Artists Opportunities #540

"Going Home" by Mary Elizabeth Gosselink

Every week, we gather a variety of artist opportunities from the DC area and beyond. Find one below and apply today — good luck! Click here for recent opportunities posts, and submit your opportunity listing here.

 

Opportunities

 

8th Annual ALL Photography and Digital Art Online Art Competition, Contemporary Art Gallery Online

Deadline: December 27   Contemporary Art Gallery Online encourages entries from all 2D artists regardless of their experience, education in the art field or where they may reside.  This is an international competition and everyone is encouraged to participate. A group exhibition of all entrants will be held online at the Contemporary Art Gallery Online following the close of the competition for thirty days. There is no theme for this current art competition.  Artists should submit their best representational and non-representational photographic and/or digital art. Learn more here.

 

Call for Art, Artists for the Earth

Deadline: December 31   Earth Day Network is inviting artists and arts organizations around the globe to join with Earth Day 2020 by registering their work on our Artists for the Earth pages. Join a powerful movement of environmentalists to be a part of the 50th anniversary of Earth Day on April 22! Your art will be shared on a global network with reach of over half a million people. Artwork in every medium, in every genre is accepted: fine art, film, poetry, dance, theatre. Learn more here.

 

Internship, Maryland Art Place Inc.

Deadline: January 4   Maryland Art Place (MAP) in Baltimore is offering a virtual internship for upper level college students, graduate students and recent graduates, The intern will be responsible for assisting MAP in a variety of ways, ranging from programming to administration, with opportunities for special projects depending on skills and professional interest. Duties include: performing research; assisting with gallery preparation and installation; photo/video documentation; coordinating events; gallery sitting; social media and community outreach. The ideal candidate is positive, professional, and reliable. Familiarity with Mac and PC platforms, Microsoft Office, Photoshop, and social media preferred. Interested applicants should email a cover letter briefly outlining their interest in the position and their educational and professional goals, along with a résumé to Caitlin Gill: [email protected].

 

Janet & Walter Sondheim Artscape Prize – Baltimore

Deadline: January 11   The Baltimore Office of Promotion & The Arts (BOPA) announces that applications for the 16th annual Janet & Walter Sondheim Artscape Prize are now open. The prestigious competition awards a $25,000 fellowship to assist in furthering the career of a visual artist or visual artist collaborators living and working in the Greater Baltimore region. For more information, click here.

 

Ankhlave Public Art Fellowship for BIPOC Artists / Residencies – Flushing, NY

Deadline: January 15   For the 3rd Annual AnkhLave Garden Project Fellowship, a diverse panel of judges will select six AnkhLave Garden Project Fellows to create public art that will remain on site at the Queens Botanical Garden, as well as in an indoor gallery space as an interrogation of “art space.” For more information, click here.

 

Open Call, Second Street Gallery – Charlottesville, VA

Deadline: February 28   Second Street Gallery is now accepting proposals for solo and group exhibitions for Season 48 (2021-2022). The gallery welcomes proposals for consideration in works of all media – drawings, prints, photography, paintings, sculptures, installations, videos, sound, performance, and interdisciplinary projects. Exhibition proposals must be by and from living artists, who may be of both emerging and established reputation. To apply, click here.

 

Calls & Submissions, Merge: Nation’s Best Emerging Young Artists with Disabilities / Calls & Submissions – DC

Deadline: April 28   The VSA (Very Special Arts) Emerging Young Artists Program amplifies the voices of visual artists with disabilities through career development and professional empowerment. The competition seeks excellent work from emerging artists with disabilities, ages 16-25, residing in the United States. Fifteen winning artists are selected by jury. Grand Prize is $20,000, First Prize is $10,000, Second Prize is $6,000, and the remaining Awards of Excellence are $2,000 each. For winning artists, one of the submitted artworks will be selected for a national exhibition. Artists participate in professional development activities provided by the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. Learn more here.

 

 

Re-runs: These have been previously posted, but it’s not too late to enter!

 

Call for Arts and Social Justice Fellow – Rockville, MD

Deadline: December 23   VisArts has created a new Arts and Social Justice Fellowship Program for visual activists whose current research, curatorial or visual activist practice, and passion centers on social, racial, economic, and/or environmental justice. The year-long fellowship is an opportunity to explore how thoughtfully curated art, dialogue, communication, and collaborations between artists and communities can productively navigate political flash points, chronic systemic inequities, and entrenched perspectives to inspire change towards a more equitable, just, and inclusive society. Learn more here.

 

Call for Entries, Northern Virginia Fine Arts Festival 2021 – Reston, VA

Deadline: December 27   The annual Northern Virginia Fine Arts Festival is a competitive, juried event that is consistently rated as one of the best outdoor art festivals in the country, both for the quality of the artwork presented and for its exceptional artist hospitality. Mediums for submission include ceramics, digital and multi-media art/drawing/mixed media 2D, glass, jewelry, painting, photography, printmaking, sculpture/mixed media 3D/Metal, textiles, and wood. To enter, click here.

 

Call For Entries, Artist/Writers: Cover Art For Academic Medicine

Deadline: December 30   Submit original works of art inspired by, but not necessarily representative of, an academic medicine experience from any perspective: caregiver, researcher, teacher, learner, or patient (for example, learning how to be a physician or scientist, caring for patients, exploring research questions, making a new discovery, being a research participant, teaching, or being cared for in a teaching hospital). The journal welcomes photography, sculpture, painting, textile work, and other visual media. Images may be cropped or resized to fit into the allotted cover space. Artists must also submit a related Cover Art essay as a narrative companion to the artwork, to explain the connection between the work and the “academic medicine experience.”  Learn more here.

 

Call For Entries, Techpressions 2021

Deadline: December 31   Techspressionism 2021 is an online exhibition to be presented online at Techspressionism.com using the Kunstmatrix 3D exhibition platform. Entries will be limited to two-dimensional works (paintings, drawings, digital images, and prints) in which technology is utilized as a means to express emotional experience. Learn more here.

 

Applications Open for 5 New Affordable Live/Work Units for Artists – DC

Deadline: December 31   CulturalDC, Foulger-Pratt, and DC Housing and Community Development Fair Housing Program are pleased to offer an opportunity for artists of all disciplines to live and create in the historic Eckington neighborhood near Alethia Tanner Park. The two-story units are 2 bedroom and 2 or 3 bathroom with a work space, flex/retail space, kitchen, and slop sink. Interested tenants must meet the income requirements of 60% Median Family Income (MFI), have a household of 2-5 people, and show a commitment to artistic practice and/or active participation in the arts industry and local arts community. Priority will be given to artists in need of housing who currently live or work in the District. Earliest move-in is in Spring 2021. Artists of all disciplines, ethnicities, races, genders, sexual orientations, abilities, religions, ages, languages, and backgrounds are encouraged and welcome to apply! Learn more here.

 

Street Art Competition Request for Proposals, B&O Railroad Museum – Baltimore

Deadline: January 3, 2021   Street art and graffiti have a deep connection with railroads, as works of art crisscross the nation on train cars, connecting artists with unknown new communities. As a reflection on railroads themselves, the B&O Railroad Museum, in partnership with the Creative Alliance, is seeking street art and graffiti art proposals that respond to the idea of connectedness, in our Baltimore community and as a nation. Four selected artists will have the opportunity to create a mural of their design on a train car at the Museum. Learn more here.

 

Call for Entries, Wharton Esherick Museum 27th Annual Juried Woodworking Exhibition – Malvern, PA

Deadline: January 4   For the 27th year of the Wharton Esherick Museum’s annual juried woodworking exhibition, we invite you to share innovative works of art, craft, and design that showcase wood and at least one other medium. Whether functional or sculptural, each submission should reflect the way Esherick worked across a vast spectrum of materials and practices as well as his outside the box thinking. We want to know how you might complete the phrase “wood and…” Learn more here.

 

New Jersey Arts Annual: ReVision and Respond – Newark, NJ

Deadline: January 8, 2021   The Newark Museum of Art welcomes submissions to the 2021 New Jersey Arts Annual: ReVision and Respond. This open call invites a range of artistic practices- from traditional to abstract, from craft to new media– that explore the ReVision and Respond theme. The exhibition is open to any artist currently living or working in New Jersey. For more information, click here.

 

Communication Arts 2021 Illustration Competition

Deadline: January 8   Introduce your work to the world. Enter the most prestigious competition for creativity in illustration, the Communication Arts Illustration Competition. Selected by a nationally representative jury of distinguished designers, art directors and illustrators, the winning entries will be distributed worldwide in the Communication Arts Illustration Annual, in print and digital editions, and on commarts.com, assuring important exposure to the creators of this outstanding work. For more information, click here.

 

2021 Shenandoah National Park Artist-in-Residence Program — Luray, VA

Deadline: January 8   Shenandoah National Park’s Artist-in-Residence program offers professional artists an opportunity to live and work in this exceptional environment for three weeks. The works completed during the program will serve, through the creativity of the selected artists, to deepen the understanding and appreciation of Shenandoah National Park. The Park’s Artist-in-Residence program is supported by a generous donation from the Shenandoah National Park Trust. For more information, click here.

 

Call for Entry, Annmarie Sculpture Garden Presents On Paper: Printmaking, Book Arts & Beyond – Solomons, MD

Deadline: January 8   The Kay Daugherty Gallery at Annmarie Sculpture Garden & Arts Center will feature On Paper: Printmaking, Book Arts & Beyond. Selected work will highlight the expanse of printmaking and book arts as an artistic discipline. Techniques such as relief printing, etching, lithography, paper making, book binding, letterpress, collage and papercut will be explored. All works should showcase the unique process and craftsmanship that goes into each handmade paper, print, or collage. Learn more here.

 

Summer 2021 Exhibition Opportunities, The Delaware Contemporary – Wilmington, DE

Deadline: January 15   The Delaware Contemporary is accepting submissions for solo and group exhibitions to be held June 4 – August 27, 2021. In line with the regional focus of the opportunity, we are only accepting submissions within a 50-mile radius of Wilmington, Delaware. For more information, click here.

 

Call for Entry, The Delaware Contemporary Natural Movement”: Unapologetic Conversations of Hair and Nonconformity – Wilmington, DE

Deadline: January 15   We are seeking new works of art of any medium, two or three-dimensional, that celebrate nonconformity of black hair, but empower us to be who we were naturally made to be.  What does it look like to embrace our natural identity, specifically our kinky, curly, coily hair without apology? How has nonconformity and hair influenced your work?  That celebrates our hair to grow out of our heads naturally without shame or criticism. How has the complexities of our hair shown up in our practice, our work, our dialogue, our narratives? In line with the regional focus of the opportunity, we are only accepting submissions within a 50-MILE RADIUS of Wilmington, Delaware. For more information, click here.

 

Call for Artists, miXt Food Hall Mural Project – Brentwood, MD

Deadline: January 22   MiXt Food Hall (miXt) is a culinary arts incubator providing space, equipment, services, and mentorship to new food concepts in a community venue that encourages meaningful social engagement. Located in the Gateway Arts District at 3809 Rhode Island Avenue, Brentwood, Maryland, miXt seeks artists to paint 14 individual mini murals on seven cement columns within the communal food hall for public viewing. Learn more here.

 

Call For Entries, Outwin Boochevar Portrait Competition 2022 – D.C.

Deadline, January 28, 2021   The National Portrait Gallery invites artists to submit portraits in any media for consideration in the sixth triennial Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition. Artists are encouraged to think about portraiture’s potential to engage with the social and political landscape of our time. For more information, click here.

 

Call for Artists, Target Gallery – Alexandria, VA

Deadline: February 5   Target Gallery invites artists to submit their work for consideration to a new digital and in-person exhibition Those Spaces Between Us. This all-media group exhibition will explore concepts of liminal or transient spaces and how we occupy them or, conversely, how we do not. This exhibition will present an introspective view on how spaces can offer a physical embodiment of ambiguity and transition, creating a narrative how we as people move through them. For more information, click here.

 

2021 National Juried Art Exhibition, Academy Center of the Arts – Lynchburg, VA

Deadline: February 12   This opportunity is open to U.S. residents, 18 years or older, working in the following disciplines; painting, sculpture, drawing, printmaking, fiber, glass, ceramics, wood, metal, and mixed media. No photography accepted. For more information click here.

 

Artists on the Rise: Ninth Annual Juried Teen Exhibition – Laurel, MD

Deadline: February 21   This opportunity is open to artists 13–18 years of age who are residents of Maryland, Virginia, or the District of Columbia. Participants may attend public/private middle and high schools, or home school. Submitted artwork cannot have been previously exhibited at Montpelier Arts Center. Apply here.

 

Call For Entries, Athenaeum Gallery – Alexandria, VA

Deadline: August 25, 2021   Artists who live or work in Virginia, Maryland, or the District of Columbia may submit a proposal for a solo show.  A group of artists who live or work in the area may submit a proposal for a group show.  A curator, living or working anywhere, may submit a proposal for a show featuring works by artists living or working in this area. For more information, click here.

 

 

Ongoing: These opportunities have rolling deadlines.

 

(RECENT) Call For Stories About Women in the Arts, Maryland State Arts Council

2020 has been dedicated to the Year of the Woman in Maryland. Do you have an inspiring story about vital contributions of women-identifying people who are artists, arts administrators, or cultural workers? Perhaps an exhibition, performance or project featuring women? Share it with the Maryland State Arts Council for potential use in marketing and communications! Send your ideas to [email protected], and include “Year of the Woman” in the subject line. Satff will contact senders whose stories are selected for inclusion in future newsletters, eblasts, or social media postings. Learn more about Maryland’s year of the Woman here.

 

(RECENT) Call For Artists, Busboys and Poets

Busboys and Poets is looking for submissions from Maryland and Virginia artists as it expands to new locations in both areas. Submissions can include drawings, painting, photography, sculpture, mixed media, assemblage, fiber, quilts, etc. Art images reflecting life in the city, family, portraits, whimsy, abstraction, social uplift and life experiences within diverse cultures are encouraged for submission. For more information, click here.

 

Alterwork Studios Online Residency

This residency was designed to give emerging contemporary artists an online platform to create new work and explore their practice. Over the course of four weeks, artists will be encouraged to experiment and explore their concepts and move their work forward in the contemporary art world. Learn more here.

 

Accepting Artwork for Curatorial Review by AIWA

The Alper Initiative for Washington Art features five exhibitions per year in the newly constructed first floor space in the American University Museum. We accept submissions, on a rolling basis,  from Washington artists of all ages and backgrounds, and working in diverse media. The museum’s Director and Curator, Jack Rasmussen, will select curators who will review these submissions for potential use in Alper Initiative exhibitions. For more information click here.

 

Call For Entry Hamilton Arts Collective Guest Artist Exhibition – Baltimore, MD

The Hamilton Arts Collective (HAC) and the Hamilton Gallery seek applications from artists for month-long Guest Artist exhibitions at Hamilton Gallery located at 5502 Harford Road, Baltimore, MD. The selected guest artists will be invited to exhibit a selection of their current work in Gallery I of the Hamilton Gallery. The Guest Artist exhibition is featured in Hamilton Gallery communications and will be promoted by the HAC and Hamilton Gallery. This is an open call to artists residing within 60 miles of Baltimore City. Baltimore residents are encouraged to apply. Click here to learn more.

 

Howard County Arts Council Quarterly Call For Artists – Ellicott City, MD

The Howard County Arts Council gallery program was established to enhance the public’s appreciation of the visual arts, provide a venue to exhibit the work of local, regional, and national artists in a professional space, and provide leadership in the arts by presenting a broad spectrum of arts in all media from both emerging and established artists. Artists, ages 18 and older, working in all media and styles including time-based and installation artists, are encouraged to apply either individually or as a group. Proposals from curators and arts organizations are also welcome. Click here to learn more.

 

Exhibit at Hotel Indigo Downtown Baltimore — Baltimore, MD

The Maryland Art Place (MAP) is working with Hotel Indigo in downtown Baltimore to offer rotating exhibitions in the hotel’s library and Poets Modern Cocktails and Eats restaurant. This opportunity is open to visual artists living or working in Maryland. ’s public art partnership projects (MAP), in partnership with Hotel Indigo, is pleased to announce an open call to artists. MAP will curate four exhibitions a year based on submissions entered through a rolling basis. Click here to learn more.

 

Solo or Group Shows in Athenaeum Gallery – VA

The Athenaeum Gallery in Alexandria, Virginia exhibits visual arts created solely by artists living or working in the region (DC, Maryland and Virginia) and strives to present visitors with a wide variety of excellent art and unique experiences.  In addition to the shows curated by the Gallery Director, the Athenaeum Gallery invites artists and curators to submit show proposals. For more information, click here.

 

The Creativity Grant Program State of Maryland (MD)

Deadline: Rolling. The purpose of the Creativity Grant Program is to strengthen the vitality and sustainability of artists and small organizations to maintain a strong and stable arts infrastructure in the State of Maryland. The Creativity Grant also provides opportunities to serve the growing needs of relevant arts projects and collaborations within Maryland communities. For more information regarding eligibility and funding timelines, please review the Creativity Grants Guidelines. For more information about the program, and to apply visit the Creativity Grant Program State of Maryland website.

 

Artist/Writers: Cover Art for Academic Medicine

Deadline: Rolling. Submit original works of art inspired by, but not necessarily representative of, an academic medicine experience from any perspective: caregiver, researcher, teacher, learner, or patient (for example, learning how to be a physician or scientist, caring for patients, exploring research questions, making a new discovery, being a research participant, teaching, or being cared for in a teaching hospital). The journal welcomes photography, sculpture, painting, textile work, and other visual media. Images may be cropped or resized to fit into the allotted cover space. Artists must also submit a related Cover Art essay as a narrative companion to the artwork, to explain the connection between the work and the “academic medicine experience.” The related narrative should be 250 to 600 words and is subject to editing. To apply for this opportunity, and to learn more, visit the Academic Medicine website.

 

The Awesome Foundation Accepting Applications for Art Projects

Deadline: Open. The Awesome Foundation for the Arts and Sciences is a worldwide network of people devoted to forwarding the interest of “awesomeness in the universe.” Established in 2009, the foundation distributes $1,000 grants on a monthly basis to projects and their creators. The money is pooled from ten or more self-organizing “micro-trustees.” The chapters are autonomous and organized by the trustees around geographic areas or topics of interest. Apply on the Awesome Foundation website.

 

Call for Artists: Maryland Art Place Seeks Proposals for Rotating Exhibition Partnership with Baltimore’s Hotel Indigo (MD)

Deadline: rolling. Maryland Art Place (MAP), in partnership with Hotel Indigo is pleased to announce an open ‘Call to Artists’. As an extension of MAP’s annual IMPACT public art partnership projects, MAP is working with Hotel Indigo to offer rotating exhibitions in Hotel indigo’s library and Poets Modern Cocktails and Eats. This opportunity is available to visual artists living or working in Maryland. Maryland Art Place will curate four exhibitions a year based on submissions entered through a rolling basis. Guidelines and information here.

 

Peripheral ARTeries – Biennial Contemporary Art Publication

Deadline: Rolling. Peripheral ARTeries is looking for artists to be featured in the new special Biennial Edition of their art publication, that comes to its 10th edition. This opportunity is great for both established and early career artists who need a boost to their artist portfolio. The 10th edition will once again explore and show current trends and tendencies in Contemporary Art: Peripheral ARTeries cultivates a spirit of openness through a unique collaborative and participatory approach.Each artist may submit a maximum of three works or projects made in any technique: painting, drawing, video art, experimental cinema, fine art photography, experimental media, mixed media, installations, public art, performance. The call is open to all proposed kind of art and media capable of challenging the viewers’ traditional perspective on art itself. To submit, visit the Peripheral ARTeries website.

 

Exhibit at Hotel Indigo (VA)

Artists works will displayed in the hotel’s gallery (220 S Union St, Old Town Alexandria) for a six-month period. Two-dimensional, framed works only. Artists will install the work using the hotel’s mounting hardware. Labels will be provided by the hotel. All sales handled by artist, no commission. Preference for local or locally influenced selections but not required. The space measures approximately 7’10” by 8’3.″ If interested, contact Kate Ellis, General Manager, [email protected].

 

The New Project Studio – Ongoing Opportunity (VA)

Ongoing. Located in Studio 8, the New Project Studio is a community-focused arts incubator space that offers a short-term location to test new program ideas, spotlight underrepresented voices, and enhance community engagement. Projects rotate on a regular basis. For more information, click here.

 

Public Arts Grants & Opportunities (VA)

Ongoing. The City of Alexandria’s Office of the Arts provides grants for nonprofit arts organizations as well as individual artists. See all current opportunities and online applications here.

 

Residency: Maryland

Deadline: ongoing. Montgomery College, Rockville and Germantown Art Department is seeking proposals for its Artist-in-Residence Program, encouraging proposals that cultivate collaborative work between artists and students.

 

Looking for artists: Foundry Gallery (DC)

Deadline: ongoing. Foundry Gallery is seeking a few artists in the greater Washington, DC area. If interested in applying for membership please send up to five images (jpg attachments) and an email letter to: [email protected]. The oldest cooperative in Washington, the gallery holds monthly solo and members’ group shows at its beautiful space north of Shaw near the 9:30 Club.

 

Looking for artists: Printmakers (DC)

Deadline: ongoing. Washington Printmakers Gallery is seeking artist members specializing in printmaking, photography and book arts. An active cooperative for over 30 years, the gallery holds monthly solo and members’ group shows in its lovely space in upper Georgetown. Distant and shared memberships are available. If interested in applying for membership please email [email protected].

