[Side Arts Certified Sponsored Listing] Annmarie Sculpture Garden and Arts Center announces a call for artists to submit original artwork to ‘Imaginary Worlds: Invented Spaces and Places.’ This art exhibition invites viewers to explore visionary landscapes, fantastic cityscapes, and surreal dreamscapes crafted by contemporary artists.
Blurring the boundaries between reality and imagination, the exhibition will showcase artwork that transports audiences to new and unexpected realms. Each piece serves as a portal into an artist’s unique, invented world, inspiring wonder, and curiosity. There is a heavy emphasis on worlds created by artists as opposed to preexisting fictional universes. Directly copywritten material will not be considered for inclusion in this opportunity.
Click here for the application / registration
Enter by: 23 March 2025
Each artist accepted for Imaginary Worlds receives an individualized promotional graphic designed specifically for the show which artists can use on their social media. A digital catalogue is created for the exhibition which includes selected gallery photographs, juror and show information, and an individual spread exploring each artists work within the show.
There will be an opening reception with a cash bar, food truck, live music, and plentiful conversation which will be free for artists in attendance.
About Annmarie Sculpture Garden and Arts Center
Annmarie Sculpture Garden and Arts Center is committed to connecting people to art and nature. Through a wide variety of engaging exhibits, programs, classes, public projects, and annual events, Annmarie opens up opportunities for creativity, collaboration, and reflection. By providing opportunities for visitors to experience and engage in imaginative activities, Annmarie seeks to nurture the human spirit and contribute to a healthy society.
Annmarie is a Smithsonian Affiliate located in scenic Solomons, Maryland, on the Chesapeake Bay. Since 1992, Annmarie has captivated visitors of all ages with its natural setting and exceptional programs and events.
For more information, contact exhibits@annmariegarden.org
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[Side Arts Certified Sponsored Listing] PleinAir Magazine announces a call for artists for their PleinAir Salon February Art Competition. In the spirit of the French Salon created by the Academie des Beaux-Arts in Paris, this annual online competition, with 12 monthly cycles, leading to the Annual PleinAir Salon Art Competition, is designed to stimulate artistic growth through competition.
The competition rewards artists with $50,000 in all cash prizes each year with the winning painting featured on the cover of PleinAir magazine.
Click here for the application / registration
Enter by: 28 February 2025
The PleinAir Salon $50,000 Art Competition is an online competition consisting of 12 monthly cycles of competitions and one annual competition. They award a total of $50,000 in cash prizes each year for this competition.
- Annual Grand Prize winner receives a check for $15,000 and is featured on the cover of PleinAir Magazine
- Additional awards totalling $9,200 to the annual winners
- Awards totalling $2,150 in the monthly competitions.
Each of the 23 monthly winners will be automatically entered into the Annual Competition. Each of the monthly winners receive cash prizes, promotion in PleinAir Magazine, both print and digital. Winners are promoted in the digital edition of Fine Art Connoisseur, a magazine for art collectors. Artists receive editorial coverage in newsletters and websites. The annual awards are presented live at the Plein Air Convention & Expo each spring.
“It is always so exciting to win something, and also such an honor. I really like participating in the Plein Air Salon Competition for many reasons, but one is that you are so great about sharing and promoting the award winners. It makes me want to keep painting the best I can and to enter every month.” – Sheryl Knight
“PleinAir Salon has such a wonderful reputation for attracting world class artists that I was so impressed when I found out I was amongst the top 100 finalists. Then when I discovered I had won the Animal and Bird section I was completely speechless. I know I have worked hard over the last few years to really improve my craft, but this has been an overwhelming honor.” – Angela Parr
“Entering this contest on a monthly basis is something I have come to regard as both essential and enjoyable. It seems like every so often one of my paintings catches lightening in a bottle, so that’s a thrill. Thank you and the staff for all the work to promote artists and the arts.” – Christopher Forrest
About PleinAir Magazine
PleinAir Magazine is for plein air artists, enthusiasts, and collectors showcasing a wide variety of plein air paintings, articles on the top plein air artists of today and past, and the latest information on events and shows. The PleinAir Salon Art Competition has been awarding cash prizes and promoting artists for 12 years. The PleinAir Salon is celebrating their 14th year and was created by PleinAir magazine publisher, Eric Rhoads.
