How to Apply to a Call for Art
Some artists are content to simply create their art in their studio at home and letting the canvases pile up, and that is fine. Other artists create their art in order to show the world and hopefully, make a few bucks while they do it. Fine too. Let's take a look at answering a Call for Art for an art exhibit, which often means there is a Juror - a person that selects what will actually be up on the walls at their show.
Finding Art Shows
Finding Art Shows may circle around art organizational groups near you; they are also known as art leagues, an art society, art council, art guild, artisans, etc. These groups are pretty good places to start to get to knowing the art process for an art show.
There are popup shows which are often not juried, there are art festivals and many other options out there when you start looking so that you can try selling your artwork.
Facebook is a great place to look as well and there are websites that will give you lists of shows in your city, state. Here are a few:
Callforentry.org (aka CaFE)
Gallery submissions are a whole different monster. Some of your local art orgs may help you to get into local galleries with a group show which will certainly help to get you started. Building your name is part of that process. See How to Art Show
Art shows come in every shape and size and form. Some are juried, some are first come first served to get in. Many have a fee for a specific number of entries, some are a fee per entry. Some will categorize your artwork by media, some will offer prizes and/or ribbons. Start out wherever you are comfortable. (psst...remember the old motto "you have to play to win"?)
Is it the Right Art Show for Your Art Style?
Decide
if the Call for Art is a correct fit for your art style, your budget,
and the audience that would be interested in your price points.
Do the research also to ensure the Call for Art is from a legitimate, reliable, a known and well-run organization.
Some Calls may or may not ask for your artwork to be shipped to them making it pretty important to know if shipping costs are involved, if you have to drive it there, AND will you get your art back if it doesn't sell? Do the research! This is also when being a part of your local art scene and group(s) will help in knowing which shows are legit.
Art Shows, Art Galleries - Showing Your Art - different types of art shows
Art Scammers are Everywhere - a must-read
Address Your Call for Art Registration
Every art show is different in their registration process and in their requirements, and you must follow their directions explicitly. Their requirements at a glance may seem similar, but... oh yes, they can vary slightly, if not tremendously.
Read through the entire registration and take note of the fees to enter, the commission if something sells, the show's exhibiting requirements (they are not suggestions!) and any other significant requests. Is there a theme? Are there things that they do NOT want? Give yourself a fighting chance by reading and following the directions!
In a recent art show our art group did, the organization did NOT want a specific animal even though said animal was in their name. They had HAD IT with artworks of that animal!
Note if you have any questions not addressed in the Call. Also take note of when checks are mailed out if you sell your work, it could be the next month or in a couple of months.
The
art show coordinator(s) are NOT going to teach you how to manage your
art submission, its up to YOU to learn how to do it and do it correctly.
If you don't know how to do something, look it up on the internet, and
check a couple of sources to round out your knowledge.
Rules are not meant to be broken in a Call for Art. Your submission can be at risk if you do not follow their stated requirements. And if you are paying a fee to enter, that fee will not be returned - they have a show to run.
As a matter of fact, print out the application and highlight those very important pieces like deadlines, important dates, file formats, etc. You can also check off the items as you do them.
Some Calls for Art Want an Artist Bio or Statement
The artist bio or a statement, even a "What inspired this artwork" is sometimes asked for in the Call. This could be used by the juror, the show organizers, and even printed out and placed next to your artwork if you are accepted.
Have an artist bio AND an artist statement written up already and have them in a blurb, a short and longer versions. The Call may give you the character minimum or character maximum, so knowing this in advance saves you time.
We occasionally see the artwork inspiration requirement at some galleries. If you write something up SAVE it with your images in case you can use them again.
Get help if you need to write these documents. There are plenty of articles online that give advice on these topics or if you have a friend with those skills - ask for help!
The Size of Your Artwork
Size Requirements - take note if there is a maximum or minimum size. Every gallery and art space is different. They may have lots of normal size walls and they may not have doors big enough for your life-sized Godzilla rendition. Or they may not have a place to put a miniature of a bee butt.
There may also be size restrictions so that the art space can hang as many artworks as they can inside that space to allow for more artists and pieces to be shown.
Number of Artworks You Can Submit
I rather agree with submitting the maximum number that you can. If they ask for up to 3, submit 3. If they ask for 5, give them 5. Why tickle their toes with only submitting 1...and if that one doesn't get expected, no soup for you!
