Call for Art
Urban Life: Cities in Art
An International Virtual Exhibition
curated by Michael Rose

The excitement of cities and urban spaces has inspired thousands of artists. Gallerist and curator Michael Rose seeks original artworks for a virtual exhibition focused on the continued resonance of urban places in visual art. A competitive juried exhibition presented online, this show will feature a thoughtfully curated selection of exceptional artworks that derive their subjects or inspirations from the city. Cities in Art is part of an ongoing series of popular virtual exhibitions hosted by Rose on his website michaelrosefineart.com.

This show is open to work in all media and styles. Selected artworks will be featured in an online gallery for a minimum one month, and will then be archived and remain available for viewing indefinitely. Several artworks in the show will also be highlighted individually on social media. One artist will receive a future solo virtual feature. All submitted works must be available for sale. Sales will be handled via the artists, who will retain 100% of the proceeds.

To enter, artists must submit their virtual application using JotForm. Applicants must fill out the application in full to be considered.

Eligibility:
This is an international call for art and artists from all backgrounds are welcome to apply. Current members of the Providence Art Club are not eligible for this call.

Specifications:
Each applicant may submit one artwork for consideration for a non-refundable entry fee of $10. Works should be original and no more than four years old. Works in all media and styles that employ urban themes as an element, subject, or inspiration will be considered. Along with their artwork image, artists must submit a full application. All applications must be submitted via Jotform. Incomplete applications will not be considered. Application materials that are emailed to the organizer will not be considered.

Sales:
All submissions must be available for sale, and the retail price must be listed publicly during the exhibition. There will be no commission on sales that result from this show. Collectors will be encouraged to contact artists directly, and should they inquire about a specific work with Michael he will relay them to artists to process sales, with artists retaining 100% of the sale price.

Entry Fee:
$10 per entry. The purpose of this small entry fee is to defray the costs involved in assembling and promoting the exhibition. Should works sell, artists will retain 100% of the sale price. There will be no commission. Please note you must complete the official online application for the show and pay using Paypal to submit your entry. Please make sure your entry is complete before paying. This step cannot be undone. There are no refunds for entry fees. Current members of the Providence Art Club are not eligible for this call.

Deadline:
Friday, May 6 at 11:59pm Eastern Time

Notification:
Accepted artists will be notified via direct email by Monday, May 23, 2022.

Exhibition Dates:
Featured for the month of June 2022 online at www.michaelrosefineart.com. After June, this exhibition will remain available online in Michael’s virtual exhibition archive.

Terms of Entry:
By entering this call, artists agree to all terms of exhibiting and give Michael Rose permission to use their imagery at his sole discretion for this virtual exhibition. Works may be reproduced online, on social media, in print, etc. Artists also agree to promote their participation in this exhibition on their website and social media.

Questions?
Email michael@michaelrosefineart.com with the subject line Cities in Art.

About Michael Rose

Michael is a curator, gallerist, and writer based in the Northeast. Since 2014, Michael has served as the Gallery Manager at the historic Providence Art Club in Providence, Rhode Island, where he oversees a rigorous exhibition schedule spread across three unique gallery spaces. Under his leadership, the Art Club’s galleries have been recognized as Best Art Gallery in Providence in 2019, 2020, and 2021. In addition to his work at the Club, Michael began an online exhibition program at his website www.michaelrosefineart.com in 2020.

He also provides advisory services, teaches, and regularly juries and judges exhibitions and competitions. He has spoken at organizations as varied as the RISD Museum, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Bristol Art Museum, and has taught courses in RISD’s Continuing Education Department. A passionate writer, Michael has published essays and reviews in Big Red & Shiny, Art New England, and his own blog, Fine Art Insights. In 2021, he joined the staff of news website GoLocalProv as their art columnist, producing a weekly feature on visual art throughout the State of Rhode Island.

Michael earned his BA in Art History at Providence College, and his Certificate in Art Appraisal at New York University. A sought-after art professional, Michael has a strong audience in the Northeast, as well as throughout the United States and abroad.