 

 

 

Artful Weekend December 19 – 20

"Don't Let 2020 Make You Grinchy," by Lane and Leslie Kimball, can be seen along the 1000 block of King Street as part of the Old Town Holiday Art Walk.

Welcome to Artful Weekend, our guide for enjoying area art events and activities in person or at home.

 

This weekend: Open Exhibit and Petite December at The Art League; virtual abstract exhibits; spiraling kids sculpture; and more!

 

December Exhibitions at The Art League

 

December 2020 Open Exhibit

 

“Mark & Macademia” by Karen Baith

 

This month’s group exhibition, juried by New York-based illustrator and fine artist Mark Bischel, features an array of artworks in mediums ranging from painting and photography to sculpture and fiber art. It is on view through Sunday, January 3 in the Gallery, or view it online. Learn more about Bischel and read  his remarks about the his best-in-show and honorable mentions picks in the latest Juror Profile.

 

Petite December

 

“Tropical Shadows” by Kathleen Kopec

Our perennial favorite is back! This year’s Petite December Exhibit, juried by Baltimore Museum of Art Chief Curator Asma Naeem, features 74 small works (priced at $150 or less!) that are available for immediate purchase during the holiday season. It is on view through Sunday, January 3 in the Gallery, or view and shop the exhibit online.

 

 

Old Town Holiday Lamp Post Art Walk

 

 

Get into the holiday spirit with the first annual Old Town Holiday Lamp Post Art Walk, presented by Old Town Business Association and The Art League! Take a self-guided tour along King Street and selected side streets to see lamp posts adorned with festive works by Art League artists. They will be up through January 8. Chart your path with this handy map.

 

 

Artul Giving

Holliday shopping this weekend? Make The Art League your one-stop destination for gifts that your favorite artists and art lovers will appreciate and cherish. Check out our gift guide for ideas.

 

 

Virtual Viewings

 

“Lonely Woman”, acrylic on canvas, by Joseph Cortina

 

McClean Project the Arts galleries are closed for regular public viewing, but you can see two current solo exhibitions online. In Vertical Interval: New Works by Joseph Cortina, the McLean-based artist exhibits paintings and digital works that explore the intersection and tension between physical and digital landscapes. Drawing on his background as a painter and his long career creating films and interactive experiences for museums, Cortina’s new works are a response to the fleeting, elusive quality of time-based media.

 

“Fields-Overlaps,” acrylic on canvas, by Shanthi Chandrasekar

Shanthi Chandrasekar  creates work that explores the big questions of science and the natural world in her exhibition Beginningless Endless. Employing the mediums of drawing, painting, and sculpture, and tapping into her training in physics and psychology, Chandrasekar has created a vehicle for both her observational questioning and the wild journeys of her imagination.

See both Chandraeskar and Cortina discuss their work in this recent artist talk. To schedule a private viewing of either exhibit, contact [email protected].

 

Exploring Space Time in 3-D

 

Construction 140 in the Baltimore Museum of Art Sculpture Garden

In the Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA) Sculpture Garden you can find José Ruiz de Rivera’s sculpture Construction 140, with spirals made of stainless steel that rotate every four minutes. It is the inspiration for this cool project that lets young artists create their own spiraling sculpture masterpieces. Click here for instructons.

 

 

Enjoy your weekend, wear your mask.

 

 

 

From Rust to Dust: A present-day photograph remembers the past

"Steelworker's Houses," by Craig Nedrow, is the December 2020 Open Exhibit Best-in-Show Award winner.

by Haven Ashley

 

Steelworkers’ Houses, the best-in-show winning photograph by Craig Nedrow, is a lesson in contrast, in tonal range and composition, from the sharp diagonal rooflines to the languid sloping road, the downy plume of steam, to the taut power lines. With nuances of charcoal, pewter, obsidian; salt, bone, cotton—Nedrow’s photograph is anything but black and white. 

The photographer shared that on the morning the photo was taken, he had considered staying in. “But I decided breakfast could wait.” He could not resist the pull of the old steel mill, one of the last functioning mills in the United States. It had brought him all the way to the outskirts of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. One can imagine the austere presence of the immense mill on that clear winter morning. The tang of cold metal and the numbing breath of exhaust. “The light was so good. It was a lot of luck. That’s kinda the way it goes with photography, you gotta have a little luck,” Nedrow commented. 

Steelworkers’ Houses’ romantic vision of industry brings to mind the approach of the Regionalist painters, especially Thomas Hart Benton, whose work celebrated Americans on the job. The drama and dynamism of an economic landscape transformed by steel and steam were seen through Benton’s eyes as a subject worthy of the same emotive, monumental styling of a Hollywood epic. 

 

“Instruments of Power,” a panel from the Thomas Hart Benton mural “America Today, 1930–31”

 

Benton and his contemporaries captured Americans on the move, chronicling the reality of societal change, the cost of laborers turning earth into gold—whether it be gleaming kernels of corn from the Plains or molten iron ore from the Northeast. At times gritty, other times glamorous, hard work was always glorified by the Regionalists as the American way of life. 

 

“Changing West,” a panel from the Thomas Hart Benton mural “America Today, 1930–31”

 

Decades later, Nedrow’s photograph shows an America that has moved on. From company town to ghost town, the aftermath of automation is a haunting scene. “People are surprised that it’s a modern-day image,” Nedrow said, remarking on the image’s timeless quality, “It’s a challenge to take a photo that looks like it is from fifty years ago.” The artist has traveled the country searching for such industrial sites—places with the patina of age, but still producing goods. “I was born in the rust belt—Ohio—and I’ve always been drawn to old machinery and structures. I don’t go to these sites with the intent of showing how rundown or depressed some areas are or appear to be. I go mostly because they are interesting images. I’m not trying to make a statement or have a political message. I guess I’m just kind of a romantic.”  

 

Juror Profile: Mark Bischel

Mark Bischel, illustrator and December 2020 Open Exhibit juror

Artist Mark Bischel, our December juror, has made a name for himself by capturing the energy of New York City streets after dark. We caught up with him on a recent morning to talk about why nighttime is the right time for drawing, the things that feed him creatively, and what he liked most about the award winners he picked in this month’s Open Exhibit.

By Julia Chance

About a decade ago, New York-based illustrator Mark Bischel created a deck of cards based on the 19th-century optical novelty myriorama where picture cards can be arranged in different combinations to become a single image. Bischel’s scenes captured the routine dynamism of the city—a person descending subway stairs; a grocery clerk manning a flower stand; a man caught in the glow of his smartphone amid the glow of Times Square; bicyclists and pedestrians heading across the Brooklyn Bridge. The cards became a short-lived museum souvenir titled Endless New YorkBut that title could just as well describe much of Bischel’s work which reflects his ongoing fascination with the Big Apple. 

 

One of fifteen picture cards in in “Endless New York.”

His preoccupation with cityscapes developed out of necessity. When he left a teaching job at the Kansas City Art Institute (KCAI) in Missouri to enter a master’s program at New York’s School of Visual Art (SVA), he says, “My work was scattered, and I didn’t feel very good about it.” The SVA program required students to make work based on an overarching theme.

“I started to list the things that I was interested in, and it was all pretty boring and not worthy of a body of work,” he recalls. “But I was amazed at the city—the infrastructure, the subways, the scale. And since the program stressed drawing on location, I just began to draw what I saw around me.”

Bischel is especially enamored with New York at night. “I’ve always liked the works of Edward Hopper, and was sort of drawn to night scenes,” he says. “I like the way that the night kind of breaks the picture plane, the light and dark, into dynamic shapes. I like looking for that passageway or that point of light, and the city [at night] is perfect for that.”

Resurfaced, his illustrated book of cityscapes as experienced by a bicyclist at night, is a fine example of the interplay of contrasting shapes that he describes. It began as a plan to print small bound books as calling cards to art directors but evolved into something bigger. The National Gallery of Art Library acquired it two years ago.

 

Spread from Artist Book Resurfaced, Screenprint on Rives BFK, 14 X 22, Artists’ and Fine Press Book Library, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC

 

Man in a Box, a portrait series he started in graduate school, captures varied attendants working New York’s ubiquitous outdoor parking lots, illuminated by the light in the booths they occupy. One of those paintings is in the Schwartz Art Collection at Harvard Business School.

 

“North of Canal,” Oil on Wood, 16 X 22, Collection Harvard Business School

 

For the series Fear of Flying, Bischel trades street scenes for those of air travel. His depictions of passengers pecking on laptops, dozing uncomfortably in the upright position, or enduring cramped seats and runway delays could be considered a sly commentary on the annoyances of flying. But the series stems from the artist’s aerophobia.

 

Turbulence panic is illustrated in “Damn Rough Flight” from Bischel’s “Fear of Flying” series.

 

“To get my mind off of being scared witless while flying I usually request an aisle seat and sit there and draw,” is how he describes his in-flight process for creating the pen and ink drawings that he later colors in Photoshop. “Over the years I’ve gotten some really fine drawings from a fearful place.”

Bischel studied commercial art at the University of Central Missouri with plans on becoming a graphic artist. While there he became proficient in the mechanical process of hot metal typesetting which helped land him a job at a design studio after graduation. During that time he also began to illustrate in earnest.

Later, teaching drawing at his alma mater led to an offer to teach in the illustration department at KCAI which he considers a defining point in his career.

“That was a really big step forward for me because I wasn’t just working alone on projects, I was working with faculty members and having to think more about what illustration, drawing, and art meant to me and how to translate that to the students,” he explains. “Teaching is a huge responsibility and it makes me push myself to stand and deliver.”

Another career-defining moment for the artist was when he met noted illustrator Marshall Arisman who was teaching a workshop at KCAI. Arisman also chairs SVA’s Illustration as Visual Essay MFA program that Bischel was interested in. “I said, ‘Marshall, I think I’m going to come and visit you in New York City.’ A year later I entered the program. It was a great experience and I never went back to Kansas City.”

Like a lot of illustrators in New York, Bischel has also worked in advertising. For several years, a gig at Havas Worldwide (now Havas Creative) kept him busy making storyboards and concept visuals for brands like Evian, Volvo, Intel, and Exxon Mobil, as well as the humorous “Most Interesting Man in the World” ad campaign for Dos Equis beer.

As Bischel’s artistry evolved over the years, so did his idea of himself as an artist. “I was always striving to be more of an illustrator than an artist writ large,” he says, mostly due to the conventional belief that an artist could not be both. He cites fine artists like John Sloan, William Glackens, and Edward Hopper, as examples of fine artists whose early vocation as illustrators is not always acknowledged. “Andy Warhol was a a fashion illustrator for a while in the fifties, but you rarely hear about that.”

His experience at SVA, along with becoming immersed in New York’s art scene, helped him to let go of that notion. “Among my peers and the artists I admire that line has blurred,” he notes. “I started considering myself an artist when I changed my way of thinking.”

These days when Bischel is not drawing on location he teaches various drawing courses at SVA. “I enjoy working with students and am amazed by the big leaps in progress that they can make in their work. It is satisfying to see.”

Upon seeing the submissions for the December 2020 Open Exhibit, Bischel says, “I was struck by the number of non-figurative works that were among the entries. There were a lot of pleasant landscapes and photographic work that was especially strong.”

He took his time poring over all of the artwork with three considerations in mind: “I looked at the formal attributes of a piece, what it represented, and how it made me feel.” The biggest challenge? “Narrowing down the honorable mentions. That was tough!” Here are his remarks on those, and the best-in-show.

 

Best-in-Show Award winnerSteel Workers’ Houses by Craig Nedrow

“This is an image that struck me right away. It’s unapologetic. There is the repetition of form, and yet there’s variety in it. I like that tree that is in the foreground, then you’ve got the middle ground of the three houses—like three friends standing there—and then the factory, where those people who live in those houses get out and work every day. It’s one of those pieces of work that makes me think about people’s lives. It’s really beautiful and yet there’s a melancholy to it.”

 

Honorable Mentions:

At the End of the Day by Carol Dawn Petersen

“I like this for the formal reasons, foremost. It’s got a very subdued palette that has great unity. There’s a little note of color, a little red, in the man’s belt. There is a variety of patterns in this that I find interesting—the tile, the five circles, and then the piles of leather being tanned. I love the pattern of light and shadow very much. And then the man. There is something very moving about the way he’s leaning, the way his head is down and his back is hunched, and the way he bridges the two piles of leather. It’s a powerful image. It’s great in an emotional sense, and really compelling and well done in a formal sense.”

 

Salimigundi by Cynthia Grisdela

 “I love this for almost the same reason that I love the previous work—the intersecting patterns. The swirling pattern changes scale, larger in some areas and a little tighter in others. There’s something wonderful about the design, the variety of colors, and shapes in the middle part. It has a playful but serious feel. I appreciate the way this is constructed. Unlike so much embroidery now being done with computer input, this artist explained that this is done freehand.”

 

Easter Ritual by Jimmy James Greene

 “At first glance, it reminds me of American illustration from the mid-seventies by somebody like Mark English or Bart Forbes—the kind of illustration where there are patterns and figuration. It has that sort of feel, but that’s not really what this is about. I like the way that the orange is balanced throughout the picture. I love the attitude of the figures. There’s an ambiguity to them, but there is also a surety of ritual and in the idea of Easter, which is always a rising up. There is an optimistic feel to it.”

 

Backyard Jam Session by Judy Guenther

“I like the spontaneity of this. First of all, formally, it’s well done. You’ve got the drums in the foreground, then you have the figure, and that blurred background. The way her hair follows that shrubbery, the sort of a diagonal which is active, is a great counterpoint to these round drum forms. But the main thing about this is the feeling of exhilaration which you don’t often see in a lot of art. The drummer, and the work itself, has an effortless exuberance.”

 

White Post, Wide by Jo Ann Tooley

“This is a great example of a piece of artwork where there are two ways out of it. One is with the railroad tracks, very formal, very geometric, going off one-point perspective. Then you’ve got the road cutting across it in a diagonal and it’s more organic. And yet they both go off to different points on the horizon. I love that counterpoint. It is a great feeling of vastness—two ways to go. The number ‘666’ on the ground is interesting, a note of color on the pavement which is kind of spooky. The receding telephone poles going off [in the distance] gives it a feeling of loss or yearning. It’s a beautifully composed shot where everything in it is right where it should be.”

 

Black Lives Matter by Marta Nammack

“This is of the moment, and sort of sums up the zeitgeist of where we’re at. If you look at this piece maybe thirty years down the road it will be like that [Bernie Boston] photograph of the protester during the Viet Nam War sticking a daisy in the rifle barrel of the National Guardsman. Compositionally, the variety of type—the colors it is in and how things are written—is very active. I love the way the artist placed the young child in the upper right corner. That tree and the apartment building, which represents domicile—family and home—conflicts with him sitting on this hard surface. A lot of things come together to make this a striking piece. “

 

Inyanga by Kathlyn Avila Reyes

“This came out of left field. My first impression of this was, is it sculpture or is it pottery? I’m glad there were photos of it from different angles that allowed me to see the back of it and the details. The use of a variety of materials is inventive. It’s just spectacular.”

 

Rivers Edge by Rana Geralis  

“This has a certain gravitas of fine painting. It reminds me of a Cézanne landscape, There’s a certain shape language it has that shows me that this artist can paint. But it also has a cubist feel to it. I just love the colors and the feel of it, but also the technique and the bravado of the painting seemed very effortless.” 

 

Saturday Morning by Sally Davies

“This one appeals to the illustrator in me and my love for the art. The perspective is what makes this. If it was [a straightforward view of] two people sitting at a table it would be boring. I like the way that it’s centered on this radial—this table—and the variety of shapes going around it, and then those long, warm shadows. It doesn’t represent anything earth-shattering, but it is very humanistic. It’s a small moment that the artist did a really beautiful job of capturing. The point-of-view doesn’t overwhelm the moment.”

 

Scaffolding on 4th by Sue Canuteson

 “I like the way everything clicks together—the shape, the type over the top, the notes of red, the grey background, and whatever it is over the top that looks like it could be string. It’s flat but it’s got depth, and the fact that it’s called Scaffolding on 4th is mysterious to me. It seems like it’s wanting to be a landscape, but it’s an abstraction. It’s not overdone, beautifully designed. The title sort of activates the image and you think, yeah, it is a little bit like scaffolding, some little spindly form that you walk under on sidewalks.”

 

Five Things that Feed Mark Bischel’s Creative Life

1. Life Drawing — “After working on highly art directed illustrations or getting too caught up in my work, I grab whatever drawing tool I have handy and head out to one of the studios in the city to join others in a night of life drawing. I expect that this is the night I will do the worst drawing ever! After a vigorous 3-hour session I feel present and relaxed, and when I return to my work the next day it is with new eyes.”

2. Space, Time, and Effort — “Things will never be perfect, but I find I can do a lot of work over time if I consistently use the available resources I have. It may sound trite, but it works for me.”

3. My Students — “I’ve been a drawing teacher for a few decades now and this responsibility forces me to constantly evaluate what is important in the act of thinking and drawing. Also, just when I think I’ve seen it all in a jaded sort of way, a student will amaze me with work with deep insight.”

4. A Deadline — “I don’t always feel very creative working on my own, so there is nothing better than getting a call for a project for a client, or another opportunity with a deadline. Working with others, especially collaborating with art directors I respect, activates the best in my work.”

5. My Wife — “Every artist should be blessed with at least one other artist they can share their work process with, and in my life it is the artist and teacher Annette Rusin. She has an incisive, unsentimental eye and I often strongly disagree with her assessments on what would make a particular work of mine stronger. Then I go back to my space and make the changes.”

 

 

 

 

Artist Opportunities #539

Every week, we gather a variety of artist opportunities from the DC area and beyond. Find one below and apply today — good luck! Click here for recent opportunities posts, and submit your opportunity listing here.

 

Opportunities

 

Artist-in-Residence Program, National Children’s Museum – DC

Deadline: December 16   National Children’s Museum seeks to partner with a Washington, DC-based artist for approximately seven months, from December 2020 through June 2021, to facilitate art workshops for children and families that complement the wonder of the Museum experience. The Artist-in-Residence Program is open to emerging and professional artists working in a variety of visual media including, but not limited to, painting, sculpture, installation, photography, clay, textiles, illustration and digital media. Learn more here.

 

Prince George’s County Arts Community Emergency Relief Fund Application- Round 2

Deadline: December 16   In response to the overwhelming need caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in the Prince George’s County Creative Community, Prince George’s Arts and Humanities Council (PGAHC) announces the 2nd round of its Prince George’s County Arts Community Emergency Relief Fund.  The fund will provide a grant up to $1,000 to artists, arts organizations, arts small businesses, and creative entrepreneurs to help recover significant losses incurred by canceled events, performances, classes, exhibitions, commissions, and other art programs. Apply here.

 

2021 Open Call for Solo Exhibition, Target Gallery – Alexandria, VA

Deadline: December 20   Target Gallery invites regional artists living in the D.C., Maryland, or Virginia to apply for an open call for proposals for a solo exhibition for the summer of 2021. The individual with the chosen proposal will receive an exhibition at Target Gallery from May 29 – July 18, 2021 as well as a virtual online catalog. The artist will also receive a $2000 stipend as well as $100 for providing an artist talk and guided tour. For more information, click here.

 

Call for Entries, Wharton Esherick Museum 27th Annual Juried Woodworking Exhibition – Malvern, PA

Deadline: January 4   For the 27th year of the Wharton Esherick Museum’s annual juried woodworking exhibition, we invite you to share innovative works of art, craft, and design that showcase wood and at least one other medium. Whether functional or sculptural, each submission should reflect the way Esherick worked across a vast spectrum of materials and practices as well as his outside the box thinking. We want to know how you might complete the phrase “wood and…” Learn more here.

 

Call for Artists, miXt Food Hall Mural Project – Brentwood, MD

Deadline: January 22   MiXt Food Hall (miXt) is a culinary arts incubator providing space, equipment, services, and mentorship to new food concepts in a community venue that encourages meaningful social engagement. Located in the Gateway Arts District at 3809 Rhode Island Avenue, Brentwood, Maryland, miXt seeks artists to paint 14 individual mini murals on seven cement columns within the communal food hall for public viewing. Learn more here.

 

Call for Artists, Target Gallery – Alexandria, VA

Deadline: February 5   Target Gallery invites artists to submit their work for consideration to a new digital and in-person exhibition Those Spaces Between Us. This all-media group exhibition will explore concepts of liminal or transient spaces and how we occupy them or, conversely, how we do not. This exhibition will present an introspective view on how spaces can offer a physical embodiment of ambiguity and transition, creating a narrative how we as people move through them. For more information, click here.

 

2021 National Juried Art Exhibition, Academy Center of the Arts – Lynchburg, VA

Deadline: February 12   This opportunity is open to U.S. residents, 18 years or older, working in the following disciplines; painting, sculpture, drawing, printmaking, fiber, glass, ceramics, wood, metal, and mixed media. No photography accepted. For more information click here.

 

Artists on the Rise: Ninth Annual Juried Teen Exhibition – Laurel, MD

Deadline: February 21   This opportunity is open to artists 13–18 years of age who are residents of Maryland, Virginia, or the District of Columbia. Participants may attend public/private middle and high schools, or home school. Submitted artwork cannot have been previously exhibited at Montpelier Arts Center. Apply here.

 

 

Re-runs: These have been previously posted, but it’s not too late to enter!

