When I first started applying to art exhibition open calls, there were hundreds of opportunities to choose from - where was I supposed to start?
The art world continues to be a white-male dominated space. It’s important to look at an organization’s community initiatives, how they treat artists and staff, history of shows and projects, and the people making decisions.
You may not always be able to gauge online, but a diversity statement that does little to address structural change (e.g., mentions only “raising awareness”) and doesn’t contain explicit calls to action can be performative. It’s a good idea to check out the mission statement, types of exhibitions, works shown, etc to get a sense of how this organization works with artists and the community to support and/or elevate the arts.
I’m a fan of @changethemuseum on Instagram, which has posted anonymous accounts of abuse at various art institutions around the country.
Purely subjective, but the best open calls are referred to me by other artists - or discovered through their newsletters.
For the most part, I’ve exhibited in shows that I found through open calls on my own with success.
One great piece of advice I receive over and over is to review the CVs of artists I admire and aim to work with the venues that supported them early on. An exhibition can be an empowering experience, connecting you to professionals, clients and a whole new world of folks truly invested in supporting you.
My favorite shows tend to be the ones referred to me by peers or art professionals, as they know which exhibitions are designed by the community, or have enjoyed working with the staff.
I take recommendations extra seriously when they’re coming from artists who have already worked with the institution or showed with them. I also love following institutions that I admire to stay abreast of events, including open calls, which might slip your friends’ radars.
Update: Some places to go for curated opportunities (that have mostly weeded out the scams) are Creative Capital, Hyperallergic, artenda.net.
There’s also callforentry.org and Submittable (check out their Opportunities), but you’ll have to weed through their many pay-to-play options. You’ll start to recognize these galleries as the ones that have rotating shows every month that require a fee.
Always check www.howsmydealing.com for scams or just a quick Google review to make sure the opportunity is legit.
Tip: Have your generic content organized in one place so you can submit batch applications.
I’ll speak more about specifics like writing an artist statement and bio in another post, but I currently organize all my images in high-res and for web folders so I can quickly upload images. I also have an image and price list handy. I would recommend Art/Work, a vastly helpful resource for applications and basically everything you need to know starting out as an artist.
Happy applying and best of luck!