Read this from Artbusiness.com - great tips on this article!
"Submit more than one work of art if you are allowed to do so, and make sure they're related in some way-- by composition, series, theme or other criteria. Multiple related artworks give jurors a better idea of the bigger picture, what you're up to and where you're going with it. I tend to be more favorable toward works of art when I can experience them more in depth and see that they're part of larger narratives I can understand and appreciate." - Alan Bamberger
'Nuff said?
Your Artwork Images
A couple questions for you:
1. What is the most important part of the submission of to an art show?
Correct, the art.
2. What's the next most important thing about submitting art to a show?
An absolutely great picture of your art.
That said, you'd be surprised that artists will mess this up time and again. Probably most Calls for Art these days are submitted on the internet. That means there are some (usually easy) skill sets you need to get to know to get those Calls off to the show. OR get someone to do the work for you.
You'll need and need to know how to:
- Take quality photos - this is imperative. If they can't clearly see how great your artwork is because of a poor photo, your chances of being accepted could very well be shot. An iPhone CAN do it just fine, it you take your time and learn to do it correctly.
- Use a tripod
- Take pictures of your artwork before you varnish to help with glare.
- Edit your photos, crop out ALL background, all non-artwork including the frame (unless asked for).
- Do NOT include any watermarks
- SAVE your image files - the same artwork image photos in multiple ways.
- Pay attention to the Call for Art requested format, which can and will vary. Sample Request: "Digital image files should be in JPG format, not larger than 1200 pixels or 4.2 MB and named as follows: Lastname-Firstname-TitleOfArtwork-Size-Price.jpg."
- Typical saved file formats requested vary so have multiple saved images of the same artwork in your document and image folders so you can grab the correct one. I recently saw one that requested the last four digits in your phone number with the title!:
- Liguria_Donna-My Dream Landscape.jpeg
- Liguria_D-My Dream Landscape.jpeg
- Liguria-Donna-MyDreamLandscape-18x24-450.jpeg
- Saving
your image files no matter HOW the Call asks for it helps the people
managing the art show KNOW which image is which on their computers and
software and WHO it belongs too. Only give them which format that they
ask for.
- Actually, its good practice to save your images as .jpg as a standard so there are no issues.
- Uploading your photos on a computer requires that you know where your image files are on your computer or phone. Great management and naming of your files and folder library is essential so you can find the correct image you need.
- I have a Folder for "Juried Artwork" so I can go select the best quality photo I have, already cropped and select which file format I need. That helps with knowing which ones I need for printing too.
- A sidenote: use a lesser quality image for posting on social media, or an over-cropped photo.
- Attach photos to your submission if sending by email. There is a BIG difference between embedded on an email and attached to an email. Look that up for the type of email that you use.
Embedded images - are inserted into the body of the emails and the file formatting is lost. Embedded images are compressed in an email and the image quality can be reduced. Hence, it is more work for the email recipient and NOT recommended to use when submitting via email.
Attachments - the recipient must download the image but the artwork does keep its formatting as requested in the Call. Attachments keep their original quality better than embedded images. Learn to do attachments!!
Also, some Calls may only want recent artwork from the last 2-3 years and/or you cannot submit the same artwork more than once.
Wouldn't it be awesome for us all to have an art apprentice or sidekick that takes care of the business side of art?
Mark Your Calendars
Pay
close attention to your deadlines, due dates, drop off and pickup
dates, notification dates, art reception dates by marking your
calendars. Be it paper or on your cell phone with alerts, get your dates
straight so you don't miss out on the art opportunity and create
calendar alerts if you need to.
Deadlines Not Optional
In reading the Call requirements, take note of the date and time to enter down to the no later than time. Many shows ask for a specific date by 11:59 pm. Midnight 12 am is the next day, right? Too late. But a few shows have an earlier time, say 5:30 pm. so submitting at 7 pm is too late.
Also of note is to not wait until the last minute. We don't know what is happening behind the scenes at any particular show.
Whew, you made the deadline! Now what?
Art Notification Time
So now its time to sit and wait. Wait! What are you doing sitting around? Go paint something new!
One of two things can happen when the email notification arrives, of course...
Your Artwork Was Accepted, Now What?