For more information, contact pleinairsalon@streamlinepublishing.com
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[Side Arts Certified Sponsored Listing] The Decatur Arts Alliance announces a call for artists working in all media for their 2025 Fine Arts Exhibition, Cat and Mouse.
Click here for the application / registration
Enter by: 14 March 2025
Cat and mouse is a playful way to illustrate a certain type of power struggle. This game of constant pursuit, capture, and escape is a trope of fables, fiction, movies, and cartoons. Will one win over the other, or are the combatants locked in a never-ending game where the upper hand is gained, but eventually lost?
After her enemies forced her to abdicate her throne on July 24, 1567, leading to unsuccessful attempt to regain the throne, Queen Mary of Scotland fled to England, seeking the protection of her cousin, Elizabeth I. Perceiving Mary as a threat, Elizabeth confined her in various castles and manor houses in the interior of England.
Queen Mary was a skilled needlewoman and sewed many embroideries while she was under house arrest in England. An important means of expression for Mary, her amazing collection of embroideries featured fantastical beasts, Latin sayings, and hidden meanings.
One embroidery in particular, Mary’s embroidery of a cat, is imbued with hidden meaning. The cat depicted has red fur, a nod to Elizabeth I’s red, Tudor hair. The cat has its paw on the tail of a mouse, stopping it escaping. Is this a reference to the power struggle between these two female monarchs, or to Mary’s imprisonment, where the meek mouse, though under the cat’s foot, is bound to escape?
Cat and Mouse Artist Benefits
- Best of Show: $1,000
- Gold Award: $700
- Silver Award: $500
Purchase awards totaling $2,500 are selected by the City of Decatur for inclusion in its public art collection. Local institutions and universities frequently purchase exhibiting artwork. Purchase awards will be publicly announced on the exhibition website.
The Decatur Arts Festival draws approximately 40,000 people to downtown Decatur for a celebration of the arts that includes a juried Artists Market, Children’s Festival, New Dance, Literary Arts, Performing Arts Stage, and a Concert on the Square, as well as the Fine Arts Exhibition. This large audience represents a broad spectrum of knowledge and appreciation of the arts, and the Fine Arts Exhibition addresses this spectrum with a diversity of styles and media. Works selected for the show reflect a wide range of artists’ experiences and viewpoints, with excellence as a common thread.
About Decatur Arts Alliance
Decatur Arts Alliance (DAA) connects residents, businesses, tourists, and artists to increase arts access and engagement in the city of Decatur, Georgia. Founded in 1989, the nonprofit produces the annual Decatur Arts Festival, numerous city-wide public art programs, community art and music events, and in 2024, launched the “Creative Village” project at Legacy Park that offers affordable artist studios and community workshops for all ages and skill levels.
The DAA provides a collaborative environment to coordinate the interests of artists, gallery owners, theater groups, dance groups, and performance venues within the city, helping to make Decatur home to a strong arts community. The Decatur Arts Alliance is supported by membership and sponsorship, along with proceeds from the Decatur Arts Festival and the Decatur Wine Festival.
For more information, contact amacon@decaturartsalliance.org
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[Side Arts Certified Sponsored Listing] Memorial Art Gallery (MAG) of the University of Rochester announces a call for artists for the M&T Bank Clothesline Art Festival, their largest annual fundraiser and biggest celebration of the arts for over 60 years.
Over 300 artists from across the country offer their work for purchase at this juried, two-day festival that takes place on the beautiful grounds of the Memorial Art Gallery. Clothesline is also the place to experience all-day live entertainment, sample food from some of Rochester’s favorite food trucks and vendors, enjoy free family art activities, and visit the museum.
Click here for the application / registration
Enter by: 1 May 2025
Three M&T Bank Clothesline Art Festival artists will receive awards recognizing extraordinary quality, craftsmanship, creativity and/or outstanding presentation. The Memorial Art Gallery requires that all participating Clothesline artists and makers submit original work, either one-of-a-kind or limited-edition. The work must be conceived and designed solely by the artist or maker and show vision, imagination, and originality. Each winner will receive a cash prize of $300. MAG will recognize one first-time exhibitor based on the same criteria who will receive a cash prize of $100.
About Memorial Art Gallery
A visit to the Memorial Art Gallery is a journey through more than 5,000 years of art history. From the relics of antiquity to works in the vanguard of contemporary practice, MAG offers a panorama of the world’s art. The 14-acre campus is a spectacular public art space that is a popular destination for Rochesterians and out-of-town visitors alike.
