Open Exhibition at the Old Parcels Office

The Old Parcels Office is hosting its sixth OPO OPEN from 6 February to 7 March 2027, the open exhibition that's become a bit of a fixture for the local art scene. It's open to any artist living in the UK, and the format is the same as always: around 90 works are selected by a panel of independent artists, so it's a curated show rather than a random collection. There's no restriction on size or medium, which means you'll see a fair mix of styles and formats hanging together in one space.

If you're thinking of entering, the fees are £25 for up to three works, or £10 for a single one. The gallery takes a 33% commission on sales, and there's a prizes list to go with the show, including a Visitors' Choice award, the Jim Orme Painting Prize, the OPO Trustees Prize, and the Hawthorn Print Prize materials voucher. It's a good way to get your work out there, especially if you're based in the region.

The exhibition itself opens with a private view on Saturday 6 February, from 2pm to 4pm, and then runs through to 7 March. After that, the gallery is open Thursday to Sunday, 11am to 4pm. The venue is the Old Parcels Office Artspace (OPO), in the Station Car Park at Westborough, Scarborough, YO11 1TU — a converted railway building right at the station, so it's easy to find if you're coming in by train.

Since it opened in 2021, the OPO has built a name as the Yorkshire Coast's leading centre for contemporary visual art, and the open exhibition is one of its main annual events. Last year nearly 1,200 people came through the doors, so it's usually a busy one. Whether you're looking to enter or just want to see what's on the walls, it's a solid date for the diary.