 

Mobius Fall 2020 Portrait Photography Competition

Deadline: December 15   Mobius Photo, an online platform dedicated to the curation of emerging and established photographers, seeks portraiture on fashion, politics, family, nudes, etc., for their fall competition. For more information, click here.

 

Call for Artists, Mount Rainier Arts Commission 2021 Mural Project Call for Artist Qualifications – Mount Rainier, MD

Deadline: December 18   The Mount Rainier Arts Commission (MRAC) is requesting Artist Qualifications to create a contemporary outdoor mural. This project is committed to enhancing visibility of the areas business district, and enlightening public experience through the visual arts. Submissions will be considered from artists who reside or hold studio space in Maryland, Northern Virginia, and the District of Columbia.  Learn more here.

 

RFQ for Harriet Tubman Monument Project – Newark, NJ

Deadline: December 18   Mayor Ras J. Baraka and the City of Newark seek artists interested in designing a public monument of Harriet Tubman in tribute to the Underground Railroad and its historical significance to be installed in Washington Park. The park will be renamed Tubman Square. The call for artists and artist teams is open to local, regional and national artists. his open call is organized into two phases. Phase One is the RFQ in which artists or artist teams may respond with samples of past work and supplementary materials to be considered for the Harriet Tubman commission. To apply, click here.

 

Call for Arts and Social Justice Fellow – Rockville, MD

Deadline: December 23   VisArts has created a new Arts and Social Justice Fellowship Program for visual activists whose current research, curatorial or visual activist practice, and passion centers on social, racial, economic, and/or environmental justice. The year-long fellowship is an opportunity to explore how thoughtfully curated art, dialogue, communication, and collaborations between artists and communities can productively navigate political flash points, chronic systemic inequities, and entrenched perspectives to inspire change towards a more equitable, just, and inclusive society. Learn more here.

 

Call for Entries, Northern Virginia Fine Arts Festival 2021 – Reston, VA

Deadline: December 27   The annual Northern Virginia Fine Arts Festival is a competitive, juried event that is consistently rated as one of the best outdoor art festivals in the country, both for the quality of the artwork presented and for its exceptional artist hospitality. Mediums for submission include ceramics, digital and multi-media art/drawing/mixed media 2D, glass, jewelry, painting, photography, printmaking, sculpture/mixed media 3D/Metal, textiles, and wood. To enter, click here.

 

Call For Entries, Artist/Writers: Cover Art For Academic Medicine

Deadline: December 30   Submit original works of art inspired by, but not necessarily representative of, an academic medicine experience from any perspective: caregiver, researcher, teacher, learner, or patient (for example, learning how to be a physician or scientist, caring for patients, exploring research questions, making a new discovery, being a research participant, teaching, or being cared for in a teaching hospital). The journal welcomes photography, sculpture, painting, textile work, and other visual media. Images may be cropped or resized to fit into the allotted cover space. Artists must also submit a related Cover Art essay as a narrative companion to the artwork, to explain the connection between the work and the “academic medicine experience.”  Learn more here.

 

Call For Entries, Techpressions 2021

Deadline: December 31   Techspressionism 2021 is an online exhibition to be presented online at Techspressionism.com using the Kunstmatrix 3D exhibition platform. Entries will be limited to two-dimensional works (paintings, drawings, digital images, and prints) in which technology is utilized as a means to express emotional experience. Learn more here.

 

Applications Open for 5 New Affordable Live/Work Units for Artists – DC

Deadline: December 31   CulturalDC, Foulger-Pratt, and DC Housing and Community Development Fair Housing Program are pleased to offer an opportunity for artists of all disciplines to live and create in the historic Eckington neighborhood near Alethia Tanner Park. The two-story units are 2 bedroom and 2 or 3 bathroom with a work space, flex/retail space, kitchen, and slop sink. Interested tenants must meet the income requirements of 60% Median Family Income (MFI), have a household of 2-5 people, and show a commitment to artistic practice and/or active participation in the arts industry and local arts community. Priority will be given to artists in need of housing who currently live or work in the District. Earliest move-in is in Spring 2021. Artists of all disciplines, ethnicities, races, genders, sexual orientations, abilities, religions, ages, languages, and backgrounds are encouraged and welcome to apply! Learn more here.

 

Street Art Competition Request for Proposals, B&O Railroad Museum – Baltimore

Deadline: January 3, 2021   Street art and graffiti have a deep connection with railroads, as works of art crisscross the nation on train cars, connecting artists with unknown new communities. As a reflection on railroads themselves, the B&O Railroad Museum, in partnership with the Creative Alliance, is seeking street art and graffiti art proposals that respond to the idea of connectedness, in our Baltimore community and as a nation. Four selected artists will have the opportunity to create a mural of their design on a train car at the Museum. Learn more here.

 

New Jersey Arts Annual: ReVision and Respond – Newark, NJ

Deadline: January 8, 2021   The Newark Museum of Art welcomes submissions to the 2021 New Jersey Arts Annual: ReVision and Respond. This open call invites a range of artistic practices- from traditional to abstract, from craft to new media– that explore the ReVision and Respond theme. The exhibition is open to any artist currently living or working in New Jersey. For more information, click here.

 

Communication Arts 2021 Illustration Competition

Deadline: January 8   Introduce your work to the world. Enter the most prestigious competition for creativity in illustration, the Communication Arts Illustration Competition. Selected by a nationally representative jury of distinguished designers, art directors and illustrators, the winning entries will be distributed worldwide in the Communication Arts Illustration Annual, in print and digital editions, and on commarts.com, assuring important exposure to the creators of this outstanding work. For more information, click here.

 

2021 Shenandoah National Park Artist-in-Residence Program — Luray, VA

Deadline: January 8   Shenandoah National Park’s Artist-in-Residence program offers professional artists an opportunity to live and work in this exceptional environment for three weeks. The works completed during the program will serve, through the creativity of the selected artists, to deepen the understanding and appreciation of Shenandoah National Park. The Park’s Artist-in-Residence program is supported by a generous donation from the Shenandoah National Park Trust. For more information, click here.

 

Call for Entry, Annmarie Sculpture Garden Presents On Paper: Printmaking, Book Arts & Beyond – Solomons, MD

Deadline: January 8   The Kay Daugherty Gallery at Annmarie Sculpture Garden & Arts Center will feature On Paper: Printmaking, Book Arts & Beyond. Selected work will highlight the expanse of printmaking and book arts as an artistic discipline. Techniques such as relief printing, etching, lithography, paper making, book binding, letterpress, collage and papercut will be explored. All works should showcase the unique process and craftsmanship that goes into each handmade paper, print, or collage. Learn more here.

 

Summer 2021 Exhibition Opportunities, The Delaware Contemporary – Wilmington, DE

Deadline: January 15   The Delaware Contemporary is accepting submissions for solo and group exhibitions to be held June 4 – August 27, 2021. In line with the regional focus of the opportunity, we are only accepting submissions within a 50-mile radius of Wilmington, Delaware. For more information, click here.

 

Call for Entry, The Delaware Contemporary Natural Movement”: Unapologetic Conversations of Hair and Nonconformity – Wilmington, DE

Deadline: January 15   We are seeking new works of art of any medium, two or three-dimensional, that celebrate nonconformity of black hair, but empower us to be who we were naturally made to be.  What does it look like to embrace our natural identity, specifically our kinky, curly, coily hair without apology? How has nonconformity and hair influenced your work?  That celebrates our hair to grow out of our heads naturally without shame or criticism. How has the complexities of our hair shown up in our practice, our work, our dialogue, our narratives? In line with the regional focus of the opportunity, we are only accepting submissions within a 50-MILE RADIUS of Wilmington, Delaware. For more information, click here.

 

Call For Entries, Outwin Boochevar Portrait Competition 2022 – D.C.

Deadline, January 28, 2021   The National Portrait Gallery invites artists to submit portraits in any media for consideration in the sixth triennial Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition. Artists are encouraged to think about portraiture’s potential to engage with the social and political landscape of our time. For more information, click here.

 

Call For Entries, Athenaeum Gallery – Alexandria, VA

Deadline: August 25, 2021   Artists who live or work in Virginia, Maryland, or the District of Columbia may submit a proposal for a solo show.  A group of artists who live or work in the area may submit a proposal for a group show.  A curator, living or working anywhere, may submit a proposal for a show featuring works by artists living or working in this area. For more information, click here.

 

 

Ongoing: These opportunities have rolling deadlines.

 

(RECENT) Call For Stories About Women in the Arts, Maryland State Arts Council

2020 has been dedicated to the Year of the Woman in Maryland. Do you have an inspiring story about vital contributions of women-identifying people who are artists, arts administrators, or cultural workers? Perhaps an exhibition, performance or project featuring women? Share it with the Maryland State Arts Council for potential use in marketing and communications! Send your ideas to [email protected], and include “Year of the Woman” in the subject line. Satff will contact senders whose stories are selected for inclusion in future newsletters, eblasts, or social media postings. Learn more about Maryland’s year of the Woman here.

 

(RECENT) Call For Artists, Busboys and Poets

Busboys and Poets is looking for submissions from Maryland and Virginia artists as it expands to new locations in both areas. Submissions can include drawings, painting, photography, sculpture, mixed media, assemblage, fiber, quilts, etc. Art images reflecting life in the city, family, portraits, whimsy, abstraction, social uplift and life experiences within diverse cultures are encouraged for submission. For more information, click here.

 

Alterwork Studios Online Residency

This residency was designed to give emerging contemporary artists an online platform to create new work and explore their practice. Over the course of four weeks, artists will be encouraged to experiment and explore their concepts and move their work forward in the contemporary art world. Learn more here.

 

Accepting Artwork for Curatorial Review by AIWA

The Alper Initiative for Washington Art features five exhibitions per year in the newly constructed first floor space in the American University Museum. We accept submissions, on a rolling basis,  from Washington artists of all ages and backgrounds, and working in diverse media. The museum’s Director and Curator, Jack Rasmussen, will select curators who will review these submissions for potential use in Alper Initiative exhibitions. For more information click here.

 

Call For Entry Hamilton Arts Collective Guest Artist Exhibition – Baltimore, MD

The Hamilton Arts Collective (HAC) and the Hamilton Gallery seek applications from artists for month-long Guest Artist exhibitions at Hamilton Gallery located at 5502 Harford Road, Baltimore, MD. The selected guest artists will be invited to exhibit a selection of their current work in Gallery I of the Hamilton Gallery. The Guest Artist exhibition is featured in Hamilton Gallery communications and will be promoted by the HAC and Hamilton Gallery. This is an open call to artists residing within 60 miles of Baltimore City. Baltimore residents are encouraged to apply. Click here to learn more.

 

Howard County Arts Council Quarterly Call For Artists – Ellicott City, MD

The Howard County Arts Council gallery program was established to enhance the public’s appreciation of the visual arts, provide a venue to exhibit the work of local, regional, and national artists in a professional space, and provide leadership in the arts by presenting a broad spectrum of arts in all media from both emerging and established artists. Artists, ages 18 and older, working in all media and styles including time-based and installation artists, are encouraged to apply either individually or as a group. Proposals from curators and arts organizations are also welcome. Click here to learn more.

 

Exhibit at Hotel Indigo Downtown Baltimore — Baltimore, MD

The Maryland Art Place (MAP) is working with Hotel Indigo in downtown Baltimore to offer rotating exhibitions in the hotel’s library and Poets Modern Cocktails and Eats restaurant. This opportunity is open to visual artists living or working in Maryland. ’s public art partnership projects (MAP), in partnership with Hotel Indigo, is pleased to announce an open call to artists. MAP will curate four exhibitions a year based on submissions entered through a rolling basis. Click here to learn more.

 

Solo or Group Shows in Athenaeum Gallery – VA

The Athenaeum Gallery in Alexandria, Virginia exhibits visual arts created solely by artists living or working in the region (DC, Maryland and Virginia) and strives to present visitors with a wide variety of excellent art and unique experiences.  In addition to the shows curated by the Gallery Director, the Athenaeum Gallery invites artists and curators to submit show proposals. For more information, click here.

 

The Creativity Grant Program State of Maryland (MD)

Deadline: Rolling. The purpose of the Creativity Grant Program is to strengthen the vitality and sustainability of artists and small organizations to maintain a strong and stable arts infrastructure in the State of Maryland. The Creativity Grant also provides opportunities to serve the growing needs of relevant arts projects and collaborations within Maryland communities. For more information regarding eligibility and funding timelines, please review the Creativity Grants Guidelines. For more information about the program, and to apply visit the Creativity Grant Program State of Maryland website.

 

Artist/Writers: Cover Art for Academic Medicine

Deadline: Rolling. Submit original works of art inspired by, but not necessarily representative of, an academic medicine experience from any perspective: caregiver, researcher, teacher, learner, or patient (for example, learning how to be a physician or scientist, caring for patients, exploring research questions, making a new discovery, being a research participant, teaching, or being cared for in a teaching hospital). The journal welcomes photography, sculpture, painting, textile work, and other visual media. Images may be cropped or resized to fit into the allotted cover space. Artists must also submit a related Cover Art essay as a narrative companion to the artwork, to explain the connection between the work and the “academic medicine experience.” The related narrative should be 250 to 600 words and is subject to editing. To apply for this opportunity, and to learn more, visit the Academic Medicine website.

 

The Awesome Foundation Accepting Applications for Art Projects

Deadline: Open. The Awesome Foundation for the Arts and Sciences is a worldwide network of people devoted to forwarding the interest of “awesomeness in the universe.” Established in 2009, the foundation distributes $1,000 grants on a monthly basis to projects and their creators. The money is pooled from ten or more self-organizing “micro-trustees.” The chapters are autonomous and organized by the trustees around geographic areas or topics of interest. Apply on the Awesome Foundation website.

 

Call for Artists: Maryland Art Place Seeks Proposals for Rotating Exhibition Partnership with Baltimore’s Hotel Indigo (MD)

Deadline: rolling. Maryland Art Place (MAP), in partnership with Hotel Indigo is pleased to announce an open ‘Call to Artists’. As an extension of MAP’s annual IMPACT public art partnership projects, MAP is working with Hotel Indigo to offer rotating exhibitions in Hotel indigo’s library and Poets Modern Cocktails and Eats. This opportunity is available to visual artists living or working in Maryland. Maryland Art Place will curate four exhibitions a year based on submissions entered through a rolling basis. Guidelines and information here.

 

Peripheral ARTeries – Biennial Contemporary Art Publication

Deadline: Rolling. Peripheral ARTeries is looking for artists to be featured in the new special Biennial Edition of their art publication, that comes to its 10th edition. This opportunity is great for both established and early career artists who need a boost to their artist portfolio. The 10th edition will once again explore and show current trends and tendencies in Contemporary Art: Peripheral ARTeries cultivates a spirit of openness through a unique collaborative and participatory approach.Each artist may submit a maximum of three works or projects made in any technique: painting, drawing, video art, experimental cinema, fine art photography, experimental media, mixed media, installations, public art, performance. The call is open to all proposed kind of art and media capable of challenging the viewers’ traditional perspective on art itself. To submit, visit the Peripheral ARTeries website.

 

Exhibit at Hotel Indigo (VA)

Artists works will displayed in the hotel’s gallery (220 S Union St, Old Town Alexandria) for a six-month period. Two-dimensional, framed works only. Artists will install the work using the hotel’s mounting hardware. Labels will be provided by the hotel. All sales handled by artist, no commission. Preference for local or locally influenced selections but not required. The space measures approximately 7’10” by 8’3.″ If interested, contact Kate Ellis, General Manager, [email protected].

 

The New Project Studio – Ongoing Opportunity (VA)

Ongoing. Located in Studio 8, the New Project Studio is a community-focused arts incubator space that offers a short-term location to test new program ideas, spotlight underrepresented voices, and enhance community engagement. Projects rotate on a regular basis. For more information, click here.

 

Public Arts Grants & Opportunities (VA)

Ongoing. The City of Alexandria’s Office of the Arts provides grants for nonprofit arts organizations as well as individual artists. See all current opportunities and online applications here.

 

Residency: Maryland

Deadline: ongoing. Montgomery College, Rockville and Germantown Art Department is seeking proposals for its Artist-in-Residence Program, encouraging proposals that cultivate collaborative work between artists and students.

 

Looking for artists: Foundry Gallery (DC)

Deadline: ongoing. Foundry Gallery is seeking a few artists in the greater Washington, DC area. If interested in applying for membership please send up to five images (jpg attachments) and an email letter to: [email protected]. The oldest cooperative in Washington, the gallery holds monthly solo and members’ group shows at its beautiful space north of Shaw near the 9:30 Club.

 

Looking for artists: Printmakers (DC)

Deadline: ongoing. Washington Printmakers Gallery is seeking artist members specializing in printmaking, photography and book arts. An active cooperative for over 30 years, the gallery holds monthly solo and members’ group shows in its lovely space in upper Georgetown. Distant and shared memberships are available. If interested in applying for membership please email [email protected].

 

Artful Weekend December 12-13

"Memoir," by Jacqueline Saunders, is the Petite December Best-in-Show Award winner.

Welcome to Artful Weekend, our guide for enjoying area art events and activities in person or at home.

 

This weekend: Open Exhibit and Petite December at The Art League; expressions on immigration at Healing Arts; a cool art project for kids; and more!

 

December Exhibitions at The Art League

 

December 2020 Open Exhibit

“At the End of the Day” by Carol Dawn Petersen recived an honorable mention in the December 2020 Open Exhibit.

 

This month’s group exhibition, juried by New York-based illustrator and fine artist Mark Bischel, features an array of artworks in mediums ranging from painting and photography to sculpture and fiber art. It is on view through Sunday, January 3 in the Gallery, or view it online. Learn more about Bischel and read  his remarks about the his best-in-show and honorable mentions picks in the latest Juror Profile.

 

 

Petite December

“Calico in Snow” by Karen Baith

Our perennial favorite is back! This year’s Petite December Exhibit, juried by Baltimore Museum of Art Chief Curator Asma Naeem, features 74 small works (priced at $150 or less!) that are available for immediate purchase during the holiday season. It is on view through Sunday, January 3 in the Gallery, or view and shop the exhibit online.

 

 

Old Town Holiday Lamp Post Art Walk

Get into the holiday spirit with the first annual Old Town Holiday Lamp Post Art Walk, presented by Old Town Business Association and The Art League! Starting this Sunday, December 5, you can take a self-guided tour along King Street and selected side streets to see lamp posts adorned with festive works by Art League artists. They will be up through January 8. Chart your path with this handy map.

 

 

Artul Giving

Holliday shopping this weekend? Make The Art League your one-stop destination for gifts that your favorite artists and art lovers will appreciate and cherish. Check out our gift guide for ideas.

 

 

Aceptar: Una Exposición Colectiva

“You Can’t be Hungry in the Land of the Free,” by Gerardo Camargo

In Aceptar: Una Exposición Colectiva, eight area artists of Latin American heritage examine the struggles and extraordinary efforts of immigration, with dreams, traditions, and cultures ingrained while becoming immersed in a new life. Says curator Irene Clouthier-Carrillo, whose ink and watercolor works appear in the exhibition, “With Aceptar, we hope to highlight diversity in our immigration stories and open a dialogue about race, inclusion, class disparity, and gender equality.” It is on view at Through Dec. 19 at Joan Hisaoka Healing Arts Gallery, 1632 U St. NW, or online.

 

 

Quanxuan (Q.X) Shuai

“ChengYu Railway” by Quanxuan ‘Q.X.”\’ Shuai

 

Contemporary Chinese artist and new Oakton, Virginia resident Quanxuan ‘QX’ Shuai began painting as a response to his father’s struggles with depression. His eponymous exhibition at Athenaeum Gallery, features serene landscapes and still lifes, and fulfills his aim to create work that is calming for viewers; see it here, or at Athenaeum Gallery through January 10, 201 Prince Street, Alexandria, VA.

 

 

Think Inside the Box

 

A plain cardboard box that’s been transformed into a cool mini interior.

This neat, weekend art activity from the Hirshhorn—and inspired by Iranian artist Siah Armajani’s Picture Window with Two Chairs—prompts kids to think about space, scale, and design while creating a unique interior diorama.

 

Enjoy the weekend, wear your mask.

Artist Opportunities #538

"Mugshot" by Mahua Mazumdar, is currently on view in the Petite December Exhibit.

Every week, we gather a variety of artist opportunities from the DC area and beyond. Find one below and apply today — good luck! Click here for recent opportunities posts, and submit your opportunity listing here.

 

Opportunities

 

Applications Open for 5 New Affordable Live/Work Units for Artists – DC

Deadline: December 31   CulturalDC, Foulger-Pratt, and DC Housing and Community Development Fair Housing Program are pleased to offer an opportunity for artists of all disciplines to live and create in the historic Eckington neighborhood near Alethia Tanner Park. The two-story units are 2 bedroom and 2 or 3 bathroom with a work space, flex/retail space, kitchen, and slop sink. Interested tenants must meet the income requirements of 60% Median Family Income (MFI), have a household of 2-5 people, and show a commitment to artistic practice and/or active participation in the arts industry and local arts community. Priority will be given to artists in need of housing who currently live or work in the District. Earliest move-in is in Spring 2021. Artists of all disciplines, ethnicities, races, genders, sexual orientations, abilities, religions, ages, languages, and backgrounds are encouraged and welcome to apply! Learn more here.