Congratulations are in order to you, well done! Now, your calendar of dates about the show are imperative. Your drop off dates and times, the art reception date (hopefully they are having one!), and also getting on social media and letting all your friends, family, neighbors, long lost cousins, high school friends, potential buyers - let everyone know your art will be in THAT show on those dates, at that location, and please be there! YOU have to help spread the word.
And a jolly good time if they have a URL to the Artwork! Send that out too!
We may have entered 5 to a show and only one or two were accepted, and we may even be surprised at their choice. Getting in is awesome in itself, good work. As in the suggestions in the next section below, review your process and what was selected so you can hopefully improve your odds next time.
Some art shows are using SignUpGenius.com to arrange their drop off dates and times as well as their pickups at the end of the show. This is an easy to use tool that helps art shows, art galleries and other businesses to setup sign up sheets, schedules and even volunteer times and dates. This is a tremendous help so that not every artist arrives at the same time. It may even send you a reminder too.
Especially important next steps are to absolutely ensure your artwork is ready to get to the show and hang the way the Call asks for it to be hung. Do you need to apply a specific label to the back AND to the front, or are they printing the front ones for you?
See Art Display for Prince William Art Society Display Requirements
I shouldn't have to type these, but I do...
- Only take the artwork that was accepted into their show AND be on time.
- You could be turned away if you show up too late. Yes, I've gotten a call from someone at a gallery at 3 to drop off art and had to remind them that drop off time was between 12 and 2. The volunteers had already gone home.
- Ensure your artwork is wired (in the correct way as per the art show requirements) BEFORE you leave the house/studio. Yes, we have seen artwork with no way to hang it.
- And ensure your artwork is DRY. Yes, we have seen artwork still wet.
Your Artwork Was Not Accepted, Now What?
No, it is not the end of the world and don't jump out a window or bash your artwork. Artwork not being accepted into an art show happens ALL the time to EVERY artist sometimes even after they have been showing for awhile. It hurts, yes. Does it get you angry? Honestly...It really isn't worth the emotion.
I've
had it happen and I had paid a fee to enter too. Sure, I growled and
grumbled. But we all have to remember that not all artwork is accepted
and it could be for a TON of reasons...
- There are some things we have control over - our selection of our artwork to submit, the quality of our own entries and photos, and how we interpreted their theme; and
- There some things we do not have control over - the juror or art organizers that made their selections, the quality of ALL the artwork submitted, the space they have, and the amount of art they had to select from. Imagine having 1000 art pieces entered and having space for about 300! Believe me, that judge/juror is slicing and dicing on the entries!
- AND on top of that, artists are basically at the "mercy" of the juror and their tastes in art.
See my blog post on Artwork Rejection
My suggestion would be to still go to the art show, perhaps the art reception and have a look at what was accepted to get a better feel for the next time you enter. Take note of what is selling. Keep your cool of course but remember, often the selection process is put in an outside person's hands (an art juror) so it is based on what he or she likes. It is just a part of the art world. And the next time it could be a different juror and its based again, on what he or she likes.
We just keep making more art. We keep improving. We acknowledge if we made a mistake on our end. We try again. As the sayings go, "Don't cut off your nose to spite your face" and "Don't burn your bridges".
Additional Art Notes
You surely didn't think I was done yet?
Keep track of your art inventory. Also see Art Documents.
You'll need to devise an art management system of your own for a lot of great reasons. You will need to know where your art is, where it was, and when various pieces will need to be at various art shows.
I've seen these OOPS moments happen a couple of times:
- an artist NEVER came to pick up their art. (Appalling!)
- an artist asks what happened to their artwork and thought it had gotten stolen, then later found out it was elsewhere. (oopsies!)
Many shows do not want to have the same pieces submitted again. You certainly do not want to forget that you put a piece in one show and its still at another show you entered.
Well, I hope this blog post was helpful to you in some way. Do you have anything you could add? Drop a comment below. Thanks for reading!
This blog post was originally posted on the PWAS Artistry Spin Blog on March 3, 2025
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Artistry Spin Blogmaster and an artist member of PWAS in Woodbridge, VA, specializing in acrylic painting. She paints landscapes, seascapes, animals and many subjects. Visit her Website at DonnaLiguriaArt.com, her Donna's Esty site and her Blog at Donna’s Cave Paintings.
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