MAG’s permanent collection of more than 12,000 objects has been called “the best balanced in the state outside of metropolitan New York City.” In addition to its collection, the museum offers a year-round schedule of temporary exhibitions, lectures, concerts, tours, and family activities.
For more information, contact clothesline@mag.rochester.edu
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[Side Arts Certified Sponsored Listing] The Toledo Zoo announces a call for artists for Wild About Art, seeking creative artists and skilled makers to take part in a uniquely wild, two-day art fair that takes place throughout Zoo grounds. This event features local and regional artists with various mediums on display and for sale to thousands of Zoo visitors. It includes live entertainment, hands-on art activities, and, of course, animals!
Click here for the application / registration
Enter by: 25 April 2025
Mediums permitted: ceramics, drawing, painting, glass, jewelry, mixed media, metal working, photography, printmaking/graphics, sculpture, textiles, and wood. Artwork does not have to be animal related.
Artists will set up around the beautiful, historic grounds and animals and be exposed to a diverse audience of animal and art lovers. Wild about Art will be promoted to a huge, loyal membership base of over 76,000 households, as well as over 454,000 Facebook followers. Staff and volunteers assisting with the event are top notch. They bend over backwards to make sure artists feel welcome and taken care of.
Artist Amenities include:
- Free parking and Zoo admission
- Free electricity
- Air-conditioned artist lounge with complimentary beverages and snacks
- Volunteer booth sitters available up to 15 minutes
- Volunteers on hand to assist with set up and tear down
- 24-hour security
- 10,000 Zoo visitors for the weekend
Animals take part in the art fair by creating their own works of art, which is a huge attendance driver for the event.
About The Toledo Zoo
The Toledo Zoo is celebrating their 125 year anniversary. It is home to more than 16,000 animals representing over 680 species. In an effort to save endangered wildlife, they participate in more than 80 Species Survival Plans that ensure healthy, genetically diverse Zoo populations. With historic WPA-era buildings, beautiful gardens, you can travel around the world from the tropics to Greenland, ocean to sky, and desert to rainforest in one Zoo visit.
For more information, contact artfair@toledozoo.org
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[Side Arts Certified Sponsored Listing] LibertyTown Arts Workshop announces a call for artists for Coffee Culture, a national juried art exhibition.
The nineties are back, baby, and with it, so is the nineties’ coffee house culture. Join LibertyTown this March to celebrate all things coffee and coffee culture, whether they are images of coffee, coffee bean art, celebrations of your life in a coffee house, or deeper examinations of this strange, fermented bean water’s journey from bush to mug. LibertyTown wants to see all of your art celebrating, incorporating, or exploring our sweet, sweet, caffeinated friend, coffee.
Click here for the application / registration
Enter by: 17 February 2025
A non-refundable application fee must be paid for each submitted piece before it will be juried. Payment may be submitted electronically via submittable or by check delivered to LibertyTown. “Friends of LibertyTown” Members receive discounted jury fees. If you aren’t already, you can become a member at http://libertytownarts.com/product/friends-of-libertytown/.
Application Fees
- 1st piece (Non-member): $25
- 1st piece (Member): $15
- Each additional piece: $ 5
All artists age 16 and older, working in any media, may apply to this show. Work previously exhibited in LibertyTown’s gallery is not eligible. Work must be original and not from kits and made in the least five years.
Work accepted into the show must be for sale. Applications must be submitted electronically; no physical pieces will be accepted at the gallery for jurying. Work that will be displayed must be ready to show, with no unfired media, no wet paint, no sawtooth hangers, staple-free edges or other unfinished surfaces. LibertyTown will provide pedestals and shelving as needed. LibertyTown reserves the right to reject works accepted by the juror due to content, space constraints, or inability to properly install the work.
Calendar
- 2/19: Notifications sent via Submittable Only
- 3/3: Accepted work due at LibertyTown by 8PM
- 3/7: Opening reception
- 3/30: Show closes, unsold work may be picked up/will be shipped back
Coffee Culture Awards
- 1st Place: $400
- 2nd Place: $200
- 3rd Place: $100
LibertyTown keeps a commission of 40% on all show sales. Artists are responsible for any costs related to transporting accepted work to the gallery and transporting unsold work away at the end of the show. Artists applying to this show grant LibertyTown Arts Workshop unlimited non-exclusive right to use images of accepted work to promote the exhibit and the gallery.