 

Communication Arts 2021 Illustration Competition

Deadline: January 8   Introduce your work to the world. Enter the most prestigious competition for creativity in illustration, the Communication Arts Illustration Competition. Selected by a nationally representative jury of distinguished designers, art directors and illustrators, the winning entries will be distributed worldwide in the Communication Arts Illustration Annual, in print and digital editions, and on commarts.com, assuring important exposure to the creators of this outstanding work. For more information, click here.

 

2021 Shenandoah National Park Artist-in-Residence Program — Luray, VA

Deadline: January 8   Shenandoah National Park’s Artist-in-Residence program offers professional artists an opportunity to live and work in this exceptional environment for three weeks. The works completed during the program will serve, through the creativity of the selected artists, to deepen the understanding and appreciation of Shenandoah National Park. The Park’s Artist-in-Residence program is supported by a generous donation from the Shenandoah National Park Trust. For more information, click here.

 

Call for Entry, Annmarie Sculpture Garden Presents On Paper: Printmaking, Book Arts & Beyond – Solomons, MD

Deadline: January 8   The Kay Daugherty Gallery at Annmarie Sculpture Garden & Arts Center will feature On Paper: Printmaking, Book Arts & Beyond. Selected work will highlight the expanse of printmaking and book arts as an artistic discipline. Techniques such as relief printing, etching, lithography, paper making, book binding, letterpress, collage and papercut will be explored. All works should showcase the unique process and craftsmanship that goes into each handmade paper, print, or collage. Learn more here.

 

Summer 2021 Exhibition Opportunities, The Delaware Contemporary – Wilmington, DE

Deadline: January 15   The Delaware Contemporary is accepting submissions for solo and group exhibitions to be held June 4 – August 27, 2021. In line with the regional focus of the opportunity, we are only accepting submissions within a 50-mile radius of Wilmington, Delaware. For more information, click here.

 

Call for Entry, The Delaware Contemporary Natural Movement”: Unapologetic Conversations of Hair and Nonconformity – Wilmington, DE

Deadline: January 15   We are seeking new works of art of any medium, two or three-dimensional, that celebrate nonconformity of black hair, but empower us to be who we were naturally made to be.  What does it look like to embrace our natural identity, specifically our kinky, curly, coily hair without apology? How has nonconformity and hair influenced your work?  That celebrates our hair to grow out of our heads naturally without shame or criticism. How has the complexities of our hair shown up in our practice, our work, our dialogue, our narratives? In line with the regional focus of the opportunity, we are only accepting submissions within a 50-MILE RADIUS of Wilmington, Delaware. For more information, click here.

 

 

Re-runs: These have been previously posted, but it’s not too late to enter!

 

Call for Artists and Photographers, Innovate Grants

Deadline: December 10   Innovate Grant awards (2) $550.00 grants each quarter, to one Visual Artist and one Photographer. In addition to receiving a grant award, winners will be featured and recognized on our website and join a growing community of vibrant and talented artists. Fall 2020 Cycle is currently accepting submissions. To apply click here.

 

Call for Entry, Del Ray Artisans – Alexandria, VA

Deadline: December 14   Whether it is the mysteries of the universe, or just something in your own backyard, the world is rife with surprises waiting to be uncovered. This exhibit challenges you to look deeply into the world, into your emotions, or just into your imagination and uncover some part of the Hidden World. For more information, click here.

 

Call For Entry, Busboys and Poets EMERGE AND SEE – DC, VA, MD

Deadline: December 14   Busboys and Poets is looking for visual art to be displayed for its upcoming EMERGE AND SEE exhibition beginning January 2021 at all its locations –  14th and V, NW; 450 K NW; Takoma, Brookland, Shirlington, Hyattsville and Anacostia. Learn more here.

 

Call For Entry, Dreams and Nightmares National Juried Exhibition – Arlington, VA

Deadline: December 14   Gallery Underground announces a call to artists for a juried art exhibition, February 1 – 26, 2021. Artists will interpret the theme “Dreams and Nightmares” – from the beautiful and sublime to the dark and twisted. All media accepted. Learn more here.

 

Mobius Fall 2020 Portrait Photography Competition

Deadline: December 15   Mobius Photo, an online platform dedicated to the curation of emerging and established photographers, seeks portraiture on fashion, politics, family, nudes, etc., for their fall competition. For more information, click here.

 

Call for Artists, Mount Rainier Arts Commission 2021 Mural Project Call for Artist Qualifications – Mount Rainier, MD

Deadline: December 18   The Mount Rainier Arts Commission (MRAC) is requesting Artist Qualifications to create a contemporary outdoor mural. This project is committed to enhancing visibility of the areas business district, and enlightening public experience through the visual arts. Submissions will be considered from artists who reside or hold studio space in Maryland, Northern Virginia, and the District of Columbia.  Learn more here.

 

RFQ for Harriet Tubman Monument Project – Newark, NJ

Deadline: December 18   Mayor Ras J. Baraka and the City of Newark seek artists interested in designing a public monument of Harriet Tubman in tribute to the Underground Railroad and its historical significance to be installed in Washington Park. The park will be renamed Tubman Square. The call for artists and artist teams is open to local, regional and national artists. his open call is organized into two phases. Phase One is the RFQ in which artists or artist teams may respond with samples of past work and supplementary materials to be considered for the Harriet Tubman commission. To apply, click here.

 

Call for Arts and Social Justice Fellow – Rockville, MD

Deadline: December 23   VisArts has created a new Arts and Social Justice Fellowship Program for visual activists whose current research, curatorial or visual activist practice, and passion centers on social, racial, economic, and/or environmental justice. The year-long fellowship is an opportunity to explore how thoughtfully curated art, dialogue, communication, and collaborations between artists and communities can productively navigate political flash points, chronic systemic inequities, and entrenched perspectives to inspire change towards a more equitable, just, and inclusive society. Learn more here.

 

Call for Entries, Northern Virginia Fine Arts Festival 2021 – Reston, VA

Deadline: December 27   The annual Northern Virginia Fine Arts Festival is a competitive, juried event that is consistently rated as one of the best outdoor art festivals in the country, both for the quality of the artwork presented and for its exceptional artist hospitality. Mediums for submission include ceramics, digital and multi-media art/drawing/mixed media 2D, glass, jewelry, painting, photography, printmaking, sculpture/mixed media 3D/Metal, textiles, and wood. To enter, click here.

 

Call For Entries, Artist/Writers: Cover Art For Academic Medicine

Deadline: December 30   Submit original works of art inspired by, but not necessarily representative of, an academic medicine experience from any perspective: caregiver, researcher, teacher, learner, or patient (for example, learning how to be a physician or scientist, caring for patients, exploring research questions, making a new discovery, being a research participant, teaching, or being cared for in a teaching hospital). The journal welcomes photography, sculpture, painting, textile work, and other visual media. Images may be cropped or resized to fit into the allotted cover space. Artists must also submit a related Cover Art essay as a narrative companion to the artwork, to explain the connection between the work and the “academic medicine experience.”  Learn more here.

 

Call For Entries, Techpressions 2021

Deadline: December 31   Techspressionism 2021 is an online exhibition to be presented online at Techspressionism.com using the Kunstmatrix 3D exhibition platform. Entries will be limited to two-dimensional works (paintings, drawings, digital images, and prints) in which technology is utilized as a means to express emotional experience. Learn more here.

 

Street Art Competition Request for Proposals, B&O Railroad Museum – Baltimore

Deadline: January 3, 2021   Street art and graffiti have a deep connection with railroads, as works of art crisscross the nation on train cars, connecting artists with unknown new communities. As a reflection on railroads themselves, the B&O Railroad Museum, in partnership with the Creative Alliance, is seeking street art and graffiti art proposals that respond to the idea of connectedness, in our Baltimore community and as a nation. Four selected artists will have the opportunity to create a mural of their design on a train car at the Museum. Learn more here.

 

New Jersey Arts Annual: ReVision and Respond – Newark, NJ

Deadline: January 8, 2021   The Newark Museum of Art welcomes submissions to the 2021 New Jersey Arts Annual: ReVision and Respond. This open call invites a range of artistic practices- from traditional to abstract, from craft to new media– that explore the ReVision and Respond theme. The exhibition is open to any artist currently living or working in New Jersey. For more information, click here.

 

Call For Entries, Outwin Boochevar Portrait Competition 2022 – D.C.

Deadline, January 28, 2021   The National Portrait Gallery invites artists to submit portraits in any media for consideration in the sixth triennial Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition. Artists are encouraged to think about portraiture’s potential to engage with the social and political landscape of our time. For more information, click here.

 

Call For Entries, Athenaeum Gallery – Alexandria, VA

Deadline: August 25, 2021   Artists who live or work in Virginia, Maryland, or the District of Columbia may submit a proposal for a solo show.  A group of artists who live or work in the area may submit a proposal for a group show.  A curator, living or working anywhere, may submit a proposal for a show featuring works by artists living or working in this area. For more information, click here.

 

 

Ongoing: These opportunities have rolling deadlines.

 

(RECENT) Call For Stories About Women in the Arts, Maryland State Arts Council

2020 has been dedicated to the Year of the Woman in Maryland. Do you have an inspiring story about vital contributions of women-identifying people who are artists, arts administrators, or cultural workers? Perhaps an exhibition, performance or project featuring women? Share it with the Maryland State Arts Council for potential use in marketing and communications! Send your ideas to [email protected], and include “Year of the Woman” in the subject line. Satff will contact senders whose stories are selected for inclusion in future newsletters, eblasts, or social media postings. Learn more about Maryland’s year of the Woman here.

 

(RECENT) Call For Artists, Busboys and Poets

Busboys and Poets is looking for submissions from Maryland and Virginia artists as it expands to new locations in both areas. Submissions can include drawings, painting, photography, sculpture, mixed media, assemblage, fiber, quilts, etc. Art images reflecting life in the city, family, portraits, whimsy, abstraction, social uplift and life experiences within diverse cultures are encouraged for submission. For more information, click here.

 

Alterwork Studios Online Residency

This residency was designed to give emerging contemporary artists an online platform to create new work and explore their practice. Over the course of four weeks, artists will be encouraged to experiment and explore their concepts and move their work forward in the contemporary art world. Learn more here.

 

Accepting Artwork for Curatorial Review by AIWA

The Alper Initiative for Washington Art features five exhibitions per year in the newly constructed first floor space in the American University Museum. We accept submissions, on a rolling basis,  from Washington artists of all ages and backgrounds, and working in diverse media. The museum’s Director and Curator, Jack Rasmussen, will select curators who will review these submissions for potential use in Alper Initiative exhibitions. For more information click here.

 

Call For Entry Hamilton Arts Collective Guest Artist Exhibition – Baltimore, MD

The Hamilton Arts Collective (HAC) and the Hamilton Gallery seek applications from artists for month-long Guest Artist exhibitions at Hamilton Gallery located at 5502 Harford Road, Baltimore, MD. The selected guest artists will be invited to exhibit a selection of their current work in Gallery I of the Hamilton Gallery. The Guest Artist exhibition is featured in Hamilton Gallery communications and will be promoted by the HAC and Hamilton Gallery. This is an open call to artists residing within 60 miles of Baltimore City. Baltimore residents are encouraged to apply. Click here to learn more.

 

Howard County Arts Council Quarterly Call For Artists – Ellicott City, MD

The Howard County Arts Council gallery program was established to enhance the public’s appreciation of the visual arts, provide a venue to exhibit the work of local, regional, and national artists in a professional space, and provide leadership in the arts by presenting a broad spectrum of arts in all media from both emerging and established artists. Artists, ages 18 and older, working in all media and styles including time-based and installation artists, are encouraged to apply either individually or as a group. Proposals from curators and arts organizations are also welcome. Click here to learn more.

 

Exhibit at Hotel Indigo Downtown Baltimore — Baltimore, MD

The Maryland Art Place (MAP) is working with Hotel Indigo in downtown Baltimore to offer rotating exhibitions in the hotel’s library and Poets Modern Cocktails and Eats restaurant. This opportunity is open to visual artists living or working in Maryland. ’s public art partnership projects (MAP), in partnership with Hotel Indigo, is pleased to announce an open call to artists. MAP will curate four exhibitions a year based on submissions entered through a rolling basis. Click here to learn more.

 

Solo or Group Shows in Athenaeum Gallery – VA

The Athenaeum Gallery in Alexandria, Virginia exhibits visual arts created solely by artists living or working in the region (DC, Maryland and Virginia) and strives to present visitors with a wide variety of excellent art and unique experiences.  In addition to the shows curated by the Gallery Director, the Athenaeum Gallery invites artists and curators to submit show proposals. For more information, click here.

 

The Creativity Grant Program State of Maryland (MD)

Deadline: Rolling. The purpose of the Creativity Grant Program is to strengthen the vitality and sustainability of artists and small organizations to maintain a strong and stable arts infrastructure in the State of Maryland. The Creativity Grant also provides opportunities to serve the growing needs of relevant arts projects and collaborations within Maryland communities. For more information regarding eligibility and funding timelines, please review the Creativity Grants Guidelines. For more information about the program, and to apply visit the Creativity Grant Program State of Maryland website.

 

Artist/Writers: Cover Art for Academic Medicine

Deadline: Rolling. Submit original works of art inspired by, but not necessarily representative of, an academic medicine experience from any perspective: caregiver, researcher, teacher, learner, or patient (for example, learning how to be a physician or scientist, caring for patients, exploring research questions, making a new discovery, being a research participant, teaching, or being cared for in a teaching hospital). The journal welcomes photography, sculpture, painting, textile work, and other visual media. Images may be cropped or resized to fit into the allotted cover space. Artists must also submit a related Cover Art essay as a narrative companion to the artwork, to explain the connection between the work and the “academic medicine experience.” The related narrative should be 250 to 600 words and is subject to editing. To apply for this opportunity, and to learn more, visit the Academic Medicine website.

 

The Awesome Foundation Accepting Applications for Art Projects

Deadline: Open. The Awesome Foundation for the Arts and Sciences is a worldwide network of people devoted to forwarding the interest of “awesomeness in the universe.” Established in 2009, the foundation distributes $1,000 grants on a monthly basis to projects and their creators. The money is pooled from ten or more self-organizing “micro-trustees.” The chapters are autonomous and organized by the trustees around geographic areas or topics of interest. Apply on the Awesome Foundation website.

 

Call for Artists: Maryland Art Place Seeks Proposals for Rotating Exhibition Partnership with Baltimore’s Hotel Indigo (MD)

Deadline: rolling. Maryland Art Place (MAP), in partnership with Hotel Indigo is pleased to announce an open ‘Call to Artists’. As an extension of MAP’s annual IMPACT public art partnership projects, MAP is working with Hotel Indigo to offer rotating exhibitions in Hotel indigo’s library and Poets Modern Cocktails and Eats. This opportunity is available to visual artists living or working in Maryland. Maryland Art Place will curate four exhibitions a year based on submissions entered through a rolling basis. Guidelines and information here.

 

Peripheral ARTeries – Biennial Contemporary Art Publication

Deadline: Rolling. Peripheral ARTeries is looking for artists to be featured in the new special Biennial Edition of their art publication, that comes to its 10th edition. This opportunity is great for both established and early career artists who need a boost to their artist portfolio. The 10th edition will once again explore and show current trends and tendencies in Contemporary Art: Peripheral ARTeries cultivates a spirit of openness through a unique collaborative and participatory approach.Each artist may submit a maximum of three works or projects made in any technique: painting, drawing, video art, experimental cinema, fine art photography, experimental media, mixed media, installations, public art, performance. The call is open to all proposed kind of art and media capable of challenging the viewers’ traditional perspective on art itself. To submit, visit the Peripheral ARTeries website.

 

Exhibit at Hotel Indigo (VA)

Artists works will displayed in the hotel’s gallery (220 S Union St, Old Town Alexandria) for a six-month period. Two-dimensional, framed works only. Artists will install the work using the hotel’s mounting hardware. Labels will be provided by the hotel. All sales handled by artist, no commission. Preference for local or locally influenced selections but not required. The space measures approximately 7’10” by 8’3.″ If interested, contact Kate Ellis, General Manager, [email protected].

 

The New Project Studio – Ongoing Opportunity (VA)

Ongoing. Located in Studio 8, the New Project Studio is a community-focused arts incubator space that offers a short-term location to test new program ideas, spotlight underrepresented voices, and enhance community engagement. Projects rotate on a regular basis. For more information, click here.

 

Public Arts Grants & Opportunities (VA)

Ongoing. The City of Alexandria’s Office of the Arts provides grants for nonprofit arts organizations as well as individual artists. See all current opportunities and online applications here.

 

Residency: Maryland

Deadline: ongoing. Montgomery College, Rockville and Germantown Art Department is seeking proposals for its Artist-in-Residence Program, encouraging proposals that cultivate collaborative work between artists and students.

 

Looking for artists: Foundry Gallery (DC)

Deadline: ongoing. Foundry Gallery is seeking a few artists in the greater Washington, DC area. If interested in applying for membership please send up to five images (jpg attachments) and an email letter to: [email protected]. The oldest cooperative in Washington, the gallery holds monthly solo and members’ group shows at its beautiful space north of Shaw near the 9:30 Club.

 

Looking for artists: Printmakers (DC)

Deadline: ongoing. Washington Printmakers Gallery is seeking artist members specializing in printmaking, photography and book arts. An active cooperative for over 30 years, the gallery holds monthly solo and members’ group shows in its lovely space in upper Georgetown. Distant and shared memberships are available. If interested in applying for membership please email [email protected].

 

 

Artful Weekend December 5-6

"Saturday Morning" by Sally Davies, received and honorable mention in the December 2020 Open Exhibit.

Welcome to Artful Weekend, our guide for enjoying area art events and activities in person or at home.

 

This weekend: Large and small exhibits at the League; Alexandria’s holiday Art Walk; Arlington Art Alliance’s big show; and more!

 

December Exhibitions at The Art League

 

December 2020 Open Exhibit

“Steelworker’s Houses,” by Craig Nedrow, is the December 2020 Open Exhibit Best-in-Show Award winner.

This month’s group exhibition, juried by artist Mark Bischel, features an array of artworks in mediums ranging from painting and photography to sculpture and fiber art. It is on view through Sunday, January 3 in the Gallery, or view it online.

 

 

Petite December

 

“Astronaut 1,” by Tara Barr, is one of several miniature paintings for sale in this year’s “Petite December.”

Our perennial favorite is back! This year’s Petite December Exhibit, juried by Baltimore Museum of Art Chief Curator Asma Naeem, features 74 small works (priced at $150 or less!) that are available for immediate purchase during the holiday season. It is on view through Sunday, January 3 in the Gallery, or view and shop the exhibit online.

Join us this Thursday, December 10, at 6:30 PM for our opening reception in celebration of the Art League Artists whose work was selected for the Petite December and Open December Exhibits. RSVP here.

 

 

Old Town Holiday Lamp Post Art Walk

One of several artworks being installed for the Old Town Holiday Lamp Post Art Walk.

Get into the holiday spirit with the first annual Old Town Holiday Lamp Post Art Walk, presented by Old Town Business Association and The Art League! Starting this Sunday, December 5, you can take a self-guided tour along King Street and selected side streets to see lamp posts adorned with festive works by Art League artists. They will be up through January 8. Chart your path with this handy map.

 

 

18th Annual Artful Weekend at Fort C.F. Smith Park

Artwork courtesy of the Arlington Artists Alliance.

The Arlington Artists Alliance presents its 18th annual Artful Weekend at historic Hendry House in Fort C.F. Smith Park. The show features paintings, ceramics, sculpture, cards, and bins of unframed works by 30 top Arlington-based artists; Saturday, December 5, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday, December 6, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., 2411 24th Street North, Arlington, VA.

 

 

Art Appreciation

“Reversible Composition” by Charles H. Walther

 

The Baltimore Museum of Art’s downloadable art projects are a great way to spark creativity in youngsters while introducing them to past and contemporary masters. One to try: Abstract Composition, inspired by the works of Baltimore-based painter and stained-glass artist Charles H. Walther who was also a pioneer of the abstract art movement.

 

Enjoy the weekend. Wear your mask.

 

A Feast in Fabric by Textile Artist Susan Callahan

"Fruit Bowl," by Susan Callahan, is the Best-in-Show Award winner in the "Feast" November 2020 Exhibition.

By Haven Ashley

 

Winner of Best-in-Show Award for The Art League Gallery’s November 2020 Feast! Exhibit, “Fruit Bowl” is a bubbly tablescape by fiber artist Susan Callahan. Using hand-printed textiles, the artist created a delightful spread of summer fruit, cheerful blossoms, and a tantalizing three-layer cake, stitching together a variety of fabrics to form a soft mosaic of ruby, rosebud, and lemonade yellow.

“I love working with pink. It’s joyous. It feels like a sunny afternoon, the pinks and yellows. It’s inviting,” Callahan said, remarking on her appetizing tableau. “I’m proud of this piece. I don’t say that a lot. I’m just really thrilled to have been chosen as best-in-show. I think that fiber art is sometimes misunderstood, and I’m honored to represent this media.”

Callahan brings heart to the hearth, approaching her work with a special understanding of the symbolic relationship we share with food—she is a professionally trained chef.

“As a chef, I believe that food is the center of life. Especially so around the holidays, when we want to gather and enjoy food together. This year has been so difficult. I worry about my friends and family that work in the restaurant industry.”

Callahan has been finding ways to stay hopeful and, like many of us, has turned to cooking and baking as a reprieve. “I’ve been obsessively perfecting certain recipes,” she commented, describing her recent triumphs: a classic bagel, a ripe and robust strawberry jam, and a piquant pumpkin hot sauce. Sounds like a feast to us!

