Unsinkable Memories 2: Southampton’s Gallery Grounds Calls for Art That Speaks to the Sea

An independent gallery founded by two Turkish women invites artists to reflect on the Titanic’s legacy — and on the enduring, urgent stories of those who cross oceans out of hope, or necessity.

By TBMag Culture Desk

There is something quietly profound about a gallery founded by immigrants asking artists to think about the sea. Gallery Grounds, the independent contemporary art space at No.1 Vincent’s Walk in Southampton, has launched its second open call of 2026 — and the theme, Unsinkable Memories, is one that resonates far beyond the city’s storied maritime heritage.

Southampton is inseparable from the ocean. It was the departure port of the Titanic on 10 April 1912, and maritime journeys, as the gallery’s curators note, form part of the city’s ‘collective history and identity.’ For its second edition, Unsinkable Memories invites artists to respond to the anniversary of the Titanic’s fateful voyage — but the curatorial scope deliberately reaches much further than the famous ship itself.

The exhibition brief is broad and thoughtfully constructed. Artists are encouraged to engage with maritime culture and nautical traditions, resilience at sea, memories preserved by the ocean, and humanity’s timeless relationship with maritime heritage. Crucially, the call also explicitly welcomes work addressing the human dimensions of sea migration — including refugee journeys and narratives of displacement.

“The sea does not distinguish between the first-class passenger and the person in a dinghy. It keeps all memories equally.”

For the Turkish and broader diaspora community in Britain, the sea carries its own particular weight. Families who trace histories through port cities like Istanbul, Izmir, or Trabzon know the ocean not as abstraction but as lived geography. By placing refugee journeys alongside Titanic remembrance, Gallery Grounds creates a generously expansive frame — one in which personal histories and collective memory coexist with cultural heritage. This is exactly the kind of programming that makes the gallery worth watching.

The open call is open to all disciplines: painting, sculpture, photography, installation, mixed media, and digital art are all welcomed. All exhibited works will be available for sale during the exhibition period, with a 40% commission to the gallery. An entry fee of £15 per artwork is required, contributing directly to administration, promotion, installation, and opening event preparations.

Key dates: the deadline for submissions is 6 April 2026. Accepted artists will be notified by 10 April 2026. The exhibition runs from 17 April to 15 May 2026 at Gallery Grounds, No.1 Vincent’s Walk, Southampton SO14 1JY, curated by Gülçin Pehlivan Tezdiker.

Submissions should include a short biography, an artist statement, high-quality images or detailed descriptions of the proposed work, and information on medium, dimensions, and any special display requirements. Full guidelines are at gallerygrounds.com/unsinkable-memories-2.

From the feminist provocation of For Me, Being A Woman to this expansive meditation on maritime memory and migration, Gallery Grounds is fast establishing itself as one of the most thoughtfully programmed independent spaces in the South of England — and one of the most relevant for a diaspora audience who understands, better than most, what it means to cross water in search of a new home.