City Alleyways:
Open Calls

Hive Curates and Eastern City BID invite artists to submit Expressions of Interest for a new series of commissions that form part of an ambitious art and lighting strategy for Eastern City’s historic alleyways.

The project focuses on four key historic alleyways (St Michael’s Alley, Castle Court, Bengal Court and St Peter’s Alley), creating a cohesive trail of light-based artworks that will revitalise these passageways and strengthen the sense of arrival at the key gateways that connect them.

Designed to provoke curiosity, encourage discovery and celebrate the area’s architectural and cultural heritage, the project aims to transform the alleyways into an atmospheric and safer network of illuminated public spaces. Through artist‑led interventions, the trail will highlight the character, stories and textures embedded in Eastern City’s built environment, offering residents, workers and visitors a fresh way to experience the Eastern City.

Artists working with light, projection, pattern, typography or site‑responsive visual storytelling are encouraged to submit an Expression of Interest for consideration to one or multiple commissions.

We are particularly interested in proposals that incorporate elements of community engagement; this could be in the form of workshops, storytelling walks, skill-sharing activities and co-creation. We welcome applications from artists from the global majority, artists from working class backgrounds, those who identify as LGBTQ+, neurodiverse and disabled artists.

The 4 commissions are:

(please note that different commissions have different application deadlines)