Artist Opportunities #537

"Blackberries in a Bowl" by Alexandra Tolstoy

Every week, we gather a variety of artist opportunities from the DC area and beyond. Find one below and apply today — good luck! Click here for recent opportunities posts, and submit your opportunity listing here.

 

Opportunities

 

Call to Artists: Request For Qualifications for a Mural – Wheaton, MD

Deadline: December 4   The Montgomery County Planning Department seeks an expression of interest and qualifications from artists or artist teams for a site-specific painted mural at the new Wheaton Headquarters (HQ) Building located at 2425 Reedie Drive, Wheaton, MD. The new headquarters is home to several public sector agencies and is strategically placed in the heart of Wheaton’s Arts and Entertainment District. For more information, click here.

 

Call for Artists and Photographers, Innovate Grants

Deadline: December 10   Innovate Grant awards (2) $550.00 grants each quarter, to one Visual Artist and one Photographer. In addition to receiving a grant award, winners will be featured and recognized on our website and join a growing community of vibrant and talented artists. Fall 2020 Cycle is currently accepting submissions. To apply click here.

 

RFQ for Harriet Tubman Monument Project – Newark, NJ

Deadline: December 18   Mayor Ras J. Baraka and the City of Newark seek artists interested in designing a public monument of Harriet Tubman in tribute to the Underground Railroad and its historical significance to be installed in Washington Park. The park will be renamed Tubman Square. The call for artists and artist teams is open to local, regional and national artists. his open call is organized into two phases. Phase One is the RFQ in which artists or artist teams may respond with samples of past work and supplementary materials to be considered for the Harriet Tubman commission. To apply, click here.

 

Call for Entries, Northern Virginia Fine Arts Festival 2021 – Reston, VA

Deadline: December 27   The annual Northern Virginia Fine Arts Festival is a competitive, juried event that is consistently rated as one of the best outdoor art festivals in the country, both for the quality of the artwork presented and for its exceptional artist hospitality. Mediums for submission include ceramics, digital and multi-media art/drawing/mixed media 2D, glass, jewelry, painting, photography, printmaking, sculpture/mixed media 3D/Metal, textiles, and wood. To enter, click here.

 

Street Art Competition Request for Proposals, B&O Railroad Museum – Baltimore

Deadline: January 3, 2021   Street art and graffiti have a deep connection with railroads, as works of art crisscross the nation on train cars, connecting artists with unknown new communities. As a reflection on railroads themselves, the B&O Railroad Museum, in partnership with the Creative Alliance, is seeking street art and graffiti art proposals that respond to the idea of connectedness, in our Baltimore community and as a nation. Four selected artists will have the opportunity to create a mural of their design on a train car at the Museum. Learn more here.

 

 

New Jersey Arts Annual: ReVision and Respond – Newark, NJ

Deadline: January 8, 2021   The Newark Museum of Art welcomes submissions to the 2021 New Jersey Arts Annual: ReVision and Respond. This open call invites a range of artistic practices- from traditional to abstract, from craft to new media– that explore the ReVision and Respond theme. The exhibition is open to any artist currently living or working in New Jersey. For more information, click here.

 

 

Re-runs: These have been previously posted, but it’s not too late to enter!

 

Call for Artists, OCA Mocha — Arbutus, MD

Deadline: December 1   OCA Mocha is accepting submissions of art—any hangable medium—that addresses social issues for which you are an advocate or activist. To be considered, submit contact information: name, phone, email, website, Instagram (if applicable); images of artwork to be considered; information about each artwork: title, framed dimensions, medium, date created, short description (if applicable); and send to the attention of art coordinator Madeline Arbutus at [email protected] with “Advocacy Through Art” as the subject line.

 

Call for Entry: Art For Social Justice Contest

Deadline: December 1   Art For Your Cause, an online marketplace for artists, is hosting an online art contest titled “Art For Social Justice.” Artists are invited to submit art that represents struggles and causes that affect any group of people with the goal of helping them achieve one (or more) of the four pillars of social justice: equity, access, participation, and rights. For more information, click here.

 

Call for Entry, Resilient Together – D.C.

Deadline: December 1   Resilient Together is a creative placemaking initiative designed to support local artist and small business partnerships in D.C.’s Ward 8. Its overall goal is to spur creative and safe re-opening strategies that small businesses can employ to begin to attract and grow their customer base as they adapt to continually changing COVID-19 restrictions. Artists and small businesses should partner to respond to the call for collaborators. Each project should include at least one artist and one small business (“Artist/Small Business Partnership”), and detail the way in which parties will work together on their RESILIENT TOGETHER project. For more information, click here.

 

Atlantic Gallery Juried Show 2021: Drawn to Paper

Deadline December 1   Artists are invited to engage in a conversation with paper in whatever way they want. Some examples of paper but not limited to: cardboard, paper, rice paper, newsprint, construction paper, decoupage paper, card stock, recycled paper, kraft paper, deconstructed books, etc. To enter, click here.

 

The 2021 Socrates Annual Open Call – Long Island City, NY

Deadline: December 4   The 2021 Socrates Annual awards ten artists – selected through open-call application process by a curatorial jury – with the funding, technical assistance, and administrative support needed to realize ambitious public art projects for dedicated exhibition in the Park’s landscape. Learn more here.

 

Call for Entry, Del Ray Artisans – Alexandria, VA

Deadline: December 14   Whether it is the mysteries of the universe, or just something in your own backyard, the world is rife with surprises waiting to be uncovered. This exhibit challenges you to look deeply into the world, into your emotions, or just into your imagination and uncover some part of the Hidden World. For more information, click here.

 

Call For Entry, Busboys and Poets EMERGE AND SEE – DC, VA, MD

Deadline: December 14   Busboys and Poets is looking for visual art to be displayed for its upcoming EMERGE AND SEE exhibition beginning January 2021 at all its locations –  14th and V, NW; 450 K NW; Takoma, Brookland, Shirlington, Hyattsville and Anacostia. Learn more here.

 

Call For Entry, Dreams and Nightmares National Juried Exhibition – Arlington, VA

Deadline: December 14   Gallery Underground announces a call to artists for a juried art exhibition, February 1 – 26, 2021. Artists will interpret the theme “Dreams and Nightmares” – from the beautiful and sublime to the dark and twisted. All media accepted. Learn more here.

 

Mobius Fall 2020 Portrait Photography Competition

Deadline: December 15   Mobius Photo, an online platform dedicated to the curation of emerging and established photographers, seeks portraiture on fashion, politics, family, nudes, etc., for their fall competition. For more information, click here.

 

Call for Artists, Mount Rainier Arts Commission 2021 Mural Project Call for Artist Qualifications – Mount Rainier, MD

Deadline: December 18   The Mount Rainier Arts Commission (MRAC) is requesting Artist Qualifications to create a contemporary outdoor mural. This project is committed to enhancing visibility of the areas business district, and enlightening public experience through the visual arts. Submissions will be considered from artists who reside or hold studio space in Maryland, Northern Virginia, and the District of Columbia.  Learn more here.

 

Call for Arts and Social Justice Fellow – Rockville, MD

Deadline: December 23   VisArts has created a new Arts and Social Justice Fellowship Program for visual activists whose current research, curatorial or visual activist practice, and passion centers on social, racial, economic, and/or environmental justice. The year-long fellowship is an opportunity to explore how thoughtfully curated art, dialogue, communication, and collaborations between artists and communities can productively navigate political flash points, chronic systemic inequities, and entrenched perspectives to inspire change towards a more equitable, just, and inclusive society. Learn more here.

 

Call For Entries, Artist/Writers: Cover Art For Academic Medicine

Deadline: December 30   Submit original works of art inspired by, but not necessarily representative of, an academic medicine experience from any perspective: caregiver, researcher, teacher, learner, or patient (for example, learning how to be a physician or scientist, caring for patients, exploring research questions, making a new discovery, being a research participant, teaching, or being cared for in a teaching hospital). The journal welcomes photography, sculpture, painting, textile work, and other visual media. Images may be cropped or resized to fit into the allotted cover space. Artists must also submit a related Cover Art essay as a narrative companion to the artwork, to explain the connection between the work and the “academic medicine experience.”  Learn more here.

 

Call For Entries, Techpressions 2021

Deadline: December 31   Techspressionism 2021 is an online exhibition to be presented online at Techspressionism.com using the Kunstmatrix 3D exhibition platform. Entries will be limited to two-dimensional works (paintings, drawings, digital images, and prints) in which technology is utilized as a means to express emotional experience. Learn more here.

 

Call For Entries, Outwin Boochevar Portrait Competition 2022 – D.C.

Deadline, January 28, 2021   The National Portrait Gallery invites artists to submit portraits in any media for consideration in the sixth triennial Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition. Artists are encouraged to think about portraiture’s potential to engage with the social and political landscape of our time. For more information, click here.

 

Call For Entries, Athenaeum Gallery – Alexandria, VA

Deadline: August 25, 2021   Artists who live or work in Virginia, Maryland, or the District of Columbia may submit a proposal for a solo show.  A group of artists who live or work in the area may submit a proposal for a group show.  A curator, living or working anywhere, may submit a proposal for a show featuring works by artists living or working in this area. For more information, click here.

 

 

Ongoing: These opportunities have rolling deadlines.

 

(RECENT) Call For Stories About Women in the Arts, Maryland State Arts Council

2020 has been dedicated to the Year of the Woman in Maryland. Do you have an inspiring story about vital contributions of women-identifying people who are artists, arts administrators, or cultural workers? Perhaps an exhibition, performance or project featuring women? Share it with the Maryland State Arts Council for potential use in marketing and communications! Send your ideas to [email protected], and include “Year of the Woman” in the subject line. Satff will contact senders whose stories are selected for inclusion in future newsletters, eblasts, or social media postings. Learn more about Maryland’s year of the Woman here.

 

(RECENT) Call For Artists, Busboys and Poets

Busboys and Poets is looking for submissions from Maryland and Virginia artists as it expands to new locations in both areas. Submissions can include drawings, painting, photography, sculpture, mixed media, assemblage, fiber, quilts, etc. Art images reflecting life in the city, family, portraits, whimsy, abstraction, social uplift and life experiences within diverse cultures are encouraged for submission. For more information, click here.

 

Alterwork Studios Online Residency

This residency was designed to give emerging contemporary artists an online platform to create new work and explore their practice. Over the course of four weeks, artists will be encouraged to experiment and explore their concepts and move their work forward in the contemporary art world. Learn more here.

 

Accepting Artwork for Curatorial Review by AIWA

The Alper Initiative for Washington Art features five exhibitions per year in the newly constructed first floor space in the American University Museum. We accept submissions, on a rolling basis,  from Washington artists of all ages and backgrounds, and working in diverse media. The museum’s Director and Curator, Jack Rasmussen, will select curators who will review these submissions for potential use in Alper Initiative exhibitions. For more information click here.

 

Call For Entry Hamilton Arts Collective Guest Artist Exhibition – Baltimore, MD

The Hamilton Arts Collective (HAC) and the Hamilton Gallery seek applications from artists for month-long Guest Artist exhibitions at Hamilton Gallery located at 5502 Harford Road, Baltimore, MD. The selected guest artists will be invited to exhibit a selection of their current work in Gallery I of the Hamilton Gallery. The Guest Artist exhibition is featured in Hamilton Gallery communications and will be promoted by the HAC and Hamilton Gallery. This is an open call to artists residing within 60 miles of Baltimore City. Baltimore residents are encouraged to apply. Click here to learn more.

 

Howard County Arts Council Quarterly Call For Artists – Ellicott City, MD

The Howard County Arts Council gallery program was established to enhance the public’s appreciation of the visual arts, provide a venue to exhibit the work of local, regional, and national artists in a professional space, and provide leadership in the arts by presenting a broad spectrum of arts in all media from both emerging and established artists. Artists, ages 18 and older, working in all media and styles including time-based and installation artists, are encouraged to apply either individually or as a group. Proposals from curators and arts organizations are also welcome. Click here to learn more.

 

Exhibit at Hotel Indigo Downtown Baltimore — Baltimore, MD

The Maryland Art Place (MAP) is working with Hotel Indigo in downtown Baltimore to offer rotating exhibitions in the hotel’s library and Poets Modern Cocktails and Eats restaurant. This opportunity is open to visual artists living or working in Maryland. ’s public art partnership projects (MAP), in partnership with Hotel Indigo, is pleased to announce an open call to artists. MAP will curate four exhibitions a year based on submissions entered through a rolling basis. Click here to learn more.

 

Solo or Group Shows in Athenaeum Gallery – VA

The Athenaeum Gallery in Alexandria, Virginia exhibits visual arts created solely by artists living or working in the region (DC, Maryland and Virginia) and strives to present visitors with a wide variety of excellent art and unique experiences.  In addition to the shows curated by the Gallery Director, the Athenaeum Gallery invites artists and curators to submit show proposals. For more information, click here.

 

The Creativity Grant Program State of Maryland (MD)

Deadline: Rolling. The purpose of the Creativity Grant Program is to strengthen the vitality and sustainability of artists and small organizations to maintain a strong and stable arts infrastructure in the State of Maryland. The Creativity Grant also provides opportunities to serve the growing needs of relevant arts projects and collaborations within Maryland communities. For more information regarding eligibility and funding timelines, please review the Creativity Grants Guidelines. For more information about the program, and to apply visit the Creativity Grant Program State of Maryland website.

 

Artist/Writers: Cover Art for Academic Medicine

Deadline: Rolling. Submit original works of art inspired by, but not necessarily representative of, an academic medicine experience from any perspective: caregiver, researcher, teacher, learner, or patient (for example, learning how to be a physician or scientist, caring for patients, exploring research questions, making a new discovery, being a research participant, teaching, or being cared for in a teaching hospital). The journal welcomes photography, sculpture, painting, textile work, and other visual media. Images may be cropped or resized to fit into the allotted cover space. Artists must also submit a related Cover Art essay as a narrative companion to the artwork, to explain the connection between the work and the “academic medicine experience.” The related narrative should be 250 to 600 words and is subject to editing. To apply for this opportunity, and to learn more, visit the Academic Medicine website.

 

The Awesome Foundation Accepting Applications for Art Projects

Deadline: Open. The Awesome Foundation for the Arts and Sciences is a worldwide network of people devoted to forwarding the interest of “awesomeness in the universe.” Established in 2009, the foundation distributes $1,000 grants on a monthly basis to projects and their creators. The money is pooled from ten or more self-organizing “micro-trustees.” The chapters are autonomous and organized by the trustees around geographic areas or topics of interest. Apply on the Awesome Foundation website.

 

Call for Artists: Maryland Art Place Seeks Proposals for Rotating Exhibition Partnership with Baltimore’s Hotel Indigo (MD)

Deadline: rolling. Maryland Art Place (MAP), in partnership with Hotel Indigo is pleased to announce an open ‘Call to Artists’. As an extension of MAP’s annual IMPACT public art partnership projects, MAP is working with Hotel Indigo to offer rotating exhibitions in Hotel indigo’s library and Poets Modern Cocktails and Eats. This opportunity is available to visual artists living or working in Maryland. Maryland Art Place will curate four exhibitions a year based on submissions entered through a rolling basis. Guidelines and information here.

 

Peripheral ARTeries – Biennial Contemporary Art Publication

Deadline: Rolling. Peripheral ARTeries is looking for artists to be featured in the new special Biennial Edition of their art publication, that comes to its 10th edition. This opportunity is great for both established and early career artists who need a boost to their artist portfolio. The 10th edition will once again explore and show current trends and tendencies in Contemporary Art: Peripheral ARTeries cultivates a spirit of openness through a unique collaborative and participatory approach.Each artist may submit a maximum of three works or projects made in any technique: painting, drawing, video art, experimental cinema, fine art photography, experimental media, mixed media, installations, public art, performance. The call is open to all proposed kind of art and media capable of challenging the viewers’ traditional perspective on art itself. To submit, visit the Peripheral ARTeries website.

 

Exhibit at Hotel Indigo (VA)

Artists works will displayed in the hotel’s gallery (220 S Union St, Old Town Alexandria) for a six-month period. Two-dimensional, framed works only. Artists will install the work using the hotel’s mounting hardware. Labels will be provided by the hotel. All sales handled by artist, no commission. Preference for local or locally influenced selections but not required. The space measures approximately 7’10” by 8’3.″ If interested, contact Kate Ellis, General Manager, [email protected].

 

The New Project Studio – Ongoing Opportunity (VA)

Ongoing. Located in Studio 8, the New Project Studio is a community-focused arts incubator space that offers a short-term location to test new program ideas, spotlight underrepresented voices, and enhance community engagement. Projects rotate on a regular basis. For more information, click here.

 

Public Arts Grants & Opportunities (VA)

Ongoing. The City of Alexandria’s Office of the Arts provides grants for nonprofit arts organizations as well as individual artists. See all current opportunities and online applications here.

 

Residency: Maryland

Deadline: ongoing. Montgomery College, Rockville and Germantown Art Department is seeking proposals for its Artist-in-Residence Program, encouraging proposals that cultivate collaborative work between artists and students.

 

Looking for artists: Foundry Gallery (DC)

Deadline: ongoing. Foundry Gallery is seeking a few artists in the greater Washington, DC area. If interested in applying for membership please send up to five images (jpg attachments) and an email letter to: [email protected]. The oldest cooperative in Washington, the gallery holds monthly solo and members’ group shows at its beautiful space north of Shaw near the 9:30 Club.

 

Looking for artists: Printmakers (DC)

Deadline: ongoing. Washington Printmakers Gallery is seeking artist members specializing in printmaking, photography and book arts. An active cooperative for over 30 years, the gallery holds monthly solo and members’ group shows in its lovely space in upper Georgetown. Distant and shared memberships are available. If interested in applying for membership please email [email protected].

 

 

 

 

 

Artfelt Gift Ideas for Everyone on Your Holiday List

Find unique and memorable presents for the artists and art lovers in your life at The Art League.

 

 

A weekend of deals!

 

 

 

Unique mugs handcrafted by our ceramics artists make great gifts. They’re on sale—$15 each— during our  Holiday Hot Cocoa Mug Sale on Small Business Saturday, November 28. Meet us at our tent at the 900 block of King St. by Misha’s Coffee from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., or until we sell out.

 

“2020 Thanksgiving for One” by Donna Cramer

Shop the Gallery in person or online on Small Business Saturday (November 28) and get 20% off of artworks featured in our November exhibitions Feast! and Fairy Tails, Feathers, & Scales, as well as those in Gallery 75. Use the code “SmallBusiness” upon checkout for online purchases all day Saturday. Enjoy the same savings when you shop the Gallery online Sunday, November 28—Monday, 28 using the code “JollyHoliday” upon checkout.

 

Give the gift of art while supporting The League with a Patrons’ Show Ticket.

The Art League’s biggest fundraising event of the year, provides seasoned art collectors and newcomers alike with the excellent opportunity to acquire high quality, original fine art at a bargain price while supporting a great non-profit organization and community of artists. For each ticket drawn, ticket holders get a work of art valued anywhere from $225 to upwards of thousands of dollars. This year’s Patrons’ Show will be virtual, so art lovers near and far can participate in this perennial favorite! Purchase tickets here.

 

 

Miniature masterpieces make great presents!

Please your favorite art lover with a little something from our Petite December exhibition, a charming collection of small-scale artworks priced from $30 to $150, on view December 3—January 2.

 

The Art League gear rocks!

Keep clothes spotless with these cool artist aprons.

 

Hoodie goodies!

Artists large and small will appreciate our durable aprons that keep clothes protected during the creative process; children’s Mini Maker aprons, $18; adult Join the Flock aprons, $22. Give the cool kids (and adults) on your list a fleece Art League hoodie, available in slate, red, teal and grey, and emblazoned with our paint splash logo; $30 for small, medium, large or extra-large.

 

Make a lasting gift impression with our new life-time guaranteed totes.

Eqpd to last forever.

Stylish and durable, our new eqpd (pronounced “equipped”) bags are made of the same resilient vinyl-coated polyester used in white water rafts, and guaranteed to last forever. The 17” LastBag ($50) has an adjustable shoulder strap and removable felt base. The WideTote ($125) has four side pockets with drainage holes (ideal for wet paintbrushes!), a large interior zip pocket, removable felt base, sturdy leather handles and an adjustable shoulder strap.

 

Spark some creativity among loved ones and friends with virtual art courses.

From drawing and painting, to tapestry and color theory, The Art League offers a variety of online courses and workshops that beginner and seasoned artists with internet access can attend, regardless of their. Winter term enrollment is open now.

 

Pencils and paper and paints—oh my!

Present your favorite artist with a a bounty of art supplies from the Art Supply Store.

 

You can never go wrong with a gift card.

Take some of the stress out of holiday shopping with a gift card from The Art League. They can be used for classes and workshops, original art, artist membership, travel workshops and art supplies; cards can be purchased in increments of $5 to $500.

Artful Weekend November 21-22

"I Will Eat You," by Judy Guenther, is currently on view in the "Feast!" November 2020 Themed Exhibition.

Welcome to Artful Weekend, our guide for enjoying area art events in person or at home.

 

This weekend: Feast! and Fairy Tails… at the League; Antonia Ramos Miguel’s new abstracts; and brilliant works by DC colorist Howard Mehring.

 

November Exhibitions at The Art League

 

Feast!

“Cake Reflected” by Mary Beth Gaiarin is one of several Honorable Mention Award winners in “Feast!”