Click Here to Apply

Many artists ask me what jurors look for when selecting work for juried exhibitions. This is a tough question to answer, given that every juror and every show is unique. Recently, Dr. Elliot Bostwick Davis, Chair of the American Wing at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, made her selections for our National Open Juried Exhibition: America, Now at the Providence Art Club. Her choices were formed partially by the theme of the show but also by her extensive and diverse academic and curatorial background. This week, I juried entries for another exhibition at the Providence Art Club, a show of work by members from Boston's St. Botolph Club coming this August. Like Dr. Davis, I was informed by my education and professional background but found choosing pieces for this exhibition to be a challenge. There were many options that I thought would be a great fit, but I had to work to shape a select group of diverse objects that would represent the talents of the St. Botolph Club community and also be of interest to members of the Providence Art Club. Later this summer, I will be the Juror for the Bristol Art Museum's Annual Members' Exhibition. So I thought it might be beneficial for me to share some of what goes into a juror's decision-making process and how artists can best go about applying to a juried exhibition.

The Call

First and foremost, no matter the show, you must closely and carefully read the exhibition's call for entry. The typical call for entry (or call for art) is a page or so long and contains all the information you should need when deciding what, or whether, to submit. Read the call and be honest with yourself about the relevance of your work to the request being put out by a gallery or institution. If you are uncertain if your work is a good fit to start with, you can reach out to the organization making the call to get your initial questions answered.

Presentation

Good presentation counts. Because most exhibitions are now juried virtually, jurors rely on digital images to make their decisions. Make sure you are submitting a high quality photograph that accurately represents your work. Blurry or otherwise poorly presented images that do not show the piece well will not benefit your application and will almost certainly hurt your chances. Most applications state the resolution and size required for digital images. Follow the guidelines given by the organization or entry platform. And if you need assistance, seek out a professional photographer. If you are submitting to a show where selections are made in person, your work should be professionally prepared and in good condition. Proper presentation may seem like common sense, but it is not to be overlooked.

Quality

After assessing presentation, the juror will likely move on to gauging the qualities inherent in each piece. This factors in formal aspects such as line, composition, color, et cetera, but also the conceptual qualities that might be obvious upon first glance. For this reason, submitting your most visually striking work can be helpful in catching the juror's eye. Asking peers and colleagues to critique the work you are considering for submission is a great way to get objective analysis, and to determine which artworks from your portfolio may be the most successful. Some of the qualities found in works of art are relatively objective, but the way a juror interprets them can obviously be very subjective, and influenced by individual taste.

Taste

Like I said earlier, every juror is unique. And each juror's selections are bound to be impacted by her or his personal background, education, and interests. The individual taste of a juror will naturally factor into their selections. This is difficult to account for when applying to an exhibition, but it can be helpful to research the juror and learn more about their background or shows they have previously juried or curated in order to determine if they have any obvious interests or biases. This information is often readily available in the juror's professional biography and may even be included in the call for entry. If the juror has a niche area of expertise or interest, they may be less inclined to choose works that fall outside their scope. But if they have a broad range of experience, it may be hard to determine what they will be most interested in.

Theme

If the exhibition you are submitting your work to has a theme, stick to it. This point is another seemingly obvious one, but hewing close to the theme can often play to your favor. This is not to say that your work should blatantly or explicitly shout the theme the show is based on, but it should at the very least contain a nod to the theme or express that you understand what the show is supposed to be about. Some themes are more explicit than others but, again, using the exhibition's call for entry for guidance can be helpful in ensuring your work matches the criteria that are being used to shape the tone and content of the show.

The Exhibition

It is important to remember that all the work selected has to hang together. As jurors review all the submissions for a particular show they are not only considering the qualities of individual works, but are also imagining how the pieces they choose can work together to create an exhibition that is cohesive. Cohesion does not necessarily mean that all the works must "match", per se, but it does suggest a level of aesthetic or conceptual harmony that creates a thread tying all the work together. Following the theme or, in lieu of a theme, submitting your most current and compelling work are both great ways to show that your work will contribute to a strong exhibition. And again, taking a look at shows previously curated by the juror can be helpful.

Takeaways

Ultimately, much of the judgement involved in jurying an exhibition is subjective and there are many potential outcomes. That being said, even a show with thousands of entries is not a "lottery" per se, as even a large exhibition is not shaped by chance. It is designed by a juror or jurors who have all the aforementioned details in mind and are utilizing them to make educated decisions about what works of art will create the most compelling exhibition.

Remember, if your work is not accepted to a particular show, it is not a comment on your worth as an artist. The final selections are always informed by all the factors I have outlined here, and then some. Through carefully reading the call, though, and using appropriate work presented well you will increase your chances of being accepted and hopefully snag a spot on the gallery walls.

Call for Art: Urban Life: Cities in Art