About LibertyTown Arts Workshop
LibertyTown Arts Workshop is a 13,000 square foot art facility located in downtown, Fredericksburg, Virginia. LibertyTown is home to over 80 artists, working artists’ studios, and a full spectrum of art classes offered to the public. Main gallery Shows rotate monthly. This ensures that LibertyTown is always presenting new items for local patrons to enjoy and experience. LibertyTown features show items for viewing and sale on their website and features show items on Facebook and Instagram pages. Located downtown, the location is walkable, and they have many visitors local and visiting. LibertyTown participates in First Friday art receptions, which is a well-attended event that happens monthly.
For more information, contact info@libertytownarts.com
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[Side Arts Certified Sponsored Listing] The Tartget Prize international painting competition invites artists from around the world to participate in its first edition. The competitions is dedicated to promoting art and creating opportunities for emerging artists while consolidating the reputations of distinguished painters.
With over €50,000 in cash prizes and international recognition awards through partnerships with magazines, galleries, fine art materials, and art scholarships, there are more than 50 prizes in total.
Click here for the application / registration
Enter by: 15 February 2025 (original)
DEADLINE EXTENDED: 28 February 2025
- 30 finalist spots among all participants who submit their works before December 23, 2024.
- If you don’t secure one of these 30 spots, your work will remain in the competition, giving you another chance after the registration deadline on February 15, 2025.
- If you submit at least two works before December 23, 2024, you will receive a 50% discount on your next application.
Open to all. Figurative, conceptual, and abstract paintings are accepted, according to categories. The registration fee for the contest is $50 for the first artwork and $30 for each additional artwork or different category. For participants under 25 years old, the registration fee is $30 for the first artwork and $15 for each additional one.
There are 10 categories to enter:
- Urban and Industrial Landscape
- Natural and Outdoor Landscape
- Animals and Wildlife
- Drawing and Illustration
- Still Life and Everyday Objects
- Figure and Portrait
- Fantasy and Imaginative
- Conceptual and Collage
- Abstraction
- A special category for teenagers
Works in all styles are accepted, including hyperrealism, photorealism, contemporary realism, imaginative realism, fantastic realism, surrealism, impressionism, expressionism, plein air painting, contemporary, abstraction, and any other type of representative painting.
Tartget Prize Awards
These are the main prizes of the competition:
- Best in Show: €12,000
- Second General Prize: €6,000
- Third General Prize: €4,000
- Tartget Fusion Prize: €4,000
- Acquisition Prizes: €1,000, €2,000, €3,000, and €4,000
- Best in Category: €500
After selecting the 200 finalists, Tartget Prize, along with a panel of physical jurors, will determine the works to be included in the grand physical exhibition to be held in Madrid, Spain, from June 5 to 12, 2025, in the historic Ateneo de Madrid building, just steps away from the Prado Museum and the Thyssen, where most of the winners will be announced.
About Tartget Prize
Tartget Prize is a major international painting competition celebrating its first edition, awarding over €50,000 in prizes. It is sponsored by some of the leading fine art product brands worldwide and boasts a prestigious jury composed of renowned international painters, gallerists, collectors, art critics, and curators.
Undoubtedly, it is a great opportunity for all painters who wish to advance their painting careers, gain recognition, establish themselves in the market, open doors to new opportunities, win significant cash prizes, and exhibit their work in Madrid, one of the world’s most important cultural cities, at the physical exhibition showcasing the best finalist and awarded works.
For more information, contact ceo@tartgetpaintingprize.com
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[Side Arts Certified Sponsored Listing] Laguna Art-A-Fair announces a call for artists for the 2025 Laguna Art-A-Fair Summer Festival. In it’s 58th year, the fine arts festival will be open daily from June 27th to August 31st, 2025.
Laguna Beach, California, is an acclaimed destination for those interested in artwork of all types, with dozens of galleries. The three summer festivals located adjacent to each other along Laguna Canyon Road draw a high number of visitors, with Laguna Art-A-Fair located between the other two festivals.
Click here for the application / registration
Enter by: 3 February 2025
Unlike the other two summer art festivals adjacent to Laguna Art-A-Fair, there are no residency requirements.