From festive and fanciful spreads to substantive staples, food is the focus of Feast!, the November 2020 group exhibition at The Art League Gallery. It is on view through Monday, November 30. You can also view and shop the show online.

 

“Feast!” Noveember 2020 Exhibition juror Anki King (Photo: Jason Bockli)

Painter, sculptor, November juror Anki King was impressed with the quality of work submitted for Feast!. “There were reasons to include absolutely ever submission in the show, but that’s not how curating works,” she told us.  Read about her approach to art , and her observations about her prize-winning selections in this month’s Juror Profile.

 

Fairy Tails, Feathers, & Scales

“Anya in Color”

With whimsy and wit, charm and charisma, printmaker Veronica Barker-Barzel brings to life creatures from beloved stories and new imaginings. Influenced by fairy tales, folklore, and mythology from around the world, her solo exhibit features magical beings with fins, fangs, fur, and everything in between. Fairy Tails, Feathers, and Scales is on view in the Gallery through December 6. In this video short, Veronica talks about printmaking and her solo show.

 

 

Antonia Ramos Miguel: The Break of Rules

“Still Life with Glass Ball,” oil on canvas, by Antonia Ramis Miguel

Antonia Ramis Miguel returns to Watergate Gallery continuing her approach to Constructivist art  which combines the strength of structured line along with color and abstraction to create a dramatic visual effect that arranges the parts of a subject into a whole. The influence of her native Spain, particularly the use of saturated color, is however still visible in her work; on view through November 30 at the Watergate Gallery, 2552 Virginia Avenue, NW

 

Howard Mehring: Brilliance

“Brilliance,” by Howard Mehring, c.1957, magna on canvas

Washington Howard Mehring created a distinctive loose, gestural style often referred to as “Lyrical Abstraction.” See his vivd works in Brilliance, on view through Nov. 30 by appointment at Connersmith, 1013 O St. NW, or online here.

 

Enjoy the weekend. Wear your mask.

Artist Opportunities #536

"Lemon with Sugar, Half Dozen," by Andrea Cybyk, is currently on view in "Feast!", the November 2020 Themed Exhibition.

Every week, we gather a variety of artist opportunities from the DC area and beyond. Find one below and apply today — good luck! Click here for recent opportunities posts, and submit your opportunity listing here.

 

Opportunities

 

Call for Short-Term Residents, Arlington Arts Center – Arlington, VA

Deadline: November 30   Arlington Arts Center’s (AAC) resident artist program provides subsidized studio space in a supportive environment that encourages growth, dialogue, and exploration. The program gives artists the opportunity to develop their practice in a community with other artists and alongside AAC’s critically acclaimed exhibitions and extensive educational programs. Currently, AAC is seeking two short-term residents. Click here to apply.

 

Call for Artists, OCA Mocha — Arbutus, MD

Deadline: December 1   OCA Mocha is accepting submissions of art—any hangable medium—that addresses social issues for which you are an advocate or activist. To be considered, submit contact information: name, phone, email, website, Instagram (if applicable); images of artwork to be considered; information about each artwork: title, framed dimensions, medium, date created, short description (if applicable); and send to the attention of art coordinator Madeline Arbutus at [email protected] with “Advocacy Through Art” as the subject line.

 

Call for Entry, Del Ray Artisans – Alexandria, VA

Deadline: December 14   Whether it is the mysteries of the universe, or just something in your own backyard, the world is rife with surprises waiting to be uncovered. This exhibit challenges you to look deeply into the world, into your emotions, or just into your imagination and uncover some part of the Hidden World. For more information, click here.

 

Call for Artists, Mount Rainier Arts Commission 2021 Mural Project Call for Artist Qualifications – Mount Rainier, MD

Deadline: December 18   The Mount Rainier Arts Commission (MRAC) is requesting Artist Qualifications to create a contemporary outdoor mural. This project is committed to enhancing visibility of the areas business district, and enlightening public experience through the visual arts. Submissions will be considered from artists who reside or hold studio space in Maryland, Northern Virginia, and the District of Columbia.  Learn more here.

 

 

Re-runs: These have been previously posted, but it’s not too late to enter!

 

Maryland State Arts Council Open Public Art Calls, University of Maryland Eastern Shore and Coppin State University

Deadline: November 24   The Maryland State Arts Council’s Maryland Public Art Initiative is proud to announce two open Calls for Artists for the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) School of Pharmacy & Health Professions, and the Coppin State University College of Business. The projects are the first Maryland Public Art Initiative public artworks on Maryland HBCU campuses. Both Calls to Artists are open to any artist or artist team living in the United States. Artists with a connection to HBCUs and/or residents of Maryland are especially encouraged to apply. For information on each project and how to apply, click here.

 

Call For Photography, The Phillips Collection Community in Focus – DC

Deadline: November 29   Be a part of The Phillips Collection’s ambitious community project to capture a unique photographic snapshot of an unprecedented year. Everyone—no matter your skill level—is invited to submit a photo that captures a piece of your 2020. Show us your inimitable spirit, suffering, joy, and resilience. Community in Focus aims to put together a collective portrait filled with bravery, humor, sadness, creativity, and kindness—human emotions that connect us all. Learn more and submit photos here.

 

 

Call for Entry: Down to Earth | Seasonal Artist Residency at Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens – DC

Deadline: November 30   Tendani | 8 Arts & Culture is pleased to introduce a new seasonal artist residency at Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens – Down to Earth – a creative project partnership between Capital FringeCaandor Labs, and Friends of the Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens, a proud partner of the National Park Service. Tendani | 8 Arts & Culture is offering four paid artists’ residencies under the theme Down to Earth to provide an outlet for DC, Maryland, and Virginia artists and creatives to create artwork or experiences that examine our ability and fortitude as human beings to tackle the climate emergency and systemic racism. Projects developed through the residency will engage the landscape and wildlife of the Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens, utilizing them for inspiration or as a metaphorical or literal canvas. They are inviting four cohorts, either solo or teams, to four 13-week residencies in 2021. Learn how to apply here.

 

Open Call for Eco-Urgency at Wave Hill and Lehman College Art Gallery – Bronx, NY

Deadline: November 30   Wave Hill is accepting applications for the exhibition Eco-Urgency: Artists Make the Case, an expanded collaboration with Lehman College Art Gallery, at galleries in both locations, planned for July through November 2021. Eco-Urgency features artists focused on critical issues affecting ecosystems and biodiversity. Learn more here.

 

Call for Entry: Art For Social Justice Contest

Deadline: December 1   Art For Your Cause, an online marketplace for artists, is hosting an online art contest titled “Art For Social Justice.” Artists are invited to submit art that represents struggles and causes that affect any group of people with the goal of helping them achieve one (or more) of the four pillars of social justice: equity, access, participation, and rights. For more information, click here.

 

Call for Entry, Resilient Together – D.C.

Deadline: December 1   Resilient Together is a creative placemaking initiative designed to support local artist and small business partnerships in D.C.’s Ward 8. Its overall goal is to spur creative and safe re-opening strategies that small businesses can employ to begin to attract and grow their customer base as they adapt to continually changing COVID-19 restrictions. Artists and small businesses should partner to respond to the call for collaborators. Each project should include at least one artist and one small business (“Artist/Small Business Partnership”), and detail the way in which parties will work together on their RESILIENT TOGETHER project. For more information, click here.

 

Call for Arts and Social Justice Fellow – Rockville, MD

Deadline: December 23   VisArts has created a new Arts and Social Justice Fellowship Program for visual activists whose current research, curatorial or visual activist practice, and passion centers on social, racial, economic, and/or environmental justice. The year-long fellowship is an opportunity to explore how thoughtfully curated art, dialogue, communication, and collaborations between artists and communities can productively navigate political flashpoints, chronic systemic inequities, and entrenched perspectives to inspire change towards a more equitable, just, and inclusive society. Learn more here.

 

Call for Entry, SlowArt Productions Emerging Artists 2021 – New York

Deadline: December 30   SlowArt Productions presents Emerging Artists 2021, the 29th annual competition for exhibition and cash awards. The competition is open to all artists, national and international, working in all media. All forms of painting, drawing, sculpture, photography, graphics, digital and installation art, video, etc. are eligible. Learn more here.

 

Call for Entries, Juried Printmaking Exhibition – Germantown, MD

Deadline: February 1, 2021   BlackRock Center for the Arts is now accepting entries for the regional juried exhibition INK IT: Contemporary Print Practices. It is open to artists in the Mid-Atlantic region (MD, DC, VA, PA, DE and WV) who are age 18 and older. Fore more information, click here.

 

Atlantic Gallery Juried Show 2021: Drawn to Paper

Deadline December 1   Artists are invited to engage in a conversation with paper in whatever way they want. Some examples of paper but not limited to: cardboard, paper, rice paper, newsprint, construction paper, decoupage paper, card stock, recycled paper, kraft paper, deconstructed books, etc. To enter, click here.

 

The 2021 Socrates Annual Open Call – Long Island City, NY

Deadline: December 4   The 2021 Socrates Annual awards ten artists – selected through open-call application process by a curatorial jury – with the funding, technical assistance, and administrative support needed to realize ambitious public art projects for dedicated exhibition in the Park’s landscape. Learn more here.

 

Call For Entry, Busboys and Poets EMERGE AND SEE – DC, VA, MD

Deadline: December 14   Busboys and Poets is looking for visual art to be displayed for its upcoming EMERGE AND SEE exhibition beginning January 2021 at all its locations –  14th and V, NW; 450 K NW; Takoma, Brookland, Shirlington, Hyattsville and Anacostia. Learn more here.

 

Call For Entry, Dreams and Nightmares National Juried Exhibition – Arlington, VA

Deadline: December 14   Gallery Underground announces a call to artists for a juried art exhibition, February 1 – 26, 2021. Artists will interpret the theme “Dreams and Nightmares” – from the beautiful and sublime to the dark and twisted. All media accepted. Learn more here.

 

Mobius Fall 2020 Portrait Photography Competition

Deadline: December 15   Mobius Photo, an online platform dedicated to the curation of emerging and established photographers, seeks portraiture on fashion, politics, family, nudes, etc., for their fall competition. For more information, click here.

 

Torpedo Factory Art Center 2021 Open Call for Solo Exhibition – Alexandria, VA

Deadline: December 20   Target Gallery invites regional artists living in the D.C., Maryland, or Virginia to apply for an open call for proposals for a solo exhibition for the summer of 2021. The individual with the chosen proposal will receive an exhibition at Target Gallery from May 29 – July 18, 2021 as well as a virtual online catalog. The artist will also receive a $2000 stipend as well as $100 for providing an artist talk and guided tour. For more information, click here.

 

Call For Entries, Artist/Writers: Cover Art For Academic Medicine

Deadline: December 30   Submit original works of art inspired by, but not necessarily representative of, an academic medicine experience from any perspective: caregiver, researcher, teacher, learner, or patient (for example, learning how to be a physician or scientist, caring for patients, exploring research questions, making a new discovery, being a research participant, teaching, or being cared for in a teaching hospital). The journal welcomes photography, sculpture, painting, textile work, and other visual media. Images may be cropped or resized to fit into the allotted cover space. Artists must also submit a related Cover Art essay as a narrative companion to the artwork, to explain the connection between the work and the “academic medicine experience.”  Learn more here.

 

Call For Entries, Techpressions 2021

Deadline: December 31   Techspressionism 2021 is an online exhibition to be presented online at Techspressionism.com using the Kunstmatrix 3D exhibition platform. Entries will be limited to two-dimensional works (paintings, drawings, digital images, and prints) in which technology is utilized as a means to express emotional experience. Learn more here.

 

Call For Entries, Outwin Boochevar Portrait Competition 2022 – D.C.

Deadline, January 28, 2021   The National Portrait Gallery invites artists to submit portraits in any media for consideration in the sixth triennial Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition. Artists are encouraged to think about portraiture’s potential to engage with the social and political landscape of our time. For more information, click here.

 

Call For Entries, Athenaeum Gallery – Alexandria, VA

Deadline: August 25, 2021   Artists who live or work in Virginia, Maryland, or the District of Columbia may submit a proposal for a solo show.  A group of artists who live or work in the area may submit a proposal for a group show.  A curator, living or working anywhere, may submit a proposal for a show featuring works by artists living or working in this area. For more information, click here.

 

 

Ongoing: These opportunities have rolling deadlines.

 

(RECENT) Call For Stories About Women in the Arts, Maryland State Arts Council

2020 has been dedicated to the Year of the Woman in Maryland. Do you have an inspiring story about vital contributions of women-identifying people who are artists, arts administrators, or cultural workers? Perhaps an exhibition, performance or project featuring women? Share it with the Maryland State Arts Council for potential use in marketing and communications! Send your ideas to [email protected], and include “Year of the Woman” in the subject line. Satff will contact senders whose stories are selected for inclusion in future newsletters, eblasts, or social media postings. Learn more about Maryland’s year of the Woman here.

 

(RECENT) Call For Artists, Busboys and Poets

Busboys and Poets is looking for submissions from Maryland and Virginia artists as it expands to new locations in both areas. Submissions can include drawings, painting, photography, sculpture, mixed media, assemblage, fiber, quilts, etc. Art images reflecting life in the city, family, portraits, whimsy, abstraction, social uplift and life experiences within diverse cultures are encouraged for submission. For more information, click here.

 

Alterwork Studios Online Residency

This residency was designed to give emerging contemporary artists an online platform to create new work and explore their practice. Over the course of four weeks, artists will be encouraged to experiment and explore their concepts and move their work forward in the contemporary art world. Learn more here.

 

Accepting Artwork for Curatorial Review by AIWA

The Alper Initiative for Washington Art features five exhibitions per year in the newly constructed first floor space in the American University Museum. We accept submissions, on a rolling basis,  from Washington artists of all ages and backgrounds, and working in diverse media. The museum’s Director and Curator, Jack Rasmussen, will select curators who will review these submissions for potential use in Alper Initiative exhibitions. For more information click here.

 

Call For Entry Hamilton Arts Collective Guest Artist Exhibition – Baltimore, MD

The Hamilton Arts Collective (HAC) and the Hamilton Gallery seek applications from artists for month-long Guest Artist exhibitions at Hamilton Gallery located at 5502 Harford Road, Baltimore, MD. The selected guest artists will be invited to exhibit a selection of their current work in Gallery I of the Hamilton Gallery. The Guest Artist exhibition is featured in Hamilton Gallery communications and will be promoted by the HAC and Hamilton Gallery. This is an open call to artists residing within 60 miles of Baltimore City. Baltimore residents are encouraged to apply. Click here to learn more.

 

Howard County Arts Council Quarterly Call For Artists – Ellicott City, MD

The Howard County Arts Council gallery program was established to enhance the public’s appreciation of the visual arts, provide a venue to exhibit the work of local, regional, and national artists in a professional space, and provide leadership in the arts by presenting a broad spectrum of arts in all media from both emerging and established artists. Artists, ages 18 and older, working in all media and styles including time-based and installation artists, are encouraged to apply either individually or as a group. Proposals from curators and arts organizations are also welcome. Click here to learn more.

 

Exhibit at Hotel Indigo Downtown Baltimore — Baltimore, MD

The Maryland Art Place (MAP) is working with Hotel Indigo in downtown Baltimore to offer rotating exhibitions in the hotel’s library and Poets Modern Cocktails and Eats restaurant. This opportunity is open to visual artists living or working in Maryland. ’s public art partnership projects (MAP), in partnership with Hotel Indigo, is pleased to announce an open call to artists. MAP will curate four exhibitions a year based on submissions entered through a rolling basis. Click here to learn more.

 

Solo or Group Shows in Athenaeum Gallery – VA

The Athenaeum Gallery in Alexandria, Virginia exhibits visual arts created solely by artists living or working in the region (DC, Maryland and Virginia) and strives to present visitors with a wide variety of excellent art and unique experiences.  In addition to the shows curated by the Gallery Director, the Athenaeum Gallery invites artists and curators to submit show proposals. For more information, click here.

 

The Creativity Grant Program State of Maryland (MD)

Deadline: Rolling. The purpose of the Creativity Grant Program is to strengthen the vitality and sustainability of artists and small organizations to maintain a strong and stable arts infrastructure in the State of Maryland. The Creativity Grant also provides opportunities to serve the growing needs of relevant arts projects and collaborations within Maryland communities. For more information regarding eligibility and funding timelines, please review the Creativity Grants Guidelines. For more information about the program, and to apply visit the Creativity Grant Program State of Maryland website.

 

Artist/Writers: Cover Art for Academic Medicine

Deadline: Rolling. Submit original works of art inspired by, but not necessarily representative of, an academic medicine experience from any perspective: caregiver, researcher, teacher, learner, or patient (for example, learning how to be a physician or scientist, caring for patients, exploring research questions, making a new discovery, being a research participant, teaching, or being cared for in a teaching hospital). The journal welcomes photography, sculpture, painting, textile work, and other visual media. Images may be cropped or resized to fit into the allotted cover space. Artists must also submit a related Cover Art essay as a narrative companion to the artwork, to explain the connection between the work and the “academic medicine experience.” The related narrative should be 250 to 600 words and is subject to editing. To apply for this opportunity, and to learn more, visit the Academic Medicine website.

 

The Awesome Foundation Accepting Applications for Art Projects

Deadline: Open. The Awesome Foundation for the Arts and Sciences is a worldwide network of people devoted to forwarding the interest of “awesomeness in the universe.” Established in 2009, the foundation distributes $1,000 grants on a monthly basis to projects and their creators. The money is pooled from ten or more self-organizing “micro-trustees.” The chapters are autonomous and organized by the trustees around geographic areas or topics of interest. Apply on the Awesome Foundation website.

 

Call for Artists: Maryland Art Place Seeks Proposals for Rotating Exhibition Partnership with Baltimore’s Hotel Indigo (MD)

Deadline: rolling. Maryland Art Place (MAP), in partnership with Hotel Indigo is pleased to announce an open ‘Call to Artists’. As an extension of MAP’s annual IMPACT public art partnership projects, MAP is working with Hotel Indigo to offer rotating exhibitions in Hotel indigo’s library and Poets Modern Cocktails and Eats. This opportunity is available to visual artists living or working in Maryland. Maryland Art Place will curate four exhibitions a year based on submissions entered through a rolling basis. Guidelines and information here.

 

Peripheral ARTeries – Biennial Contemporary Art Publication

Deadline: Rolling. Peripheral ARTeries is looking for artists to be featured in the new special Biennial Edition of their art publication, that comes to its 10th edition. This opportunity is great for both established and early career artists who need a boost to their artist portfolio. The 10th edition will once again explore and show current trends and tendencies in Contemporary Art: Peripheral ARTeries cultivates a spirit of openness through a unique collaborative and participatory approach.Each artist may submit a maximum of three works or projects made in any technique: painting, drawing, video art, experimental cinema, fine art photography, experimental media, mixed media, installations, public art, performance. The call is open to all proposed kind of art and media capable of challenging the viewers’ traditional perspective on art itself. To submit, visit the Peripheral ARTeries website.

 

Exhibit at Hotel Indigo (VA)

Artists works will displayed in the hotel’s gallery (220 S Union St, Old Town Alexandria) for a six-month period. Two-dimensional, framed works only. Artists will install the work using the hotel’s mounting hardware. Labels will be provided by the hotel. All sales handled by artist, no commission. Preference for local or locally influenced selections but not required. The space measures approximately 7’10” by 8’3.″ If interested, contact Kate Ellis, General Manager, [email protected].

 

The New Project Studio – Ongoing Opportunity (VA)

Ongoing. Located in Studio 8, the New Project Studio is a community-focused arts incubator space that offers a short-term location to test new program ideas, spotlight underrepresented voices, and enhance community engagement. Projects rotate on a regular basis. For more information, click here.

 

Public Arts Grants & Opportunities (VA)

Ongoing. The City of Alexandria’s Office of the Arts provides grants for nonprofit arts organizations as well as individual artists. See all current opportunities and online applications here.

 

Residency: Maryland

Deadline: ongoing. Montgomery College, Rockville and Germantown Art Department is seeking proposals for its Artist-in-Residence Program, encouraging proposals that cultivate collaborative work between artists and students.

 

Looking for artists: Foundry Gallery (DC)

Deadline: ongoing. Foundry Gallery is seeking a few artists in the greater Washington, DC area. If interested in applying for membership please send up to five images (jpg attachments) and an email letter to: [email protected]. The oldest cooperative in Washington, the gallery holds monthly solo and members’ group shows at its beautiful space north of Shaw near the 9:30 Club.

 

Looking for artists: Printmakers (DC)

Deadline: ongoing. Washington Printmakers Gallery is seeking artist members specializing in printmaking, photography and book arts. An active cooperative for over 30 years, the gallery holds monthly solo and members’ group shows in its lovely space in upper Georgetown. Distant and shared memberships are available. If interested in applying for membership please email [email protected].

 

 

 

Juror Profile: Anki King

"Feast!" Noveember 2020 Exhibition juror Anki King (Photo: Jason Bockli)

We spoke to Anki King, our November Feast! juror, about her artistry as a painter and sculptor, and her award-winning selections.

By Julia Chance

 

Anki King experiences a visceral reaction when she sees a well-crafted work of art, particularly if it is a painting. “This sounds funny to people who don’t get it, but when I see juicy paintings, my mouth waters and my fingers start tingling—like I want to touch it.”

And just what, exactly, is a “juicy” painting?  

“One where the painter was unafraid of the medium,” King explains, citing the energetic brushwork of Cy Twombly and the densely painted canvasses of Anselm Kiefer, two of her favorites. “When we start [as artists] we treat paint as color, and it’s so much more than that. Once you have a good brush stroke it gives a completely different expression.”

