Soho Solos

Key Takeaways

• Four solo shows spotlight diverse contemporary art practices
• Artists selected from over 2,000 Soho Open entries
• Gallery profits fund Soho social housing maintenance
• Exhibitions explore everyday objects and LGBTQ+ histories
• Submissions open for 2026 Soho Open until September 3

Summary

Great Pulteney Street Gallery hosts "Soho Solos" from June 10‑28, 2026, featuring four solo exhibitions by Soho Open prize winners Mandy Hudson, James Robert Morrison, Conor Quinn and Alice Sheppard Fidler. The artists were chosen from more than 2,000 entries for the inaugural Soho Open, earning fully supported solo shows. Their work ranges from staged still‑lifes and found‑object installations to intimate paintings and delicate pencil drawings that reference LGBTQ+ memory. Profits from the gallery support Soho Housing Association’s social‑housing program, linking contemporary art with community benefit.

Pulse Analysis

The Soho Open, launched last November, has quickly become a springboard for emerging artists across the UK. By inviting unrestricted submissions, the competition attracts a broad spectrum of practice, from painting to installation, ensuring that the resulting shows reflect the full breadth of contemporary discourse. Great Pulteney Street Gallery’s decision to host the prize‑winning solo exhibitions underscores a growing trend: cultural institutions leveraging prize structures to surface fresh voices while maintaining open‑call accessibility.

Each of the four "Soho Solos" exhibitions offers a distinct narrative lens. Mandy Hudson transforms mundane objects into meticulously composed still‑lifes, granting everyday items a quiet permanence through paint. In contrast, Alice Sheppard Fidler re‑contextualises found materials, allowing sculptures to respond dynamically to their architectural surroundings. Conor Quinn and James Robert Morrison turn personal histories into visual testimony, employing surreal portraiture and delicate pencil work on cigarette papers to explore the complexities of growing up gay in hostile environments. Together, the shows map a spectrum of materiality and memory, illustrating how contemporary art can interrogate both the ordinary and the intimate.

Beyond artistic merit, "Soho Solos" illustrates how cultural programming can serve broader civic goals. The gallery’s profits are earmarked for the Soho Housing Association, directly linking exhibition revenue to the upkeep of social housing. This model not only sustains the venue but also embeds the arts within the community’s socioeconomic fabric. As submissions for the 2026 Soho Open remain open until September 3, the initiative promises to continue feeding this virtuous cycle, positioning Soho as a hub where emerging talent, public engagement, and social responsibility intersect.