Over 50,000 attendees visit Laguna Art-A-Fair each summer. Laguna Beach is a very popular summer tourist destination for its beaches, coastline, restaurants, and art galleries. Juried-in exhibitors choose booth sizes from 1/2 booth (8 linear feet) up to 1 1/2 booth (24 linear feet). Booths are constructed with drywall walls for exhibitor use, making the displaying of artwork very easy.
Since all sales are processed through a central cashier, even if an exhibitor isn’t in attendance, sales opportunities are not lost. There is 24-hour security, which minimizes concerns of theft of artwork. The fair is aggressive in its social media promotion of the festival with over 300,000 Facebook followers and over 100,000 Instagram followers.
About Laguna Art-A-Fair
Laguna Art-A-Fair is renowned for the high quality and wide diversity of its fine art offerings. Laguna Art-A-Fair’s theme is a “Festival Without Borders”. Each year, artists from other states and even other countries exhibit in the festival. The art fair is consistently voted as the best summer art festival in Laguna Beach. The organization runs as a cooperative, with each exhibitor as a member who has a say in the festival’s operation, and a Board of Directors elected from the membership. Besides booth fees, exhibitors pay only a 20% commission on sales.
For more information, contact lagunaartafair@gmail.com
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[Side Arts Certified Sponsored Listing] KiteraSpace announces a call for artists for Perceptions Unscripted, an online international art competition. Perceptions Unscripted calls artists to explore the concept of transcending perceptual limitations, whether physical, emotional, cultural, or imaginative. It challenges creators to reflect on breaking barriers, crossing thresholds, and pushing past the edges of what is accepted as real.
Click here for the application / registration
Enter by: 28 February 2025
2D and 3D works in all styles, media, and subjects are welcomed.
Finalists will have their work featured in the virtual galleries of Kitera.Space and Art.Space and will move on to the final round of jurying in consideration for cash awards and honors. Exhibition will be freely accessible through any device and viewable online.
Bring your work to life and the world. Promote your art in the Competition Virtual Galleries. Share freely, get instant visitors and sell your art directly. Enjoy a 3D-Virtual space to exhibit your art quickly and easily. Have more visibility in a respected, global virtual gallery platform. Network with worldwide curators, collectors, and art professionals. Inclusion in a milestone development celebrating emerging and contemporary artists through virtual exhibitions.
About KiteraSpace
KiteraSpace’s mission is to connect contemporary art with curators, collectors, art professionals, education professionals, and the general public world wide. The submission fees received go towards awards, funding the platform, and providing opportunities and free resources to artists and educators around the world. They support the production of free virtual exhibitions, enabling an independent platform dedicated to artists.
KiteraSpace provides online art curated collections in a familiar art gallery setting, with free movement and true scale. Unlimited by reality. Accessible for everyone. Visit 3D art exhibitions from the comfort of your browser. Discover new and interesting art to acquire directly from the artist. Experience more art than would ever be possible in reality. Whenever and Wherever.
For more information, contact art@kitera.space
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[Side Arts Certified Sponsored Listing] The New York Center for Photographic Art (NYC4PA) announces a call for artists for Street Photography, an online photography competition.
Street photography, as an art form, captures a special essence of life, not posed, not set up, but there in the streets, yards, and avenues we pass every day. The challenge is composing those photographs that set them apart from snapshots. Take your camera or phone outside with you and capture the odd juxtaposition of a passerby and a window decoration, special look, split-second moment of communication, or scene that conveys a message or feeling. The examples are too numerous and varied to list. All 2D photography is welcome.
Click here for the application / registration
Enter by: 9 February 2025
NYC4PA offers opportunities to participate in themed calls for photographers. Each call has a different theme and 50 images win. The prizes total $4000. There is a grand prize, 3 first prizes, 3 second prizes, 3 third prizes, 20 juror’s selections, and 20 honorable mentions. All 50 winners are posted in a gallery on the NYC4PA website and included in an exhibition gallery. The call is open to any photographers worldwide and of any age, amateurs or professional. A professional photographer, gallery owner, or photography teacher is the juror.
About New York Center for Photographic Art
The mission of the New York Center for Photographic Art is to provide exhibition opportunities in the vibrant New York City gallery world to photographers around the globe. NYC4PA offers international, themed, open call competitions juried by recognized experts in the field of photography. Prizes include cash awards, online gallery, catalog, and New York City gallery exhibits.
For more information, contact nyc4pa@gmail.com