King’s impressionistic brushwork and deep palette give the figures that appear prominently in her large-scale paintings an air of mystery. They tend to be faceless, sometimes shrouded, with bodies and limbs stretching and contorting to personify an action, a feeling, or notion. They are symbols, she says, for feelings that can not be accurately described in words.

 

“Hiding I”, 18×24, oil on canvas, 2019

 

“Arms,” 63×67, oil on canvas, 2019

 

“Two,” 12.5×9.5, mixed on paper, 2020

 

“The emotions that I work from when I paint are so complex, I just have them with me as I’m creating, and they become very much part of the work,” King says during a recent telephone chat. “Everything I see and feel and learn and dream and experience, it all becomes part of it.” 

Her approach to art is more exploratory than planned. “I always start paintings in different ways to challenge myself and see what happens when I do this or that,” she describes. And when drawing, “I usually sit on the floor, put charcoal to paper and start doodling. I’ll add other mediums—like ink, gesso, colored pencil, oil, pastel—until I feel like there’s some imagery there.” 

 

King prefers to sprawl out on the floor when drawing. “It goes back to childhood. I was always on my living room floor drawing with colored pencils all around me.”

 

Creating sculpture appeals to King’s tactile sensibilities as well. “It’s like moving the painting out into a 3-D form that I can touch with my hands.” As sculpture, her signature figures are life-size, made of natural materials like tree branches, twigs, vines, and jute, or simply plaster. “I like dry types of mediums that look rugged and raw, not sleek.”

 

“Vine Woman,” vines and branches over wood armature, 2008

 

King describes her artistic career as a journey of discovery, something she could not have fathomed as a girl from a small Norwegian town. “I thought that artists were all dead and just their work hung in museums,” she admits. “I grew up in a town with 2,000 people. There weren’t any artists around me. There were a lot of crafts, but not art the way I now know it.”  

Her lifelong love of drawing eventually led her to enroll at Oslo Drawing and Painting School. One of her teachers once remarked that only a small percentage of the student body would continue making art once they left school, and that’s when things clicked for King. “I just knew that I was going to be one of them,” she recalls. “That’s when I discovered that art had gotten me.” After completing a three-year program, she moved to New York where she is currently based and furthered her studies at The Students Art League. Her works have been exhibited nationally and internationally.

When she is not making her art, King is overseeing the work of other artists as the exhibition manager of the gallery at The Students Art League. “We’ve moved most of our exhibits online which, amazingly enough, takes no less time [to produce] than doing them in person.” 

We were thrilled to have her as the juror for Feast!, and she was impressed with the quality of work that was submitted. “I probably spent a good two to three full days just going over the work,” King says. “I was struck by the colors, composition, use of material, and personal voice. There was a lot of bold, strong work.” Here is what she had to say about her award-winning selections: 

 

Best-in-Show Award winner Fruit Bowl by Susan Callahan

“Fruit Bowl,” by Susan Callahan, is the Best-in-Show Award winner in the “Feast” November 2020 Exhibition.

“It is so innovative—the colors, the whole grid system that is all over the work. From the first time I saw it I thought, Wow! Somebody had something to say here. The colors are beautiful. The composition is really exciting, just right on. And it’s a very personal voice. [The artist] is not trying to copy [a style] to make a perfect still life with a fruit bowl and a cake and a vase. It’s something much past that.”

 

Honorable Mentions:

Pear in the Landscape by Terry Rowe

“What an interesting photo collage. It is both mysterious and funny. And it has such a good overall texture to it—how the  bruises on the pear speak to the landscape, and what’s done in the landscape. It makes you ponder the juicy flesh of the pear compared to the edgy hardness of the fence. The artist didn’t just stick a pear in the landscape but made the whole image into something that, with the cloud and the blue, almost feels like one of the old master paintings. But then, it’s such a surprising image to have this giant pear sitting in the landscape instead of what you expect to see. I love that surprise.”

 

FÊTE by Nada Abizaid

“What hit me first about these pieces was the subtle color, and they are beautifully photographed. They speak very well to Feast!, being onion-shaped. They also speak to a classical form.  I’m glad they weren’t presented individually. They work beautifully as a group.”

 

Spring Harvest by Nancy McIntyre

“This is just incredible skill, first of all, to be able to paint things that look so perfect. What got me here, in addition to the artist being extremely skillful, is this innovative composition. Everything is placed in a round, which could be very boring, but the tablecloth and how all the vegetables move in that circle is so interesting, it almost speaks to time. The round shape makes me think of a clock. Those little tops of the radishes point all different ways, giving you directions to move in the painting. I can almost smell that bread.”

 

Still Life with Lime by Sarah Strickler 

“There were a lot of beautiful still life photography submissions. This one is so masterfully put together. Every little detail is thought out, including the reflections of the windows in the pitcher, the tablecloth, the white cloth on the side, the red pull, and the darkness of the background. Where the shadows fall, the peel of the lime—that they chose lime instead of something else to peel, so you have the green against the red—there’s not one haphazard thing here. The simplicity of the colors is stunning. It speaks very strongly to classical still life painting, but it also speaks very well to photography.”

 

Depression Era Kitchen, Frozen in Time by Joseph Kieffer

“This piece stood out. That it is sculptural, all white so that the objects speak only by their shape and not by any color, and the perspective that is created by the semi-build out of all the objects on the edges, is fascinating. It is so mysterious. I can’t figure out why it is the way it is, but it’s also so specific, it doesn’t seem like it could’ve been done any other way. I hope this artist continues with this kind of work.”

 

 Lettuce by Pam Gregory

“This is interesting, intricate work, and I enjoyed it. The way the greens are treated, the darks and the lighter parts of the green, is just beautiful. It’s almost like some of these lines float in space, and some of them bring you back to an object, and then you’re taken out into space again. Watercolor is such a difficult, unforgiving medium because you can’t hide any mistakes. This is super detailed, and the artist is very patient.”

 

On the Vine by Cindi Lewis

“I don’t know if this is a several-plate process, or if the artist added the color to the print after, but it has such a beautiful texture. Printmakers often either get too clean or things can look like mistakes, but everything here looks  right, and ripe! There is a very tactile sense of these fruits. The whole composition works, with lines that take you in directions all over. The green curly vine against the round shapes of the tomatoes against these folds in the fabric, and the shadows—to get that much out of two tomatoes. It’s a beautiful print.”

 

Cake Reflected by Mary Beth Gaiarin

“This is a yummy painting. Wonderful use of the palette knife. Adding paint with a palette knife can feel like adding frosting to a painting and in this case it is very appropriate. The light in this work is beautifully and skillfully placed. The edges between foreground, cake slice, and background are created by overlaying paint layers which is an advanced way of manipulating the paint. It is also visible in the background, which has simple color, but is still lively due to the masterly treatment of the paint. This artist has a deep connection to the paint and uses it with boldness and joy.” 

 

 

Artist Opportunities #535

"Pear in the Landscape," by Terry Rowe, is currently on view in "Feast!", the November 2020 Themed Exhibition.

Every week, we gather a variety of artist opportunities from the DC area and beyond. Find one below and apply today — good luck! Click here for recent opportunities posts, and submit your opportunity listing here.

 

Opportunities

 

Call for Entry: Down to Earth | Seasonal Artist Residency at Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens – DC

Deadline: November 30   Tendani | 8 Arts & Culture is pleased to introduce a new seasonal artist residency at Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens – Down to Earth – a creative project partnership between Capital FringeCaandor Labs, and Friends of the Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens, a proud partner of the National Park Service. Tendani | 8 Arts & Culture is offering four paid artists’ residencies under the theme Down to Earth to provide an outlet for DC, Maryland, and Virginia artists and creatives to create artwork or experiences that examine our ability and fortitude as human beings to tackle the climate emergency and systemic racism. Projects developed through the residency will engage the landscape and wildlife of the Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens, utilizing them for inspiration or as a metaphorical or literal canvas. They are inviting four cohorts, either solo or teams, to four 13-week residencies in 2021. Learn how to apply here.

 

Call for Entry: Art For Social Justice Contest

Deadline: December 1   Art For Your Cause, an online marketplace for artists, is hosting an online art contest titled “Art For Social Justice.” Artists are invited to submit art that represents struggles and causes that affect any group of people with the goal of helping them achieve one (or more) of the four pillars of social justice: equity, access, participation, and rights. For more information, click here.

 

Call for Entry, Resilient Together – D.C.

Deadline: December 1   Resilient Together is a creative placemaking initiative designed to support local artist and small business partnerships in D.C.’s Ward 8. Its overall goal is to spur creative and safe re-opening strategies that small businesses can employ to begin to attract and grow their customer base as they adapt to continually changing COVID-19 restrictions. Artists and small businesses should partner to respond to the call for collaborators. Each project should include at least one artist and one small business (“Artist/Small Business Partnership”), and detail the way in which parties will work together on their RESILIENT TOGETHER project. For more information, click here.

 

Call for Arts and Social Justice Fellow – Rockville, MD

Deadline: December 23   VisArts has created a new Arts and Social Justice Fellowship Program for visual activists whose current research, curatorial or visual activist practice, and passion centers on social, racial, economic, and/or environmental justice. The year-long fellowship is an opportunity to explore how thoughtfully curated art, dialogue, communication, and collaborations between artists and communities can productively navigate political flashpoints, chronic systemic inequities, and entrenched perspectives to inspire change towards a more equitable, just, and inclusive society. Learn more here.

 

Call for Entry, SlowArt Productions Emerging Artists 2021 – New York

Deadline: December 30   SlowArt Productions presents Emerging Artists 2021, the 29th annual competition for exhibition and cash awards. The competition is open to all artists, national and international, working in all media. All forms of painting, drawing, sculpture, photography, graphics, digital and installation art, video, etc. are eligible. Learn more here.

 

Call for Entries, Juried Printmaking Exhibition – Germantown, MD

Deadline: February 1, 2021   BlackRock Center for the Arts is now accepting entries for the regional juried exhibition INK IT: Contemporary Print Practices. It is open to artists in the Mid-Atlantic region (MD, DC, VA, PA, DE and WV) who are age 18 and older. Fore more information, click here.

 

 

Re-runs: These have been previously posted, but it’s not too late to enter!

 

Art on the Farm: Artist Residency at the Long Island Game Farm – Manorville, NY

Deadline: November 15   Visual artists are invited to submit proposals to be artists in residence at the Long Island Game Farm for the 2021 summer season. Proposals may be for permanent or temporary installations and should reflect and incorporate the mission of the LI Game Farm of honoring and educating about the natural environment. Learn more here.

 

Call for 2021 Bresler Resident Artists at VisArts — Rockville, MD

Deadline: November 15   In honor of VisArts patrons Fleur and Charles Bresler, VisArts invites applications and proposals from local, national, and international artists for a four month residency at VisArts in Rockville, Maryland.  This residency provides a unique opportunity for a dynamic individual artist or collaborative artist team to create a new body of work, evolve an existing body of work or develop a project in a stimulating, supportive environment. Studio space is provided free of charge. For more information, click here.

 

Art & Climate Solution Artist Open Call – NY

Deadline: November 15   Earth Celebrations’ – Ecological and Social Change through the Arts is now accepting proposals to create and present ecologically thematic work for Ecological City: A Cultural & Climate Solutions Action Project engaging community on the Lower East Side of New York City. For more information, click here.

 

Call For Entries, The Art League December 2020 Open Exhibit – Alexandria, VA

Deadline: November 15   The Art League’s juried open exhibits are not limited by theme, medium, process, or content. Artists must be a current exhibiting artist member of The Art League gallery, and may enter works made within the past five years. Learn how to become a member artist here. For more information on the open exhibit, click here.

 

Call For Entries, Maryland Federation of Art Digital Directions – Annapolis, MD

Deadline: November 20   Our previously titled Focal Point exhibition took us on a 10 year journey from photography-only entries to a celebration of MFA’s current Digital Directions exhibition and further examination of the artistic use of all digital media. Eligible entries may be either 2-D or 3-D image-based work that is created and/or produced through the use of software (whether purchased or artist created) and includes, but is not limited to, digitally produced photography, digital painting, illustration, graphic design, digital video and non-film projection. For more information, click here.

 

Call For Entries, Cumberland Valley Artists Exhibition & Cumberland Valley Photographers Exhibition – Hagerstown, MD

Deadline: November 20   The Washington County Museum of Fine Arts in Hagerstown, MD is now accepting entries for both the Cumberland Valley Artists Exhibition (CVA) and the Cumberland Valley Photographers Exhibition (CVP). For more information, Click here.

 

Call For Art: Global Curated Online Exhibition

Deadline: November 20   This open call is an opportunity to submit your work for consideration for a curated virtual group show. If chosen, your work will be included in a virtual exhibition through Create! Magazine and promoted to our broad audience of international readers, collectors, and followers. learn more here.

 

Maryland State Arts Council Open Public Art Calls, University of Maryland Eastern Shore and Coppin State University

Deadline: November 24   The Maryland State Arts Council’s Maryland Public Art Initiative is proud to announce two open Calls for Artists for the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) School of Pharmacy & Health Professions, and the Coppin State University College of Business. The projects are the first Maryland Public Art Initiative public artworks on Maryland HBCU campuses. Both Calls to Artists are open to any artist or artist team living in the United States. Artists with a connection to HBCUs and/or residents of Maryland are especially encouraged to apply. For information on each project and how to apply, click here.

 

Call For Photography, The Phillips Collection Community in Focus – DC

Deadline: November 29   Be a part of The Phillips Collection’s ambitious community project to capture a unique photographic snapshot of an unprecedented year. Everyone—no matter your skill level—is invited to submit a photo that captures a piece of your 2020. Show us your inimitable spirit, suffering, joy, and resilience. Community in Focus aims to put together a collective portrait filled with bravery, humor, sadness, creativity, and kindness—human emotions that connect us all. Learn more and submit photos here.

 

Open Call for Eco-Urgency at Wave Hill and Lehman College Art Gallery – Bronx, NY

Deadline: November 30   Wave Hill is accepting applications for the exhibition Eco-Urgency: Artists Make the Case, an expanded collaboration with Lehman College Art Gallery, at galleries in both locations, planned for July through November 2021. Eco-Urgency features artists focused on critical issues affecting ecosystems and biodiversity. Learn more here.

 

Atlantic Gallery Juried Show 2021: Drawn to Paper

Deadline December 1   Artists are invited to engage in a conversation with paper in whatever way they want. Some examples of paper but not limited to: cardboard, paper, rice paper, newsprint, construction paper, decoupage paper, card stock, recycled paper, kraft paper, deconstructed books, etc. To enter, click here.

 

The 2021 Socrates Annual Open Call – Long Island City, NY

Deadline: December 4   The 2021 Socrates Annual awards ten artists – selected through open-call application process by a curatorial jury – with the funding, technical assistance, and administrative support needed to realize ambitious public art projects for dedicated exhibition in the Park’s landscape. Learn more here.

 

Call For Entry, Busboys and Poets EMERGE AND SEE – DC, VA, MD

Deadline: December 14   Busboys and Poets is looking for visual art to be displayed for its upcoming EMERGE AND SEE exhibition beginning January 2021 at all its locations –  14th and V, NW; 450 K NW; Takoma, Brookland, Shirlington, Hyattsville and Anacostia. Learn more here.

 

Call For Entry, Dreams and Nightmares National Juried Exhibition – Arlington, VA

Deadline: December 14   Gallery Underground announces a call to artists for a juried art exhibition, February 1 – 26, 2021. Artists will interpret the theme “Dreams and Nightmares” – from the beautiful and sublime to the dark and twisted. All media accepted. Learn more here.

 

Mobius Fall 2020 Portrait Photography Competition

Deadline: December 15   Mobius Photo, an online platform dedicated to the curation of emerging and established photographers, seeks portraiture on fashion, politics, family, nudes, etc., for their fall competition. For more information, click here.

 

Torpedo Factory Art Center 2021 Open Call for Solo Exhibition – Alexandria, VA

Deadline: December 20   Target Gallery invites regional artists living in the D.C., Maryland, or Virginia to apply for an open call for proposals for a solo exhibition for the summer of 2021. The individual with the chosen proposal will receive an exhibition at Target Gallery from May 29 – July 18, 2021 as well as a virtual online catalog. The artist will also receive a $2000 stipend as well as $100 for providing an artist talk and guided tour. For more information, click here.

 

Call For Entries, Artist/Writers: Cover Art For Academic Medicine

Deadline: December 30   Submit original works of art inspired by, but not necessarily representative of, an academic medicine experience from any perspective: caregiver, researcher, teacher, learner, or patient (for example, learning how to be a physician or scientist, caring for patients, exploring research questions, making a new discovery, being a research participant, teaching, or being cared for in a teaching hospital). The journal welcomes photography, sculpture, painting, textile work, and other visual media. Images may be cropped or resized to fit into the allotted cover space. Artists must also submit a related Cover Art essay as a narrative companion to the artwork, to explain the connection between the work and the “academic medicine experience.”  Learn more here.

 

Call For Entries, Techpressions 2021

Deadline: December 31   Techspressionism 2021 is an online exhibition to be presented online at Techspressionism.com using the Kunstmatrix 3D exhibition platform. Entries will be limited to two-dimensional works (paintings, drawings, digital images, and prints) in which technology is utilized as a means to express emotional experience. Learn more here.

 

Call For Entries, Outwin Boochevar Portrait Competition 2022 – D.C.

Deadline, January 28, 2021   The National Portrait Gallery invites artists to submit portraits in any media for consideration in the sixth triennial Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition. Artists are encouraged to think about portraiture’s potential to engage with the social and political landscape of our time. For more information, click here.

 

Call For Entries, Athenaeum Gallery – Alexandria, VA

Deadline: August 25, 2021   Artists who live or work in Virginia, Maryland, or the District of Columbia may submit a proposal for a solo show.  A group of artists who live or work in the area may submit a proposal for a group show.  A curator, living or working anywhere, may submit a proposal for a show featuring works by artists living or working in this area. For more information, click here.

 

 

Ongoing: These opportunities have rolling deadlines.

 

(NEW) Call For Stories About Women in the Arts, Maryland State Arts Council

2020 has been dedicated to the Year of the Woman in Maryland. Do you have an inspiring story about vital contributions of women-identifying people who are artists, arts administrators, or cultural workers? Perhaps an exhibition, performance or project featuring women? Share it with the Maryland State Arts Council for potential use in marketing and communications! Send your ideas to [email protected], and include “Year of the Woman” in the subject line. Satff will contact senders whose stories are selected for inclusion in future newsletters, eblasts, or social media postings. Learn more about Maryland’s year of the Woman here.

 

(NEW) Call For Artists, Busboys and Poets

Busboys and Poets is looking for submissions from Maryland and Virginia artists as it expands to new locations in both areas. Submissions can include drawings, painting, photography, sculpture, mixed media, assemblage, fiber, quilts, etc. Art images reflecting life in the city, family, portraits, whimsy, abstraction, social uplift and life experiences within diverse cultures are encouraged for submission. For more information, click here.

 

Alterwork Studios Online Residency

This residency was designed to give emerging contemporary artists an online platform to create new work and explore their practice. Over the course of four weeks, artists will be encouraged to experiment and explore their concepts and move their work forward in the contemporary art world. Learn more here.

 

Accepting Artwork for Curatorial Review by AIWA

The Alper Initiative for Washington Art features five exhibitions per year in the newly constructed first floor space in the American University Museum. We accept submissions, on a rolling basis,  from Washington artists of all ages and backgrounds, and working in diverse media. The museum’s Director and Curator, Jack Rasmussen, will select curators who will review these submissions for potential use in Alper Initiative exhibitions. For more information click here.

 

Call For Entry Hamilton Arts Collective Guest Artist Exhibition – Baltimore, MD

The Hamilton Arts Collective (HAC) and the Hamilton Gallery seek applications from artists for month-long Guest Artist exhibitions at Hamilton Gallery located at 5502 Harford Road, Baltimore, MD. The selected guest artists will be invited to exhibit a selection of their current work in Gallery I of the Hamilton Gallery. The Guest Artist exhibition is featured in Hamilton Gallery communications and will be promoted by the HAC and Hamilton Gallery. This is an open call to artists residing within 60 miles of Baltimore City. Baltimore residents are encouraged to apply. Click here to learn more.

 

Howard County Arts Council Quarterly Call For Artists – Ellicott City, MD

The Howard County Arts Council gallery program was established to enhance the public’s appreciation of the visual arts, provide a venue to exhibit the work of local, regional, and national artists in a professional space, and provide leadership in the arts by presenting a broad spectrum of arts in all media from both emerging and established artists. Artists, ages 18 and older, working in all media and styles including time-based and installation artists, are encouraged to apply either individually or as a group. Proposals from curators and arts organizations are also welcome. Click here to learn more.

 

Exhibit at Hotel Indigo Downtown Baltimore — Baltimore, MD

The Maryland Art Place (MAP) is working with Hotel Indigo in downtown Baltimore to offer rotating exhibitions in the hotel’s library and Poets Modern Cocktails and Eats restaurant. This opportunity is open to visual artists living or working in Maryland. ’s public art partnership projects (MAP), in partnership with Hotel Indigo, is pleased to announce an open call to artists. MAP will curate four exhibitions a year based on submissions entered through a rolling basis. Click here to learn more.

