Side Door Social
Founded by Si Beales and Bo Brindle, Side Door Social provides an opportunity for creatives of all stripes to showcase their work. It happens on a Wednesday, every other month, at The People’s Hall on Heathcoat Street, which is the historic former site of the original Nottingham School of Design. It doesn’t matter what your creative discipline is – Bo and Si welcome all participants, and particularly look for ‘works in progress’ to showcase. The last instalment was in July, and had a cosy, welcoming atmosphere that we can attest to. If you’re interested in submitting your work for the September instalment, follow Side Door Social on Instagram, or email them at hello@sidedoor.studio.
Read more about Sidedoor Social in our recent article!
Young Creative Awards
First established in 2009, the Young Creative Awards is a registered Nottingham charity which each year celebrates the talents of young people in our city. The 2027 awards open on 17 November, and have ten categories to submit to, including creative writing, dance, fashion film, music, and several others. There are generally three age brackets for the awards given out, and throughout its seventeen years the charity has given out more than 400 awards, encompassing cash prizes, showcase and promotion opportunities, mentoring, work placements, and training. A scheme that any young person in Notts with creative ambitions should be aware of.
NAE Open
An annual exhibition at Hyson Green gallery New Art Exchange, which working artists in our city should know about. Each year, they invite submissions from Nottinghamshire-based or UK ‘Global Ethnic Majority’ artists (a term they use to describe people who are Black, Asian, Brown, dual heritage, Indigenous to the global south) whose work will be in with a chance of being showcased next summer. Lots of mediums are accepted from paintings, print, and installation, to photography, textiles, and sculpture. Successful submitters will also be considered for prizes, like solo exhibitions, residencies, and more. The 2026 exhibition closes on 17 Sept, and deadlines for the 2027 instalment will most likely close in December.
Circle of Light
A programme for young Notts musicians, which has been running since 2019. Those who sing and/or play instruments, aged 16-25, of all experience levels, in our city are invited to local arts hub Fisher Gate Point, which is a short walk from the Motorpoint Arena – young people going through mental or physical health challenges are particularly welcomed to apply. Across two to three weeks in August, they use the venue as a base for recording a collaborative album together, which is then released on world mental health day. There’s also the chance to get Rockschool Ltd. accredited music qualifications, and even tour the UK, which the team do with help of charity Youth Music.
Short Stack
Short Stack Festival is a flagship event at Broadway Cinema on Broad Street, epitomising their support for cinematic arts in the Nottingham area. Established in 2013, it’s a bi-annual short film festival that invites filmmaking talent from across the Midlands to submit their work for showcase in front of a friendly and supportive audience. Past instalments have seen a diverse range of works on show: documentaries, animations, music videos – they’re all fair game. It’s also a welcoming opportunity for local filmmakers to network with others in their field. There’s one more instalment happening this year, so keep an eye on the Short Stack social media for updates.
Aurora Prize
A competition for writing in short fiction and poetry, created by arts organisation Writing East Midlands, reopening in October 2026! The best 25 submissions in each category are digitally published in the longlist, while the best ten are published in the shortlist. Third prize in a category entails a ticket to the 2027 Writers’ Conference, hosted by Writing East Midlands, second prize entails £150, and first prize awards £500, feedback from a leading literary agent, and a collaborative relationship with the Society of Authors. There’s also a regional prize of £100 for specifically East Midlands writers in each category. The company runs lots of other supportive schemes for wordsmiths in Nottinghamshire, so check out their website to know more.
The Carousel Tapes
A creative production training programme, run at Hockley music and creative coworking venue The Carousel, with support from Arts Council England. Martin Rayment and Ben Kay, who founded The Carousel, will across two years invite up to thirty early career Nottingham creatives, interested in live music, to join them in delivering live music events, with paid opportunities involved, and the chance to learn about marketing, video documentation, and live sound in the meantime. The very first Carousel Tapes gig happened in August and more instalments will happen across Autumn and into Spring next year. Follow The Carousel on social media for more information on how to apply…
Acoustic Rooms
There’s all kinds of open mic nights across Nottingham, in pubs, bars, and gig venues of all sizes. We’d recommend that any avid songwriters in Notts visit them to showcase their skills, make friends, and gain creative confidence. It’s Acoustic Rooms, however, which happens every week at Rescue Rooms on Goldsmith Street, that arguably has the most mythicness surrounding it. Their list of previous performers read as a who’s who of music – pop heavyweights like Dua Lipa, George Ezra, and Myles Smith have graced the stage, plus other well-known, Nottingham-associated artists like Jake Bugg, Amber Run, and Eyre Llew.
Mansfield Town Film Festival
A festival championing filmmakers from underrepresented and disadvantaged backgrounds. They accept submissions from people across the world, but filmmakers in Nottinghamshire are particularly welcomed, as their work could be considered for the ‘local voices’ award – one of the festival’s eighteen award categories. This year’s event will happen at the end of this month, so head along, and you may be inspired to submit next year. And last, but not least, all films showcased at the festival are considered for entry to the British Short Film Awards – not bad, ay? Read more about the occasion in our recent interview...
mansfieldtownfilmfestival.co.uk
Nottingham Poetry Festival
A city-wide celebration of the written word, which happens every June, and proudly serves as one of Nottingham’s most accessible opportunities to get your creative voice out there. Created in 2015 by poet Henry Normal and grassroots arts entrepreneur Craig Chettle, the ten-day-long festival has welcomed well known headline poets, like Carol Anne Duffy and Brian Bilston, while sourcing events pitches from the public. The result each year is pretty magical – you might wander into a humble coffee shop, or pub, and unexpectedly find yourself watching a poetry and music jam or solo performance. If you think that, next year, you would do a good job at adding to that magic with your own event, keep an eye on the festival website…
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