 

Solo or Group Shows in Athenaeum Gallery – VA

The Athenaeum Gallery in Alexandria, Virginia exhibits visual arts created solely by artists living or working in the region (DC, Maryland and Virginia) and strives to present visitors with a wide variety of excellent art and unique experiences.  In addition to the shows curated by the Gallery Director, the Athenaeum Gallery invites artists and curators to submit show proposals. For more information, click here.

 

The Creativity Grant Program State of Maryland (MD)

Deadline: Rolling. The purpose of the Creativity Grant Program is to strengthen the vitality and sustainability of artists and small organizations to maintain a strong and stable arts infrastructure in the State of Maryland. The Creativity Grant also provides opportunities to serve the growing needs of relevant arts projects and collaborations within Maryland communities. For more information regarding eligibility and funding timelines, please review the Creativity Grants Guidelines. For more information about the program, and to apply visit the Creativity Grant Program State of Maryland website.

 

Artist/Writers: Cover Art for Academic Medicine

Deadline: Rolling. Submit original works of art inspired by, but not necessarily representative of, an academic medicine experience from any perspective: caregiver, researcher, teacher, learner, or patient (for example, learning how to be a physician or scientist, caring for patients, exploring research questions, making a new discovery, being a research participant, teaching, or being cared for in a teaching hospital). The journal welcomes photography, sculpture, painting, textile work, and other visual media. Images may be cropped or resized to fit into the allotted cover space. Artists must also submit a related Cover Art essay as a narrative companion to the artwork, to explain the connection between the work and the “academic medicine experience.” The related narrative should be 250 to 600 words and is subject to editing. To apply for this opportunity, and to learn more, visit the Academic Medicine website.

 

The Awesome Foundation Accepting Applications for Art Projects

Deadline: Open. The Awesome Foundation for the Arts and Sciences is a worldwide network of people devoted to forwarding the interest of “awesomeness in the universe.” Established in 2009, the foundation distributes $1,000 grants on a monthly basis to projects and their creators. The money is pooled from ten or more self-organizing “micro-trustees.” The chapters are autonomous and organized by the trustees around geographic areas or topics of interest. Apply on the Awesome Foundation website.

 

Call for Artists: Maryland Art Place Seeks Proposals for Rotating Exhibition Partnership with Baltimore’s Hotel Indigo (MD)

Deadline: rolling. Maryland Art Place (MAP), in partnership with Hotel Indigo is pleased to announce an open ‘Call to Artists’. As an extension of MAP’s annual IMPACT public art partnership projects, MAP is working with Hotel Indigo to offer rotating exhibitions in Hotel indigo’s library and Poets Modern Cocktails and Eats. This opportunity is available to visual artists living or working in Maryland. Maryland Art Place will curate four exhibitions a year based on submissions entered through a rolling basis. Guidelines and information here.

 

Peripheral ARTeries – Biennial Contemporary Art Publication

Deadline: Rolling. Peripheral ARTeries is looking for artists to be featured in the new special Biennial Edition of their art publication, that comes to its 10th edition. This opportunity is great for both established and early career artists who need a boost to their artist portfolio. The 10th edition will once again explore and show current trends and tendencies in Contemporary Art: Peripheral ARTeries cultivates a spirit of openness through a unique collaborative and participatory approach.Each artist may submit a maximum of three works or projects made in any technique: painting, drawing, video art, experimental cinema, fine art photography, experimental media, mixed media, installations, public art, performance. The call is open to all proposed kind of art and media capable of challenging the viewers’ traditional perspective on art itself. To submit, visit the Peripheral ARTeries website.

 

Exhibit at Hotel Indigo (VA)

Artists works will displayed in the hotel’s gallery (220 S Union St, Old Town Alexandria) for a six-month period. Two-dimensional, framed works only. Artists will install the work using the hotel’s mounting hardware. Labels will be provided by the hotel. All sales handled by artist, no commission. Preference for local or locally influenced selections but not required. The space measures approximately 7’10” by 8’3.″ If interested, contact Kate Ellis, General Manager, [email protected].

 

The New Project Studio – Ongoing Opportunity (VA)

Ongoing. Located in Studio 8, the New Project Studio is a community-focused arts incubator space that offers a short-term location to test new program ideas, spotlight underrepresented voices, and enhance community engagement. Projects rotate on a regular basis. For more information, click here.

 

Public Arts Grants & Opportunities (VA)

Ongoing. The City of Alexandria’s Office of the Arts provides grants for nonprofit arts organizations as well as individual artists. See all current opportunities and online applications here.

 

Residency: Maryland

Deadline: ongoing. Montgomery College, Rockville and Germantown Art Department is seeking proposals for its Artist-in-Residence Program, encouraging proposals that cultivate collaborative work between artists and students.

 

Looking for artists: Foundry Gallery (DC)

Deadline: ongoing. Foundry Gallery is seeking a few artists in the greater Washington, DC area. If interested in applying for membership please send up to five images (jpg attachments) and an email letter to: [email protected]. The oldest cooperative in Washington, the gallery holds monthly solo and members’ group shows at its beautiful space north of Shaw near the 9:30 Club.

 

Looking for artists: Printmakers (DC)

Deadline: ongoing. Washington Printmakers Gallery is seeking artist members specializing in printmaking, photography and book arts. An active cooperative for over 30 years, the gallery holds monthly solo and members’ group shows in its lovely space in upper Georgetown. Distant and shared memberships are available. If interested in applying for membership please email [email protected].

 

Artful Weekend November 14-15

"Picnic in the Fall," by Jinchen Han, is currently on view in the "Feast!" November 2020 Themed Exhibition.

Welcome to Artful Weekend, our guide for enjoying area art events in person or at home.

 

This weekend: Fascinating printmaking at the League, protests captured in photographs, an exhibit inspired by a renowned naturalist, and more!

 

November Exhibitions at The Art League

 

Feast!

“Garlic II” by Anne Crown Cyr

From festive and fanciful spreads to substantive staples, food is the focus of Feast!, the November 2020 group exhibition at The Art League Gallery. It is on view through Monday, November 30. You can also view and shop the show online.

 

Fairy Tails, Feathers, and Scales

“Queen’s Invitation” by Veronica Barker-Barzel

With whimsy and wit, charm and charisma, printmaker Veronica Barker-Barzel brings to life creatures from beloved stories and new imaginings. Influenced by fairy tales, folklore, and mythology from around the world, her solo exhibit features magical beings with fins, fangs, fur, and everything in between. Fairy Tails, Feathers, and Scales is on view in the Gallery through December 6. Join us for a virtual artist talk with Barker-Barzel on Thursday, November 19 form 6:00 to 7:30 p.m.; RSVP here.

 

The Impossible Dream

 

“Girl with the Orange Scarf,” by Remm Khadar

Zenith Gallery and Palestinian Museum US presents The Impossible Dream, a group exhibition featuring sculpture, paintings, photography, mixed media, and prints by noted artists of Palestinian descent; on view through November 21 at Eleven Eleven Sculpture Place, 1111 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW (entrance on 12th Street).

 

Cheriss May: Beyond the Protest

“We March,” archival pigment print, by Cheriss May

In Beyond the Protest, D.C.-based photojournalist Cheriss May explores the intersection of race, politics and protest in the wake of the national reckoning on racial injustice. View it online through November 28 at the Black Rock Center for the Arts.

 

Alexander von Humboldt and the United States: Art, Nature, and Culture

“The Natural Bridge,” by landscape artist Frederic Edwin Church, is one of the artworks in “Alexander von Humboldt and the United States: Art, Nature, and Culture.”

Renowned Prussian naturalist and explorer Alexander von Humboldt, one of the most influential figures of the nineteenth century, shaped American perceptions of nature and the way American cultural identity became grounded in our relationship with the environment. Alexander von Humboldt and the United States: Art, Nature, and Culture places American art squarely in the center of a conversation about Humboldt’s lasting influence on the way we think about our relationship to the natural world. See it at the Smithsonian American Art Museum with timed-entry passes, or enjoy the exhibit and related virtual activities here.

 

Enjoy your weekend, wear your mask.

 

 

Artful Weekend November 7-8

"Fruit Bowl," by Susan Callahan, is the Best-in-Show Award winner in the "Feast" November 2020 Exhibition.

Welcome to Artful Weekend, our guide for enjoying area art events in person or at home.

 

This weekend: A feast for the eyes at The Art League Gallery, David Carlson’s new abstractions, eight regional artists at The Kreeger, and more!

 

 

November Exhibitions at The Art League

 

Feast

“Oyster Feast, 2020” by Daniel Horowitz

All manner of edibles—from literal to abstract depictions—are captured in this delightful group show where our artists express the evocative and communal nature of food. See it in person, or online. Join us for the opening reception via Zoom on Thursday, November 12 at 6:30 p.m. EDT. RSVP here, and bring a friend!

 

David Carlson: Flattening Time

“Row Man Whoa Man” by David Carlson

“My painting process is a meditation on consciousness and time,” says abstract artist and League faculty member David Carlson. See his latest works in Flattening Time, his solo exhibition at Fred Schnider Gallery of Art; on view by appointment through December 20th, 888 N Quincy St #102, Arlington, VA.

 

 

Hamiltonian Artists Presents

“Railroad Tracks and Trains of Thought” by Madeline A. Stratton

Multidisciplinary artist and Hamiltonian Artists fellow Madeline A. Stratton uses vibrant color, irregular form, and multimedia textiles to represent personal spaces from memory in her solo exhibition Welcome Back. It is on view by appointment through November 28 at Studio 1469, 1469 Harvard St NW.

 

“Accumulations (21-24)” by Amber Eve Anderson

Eve Anderson assembled every advertisement that she viewed on Instagram over a one-week period for This Is Who I Am Now, her first Hamiltonian Artists exhibition. Her work functions as a playful, funny, and poetic critique in order to explore how identity is reduced by consumerism. It is on view by appointment through November 28 at H Space, 1932 9th Street NW, #C102 (Enter from 9 1/2 Street).

Join Stratton and Anderson for a virtual artist talk on Saturday, November 7, at 7:00 p.m.; register here.

 

 

TRACES

“The Gem, 2019” by Antonio McAfee

Area artists Billy Friebele, Roxana Alger Geffen, Rania Hassan, Sebastian Martorana, Katherine Tzu-Lan Mann, Antonio McAfee, Brandon Morse, and Johab Silva mine the many meanings of “trace” as noun and verb, and engage the themes of displacement, connectivity and transformation in this group exhibition at The Kreeger Museum. Rich in representation and abstraction, TRACES encompasses painting, photography, mixed media, sculpture, sound, and video, and includes several site-responsive installations; timed entry viewing through January 21, 2021, 2401 Foxhill Road, NW.

 

Enjoy your weekend, wear your mask.

 

Artist Opportunities #534

"Summer Bouquet" by Cindi Lewis

Every week, we gather a variety of artist opportunities from the DC area and beyond. Find one below and apply today — good luck! Click here for recent opportunities posts, and submit your opportunity listing here.

 

Opportunities

 

Call to Entry, Maryland Art Place Under $500 2020 – Baltimore

Deadline: November 13   Maryland Art Place is seeking artists for Under $500, a winter benefit exhibition in December. For more information, call (443) 889-0869, or email [email protected].

 

Art on the Farm: Artist Residency at the Long Island Game Farm – Manorville, NY

Deadline: November 15   Visual artists are invited to submit proposals to be artists in residence at the Long Island Game Farm for the 2021 summer season. Proposals may be for permanent or temporary installations and should reflect and incorporate the mission of the LI Game Farm of honoring and educating about the natural environment. Learn more here.

 

Call For Entries, Maryland Federation of Art Digital Directions – Annapolis, MD

Deadline: November 20   Our previously titled Focal Point exhibition took us on a 10 year journey from photography-only entries to a celebration of MFA’s current Digital Directions exhibition and further examination of the artistic use of all digital media. Eligible entries may be either 2-D or 3-D image-based work that is created and/or produced through the use of software (whether purchased or artist created) and includes, but is not limited to, digitally produced photography, digital painting, illustration, graphic design, digital video and non-film projection. For more information, click here.

 

Maryland State Arts Council Open Public Art Calls, University of Maryland Eastern Shore and Coppin State University

Deadline: November 24   The Maryland State Arts Council’s Maryland Public Art Initiative is proud to announce two open Calls for Artists for the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) School of Pharmacy & Health Professions, and the Coppin State University College of Business. The projects are the first Maryland Public Art Initiative public artworks on Maryland HBCU campuses. Both Calls to Artists are open to any artist or artist team living in the United States. Artists with a connection to HBCUs and/or residents of Maryland are especially encouraged to apply. For information on each project and how to apply, click here.

 

 

Re-runs: These have been previously posted, but it’s not too late to enter!

 

Virginia Museum of Fine Arts 2021-22 Fellowship Program – Richmond, VA

Deadline: November 6   The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Fellowship (VMFA) Program, a vital source of funding for the visual arts and art history in Virginia, is committed to supporting professional artists as well as art and art history students who demonstrate exceptional creative ability in their chosen discipline. Applications are now being accepted for the 2021-22 fellowship program. Click here to apply.

 

Call for 2021 Bresler Resident Artists at VisArts — Rockville, MD

Deadline: November 15   In honor of VisArts patrons Fleur and Charles Bresler, VisArts invites applications and proposals from local, national, and international artists for a four month residency at VisArts in Rockville, Maryland.  This residency provides a unique opportunity for a dynamic individual artist or collaborative artist team to create a new body of work, evolve an existing body of work or develop a project in a stimulating, supportive environment. Studio space is provided free of charge. For more information, click here.

 

Art & Climate Solution Artist Open Call – NY

Deadline: November 15   Earth Celebrations’ – Ecological and Social Change through the Arts is now accepting proposals to create and present ecologically thematic work for Ecological City: A Cultural & Climate Solutions Action Project engaging community on the Lower East Side of New York City. For more information, click here.

 

Call For Entries, The Art League December 2020 Open Exhibit – Alexandria, VA

Deadline: November 15   The Art League’s juried open exhibits are not limited by theme, medium, process, or content. Artists must be a current exhibiting artist member of The Art League gallery, and may enter works made within the past five years. Learn how to become a member artist here. For more information on the open exhibit, click here.

 

Call For Entries, Cumberland Valley Artists Exhibition & Cumberland Valley Photographers Exhibition – Hagerstown, MD

Deadline: November 20   The Washington County Museum of Fine Arts in Hagerstown, MD is now accepting entries for both the Cumberland Valley Artists Exhibition (CVA) and the Cumberland Valley Photographers Exhibition (CVP). For more information, Click here.

 

Call For Art: Global Curated Online Exhibition

Deadline: November 20   This open call is an opportunity to submit your work for consideration for a curated virtual group show. If chosen, your work will be included in a virtual exhibition through Create! Magazine and promoted to our broad audience of international readers, collectors, and followers. learn more here.

 

Call For Photography, The Phillips Collection Community in Focus – DC

Deadline: November 29   Be a part of The Phillips Collection’s ambitious community project to capture a unique photographic snapshot of an unprecedented year. Everyone—no matter your skill level—is invited to submit a photo that captures a piece of your 2020. Show us your inimitable spirit, suffering, joy, and resilience. Community in Focus aims to put together a collective portrait filled with bravery, humor, sadness, creativity, and kindness—human emotions that connect us all. Learn more and submit photos here.

 

Open Call for Eco-Urgency at Wave Hill and Lehman College Art Gallery – Bronx, NY

Deadline: November 30   Wave Hill is accepting applications for the exhibition Eco-Urgency: Artists Make the Case, an expanded collaboration with Lehman College Art Gallery, at galleries in both locations, planned for July through November 2021. Eco-Urgency features artists focused on critical issues affecting ecosystems and biodiversity. Learn more here.

 

Atlantic Gallery Juried Show 2021: Drawn to Paper

Deadline December 1   Artists are invited to engage in a conversation with paper in whatever way they want. Some examples of paper but not limited to: cardboard, paper, rice paper, newsprint, construction paper, decoupage paper, card stock, recycled paper, kraft paper, deconstructed books, etc. To enter, click here.

 

The 2021 Socrates Annual Open Call – Long Island City, NY

Deadline: December 4   The 2021 Socrates Annual awards ten artists – selected through open-call application process by a curatorial jury – with the funding, technical assistance, and administrative support needed to realize ambitious public art projects for dedicated exhibition in the Park’s landscape. Learn more here.

 

Call For Entry, Busboys and Poets EMERGE AND SEE – DC, VA, MD

Deadline: December 14   Busboys and Poets is looking for visual art to be displayed for its upcoming EMERGE AND SEE exhibition beginning January 2021 at all its locations –  14th and V, NW; 450 K NW; Takoma, Brookland, Shirlington, Hyattsville and Anacostia. Learn more here.

 

Call For Entry, Dreams and Nightmares National Juried Exhibition – Arlington, VA

Deadline: December 14   Gallery Underground announces a call to artists for a juried art exhibition, February 1 – 26, 2021. Artists will interpret the theme “Dreams and Nightmares” – from the beautiful and sublime to the dark and twisted. All media accepted. Learn more here.

 

Mobius Fall 2020 Portrait Photography Competition

Deadline: December 15   Mobius Photo, an online platform dedicated to the curation of emerging and established photographers, seeks portraiture on fashion, politics, family, nudes, etc., for their fall competition. For more information, click here.

 

Torpedo Factory Art Center 2021 Open Call for Solo Exhibition – Alexandria, VA

Deadline: December 20   Target Gallery invites regional artists living in the D.C., Maryland, or Virginia to apply for an open call for proposals for a solo exhibition for the summer of 2021. The individual with the chosen proposal will receive an exhibition at Target Gallery from May 29 – July 18, 2021 as well as a virtual online catalog. The artist will also receive a $2000 stipend as well as $100 for providing an artist talk and guided tour. For more information, click here.

 

Call For Entries, Artist/Writers: Cover Art For Academic Medicine

Deadline: December 30   Submit original works of art inspired by, but not necessarily representative of, an academic medicine experience from any perspective: caregiver, researcher, teacher, learner, or patient (for example, learning how to be a physician or scientist, caring for patients, exploring research questions, making a new discovery, being a research participant, teaching, or being cared for in a teaching hospital). The journal welcomes photography, sculpture, painting, textile work, and other visual media. Images may be cropped or resized to fit into the allotted cover space. Artists must also submit a related Cover Art essay as a narrative companion to the artwork, to explain the connection between the work and the “academic medicine experience.”  Learn more here.

 

Call For Entries, Techpressions 2021

Deadline: December 31   Techspressionism 2021 is an online exhibition to be presented online at Techspressionism.com using the Kunstmatrix 3D exhibition platform. Entries will be limited to two-dimensional works (paintings, drawings, digital images, and prints) in which technology is utilized as a means to express emotional experience. Learn more here.

 

Call For Entries, Outwin Boochevar Portrait Competition 2022 – D.C.

Deadline, January 28, 2021   The National Portrait Gallery invites artists to submit portraits in any media for consideration in the sixth triennial Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition. Artists are encouraged to think about portraiture’s potential to engage with the social and political landscape of our time. For more information, click here.

 

Call For Entries, Athenaeum Gallery – Alexandria, VA

Deadline: August 25, 2021   Artists who live or work in Virginia, Maryland, or the District of Columbia may submit a proposal for a solo show.  A group of artists who live or work in the area may submit a proposal for a group show.  A curator, living or working anywhere, may submit a proposal for a show featuring works by artists living or working in this area. For more information, click here.

 

 

Ongoing: These opportunities have rolling deadlines.

 

(NEW) Call For Stories About Women in the Arts, Maryland State Arts Council

2020 has been dedicated to the Year of the Woman in Maryland. Do you have an inspiring story about vital contributions of women-identifying people who are artists, arts administrators, or cultural workers? Perhaps an exhibition, performance or project featuring women? Share it with the Maryland State Arts Council for potential use in marketing and communications! Send your ideas to [email protected], and include “Year of the Woman” in the subject line. Satff will contact senders whose stories are selected for inclusion in future newsletters, eblasts, or social media postings. Learn more about Maryland’s year of the Woman here.

 

(NEW) Call For Artists, Busboys and Poets

Busboys and Poets is looking for submissions from Maryland and Virginia artists as it expands to new locations in both areas. Submissions can include drawings, painting, photography, sculpture, mixed media, assemblage, fiber, quilts, etc. Art images reflecting life in the city, family, portraits, whimsy, abstraction, social uplift and life experiences within diverse cultures are encouraged for submission. For more information, click here.

 

Alterwork Studios Online Residency

This residency was designed to give emerging contemporary artists an online platform to create new work and explore their practice. Over the course of four weeks, artists will be encouraged to experiment and explore their concepts and move their work forward in the contemporary art world. Learn more here.

 

Accepting Artwork for Curatorial Review by AIWA

The Alper Initiative for Washington Art features five exhibitions per year in the newly constructed first floor space in the American University Museum. We accept submissions, on a rolling basis,  from Washington artists of all ages and backgrounds, and working in diverse media. The museum’s Director and Curator, Jack Rasmussen, will select curators who will review these submissions for potential use in Alper Initiative exhibitions. For more information click here.

 

Call For Entry Hamilton Arts Collective Guest Artist Exhibition – Baltimore, MD

The Hamilton Arts Collective (HAC) and the Hamilton Gallery seek applications from artists for month-long Guest Artist exhibitions at Hamilton Gallery located at 5502 Harford Road, Baltimore, MD. The selected guest artists will be invited to exhibit a selection of their current work in Gallery I of the Hamilton Gallery. The Guest Artist exhibition is featured in Hamilton Gallery communications and will be promoted by the HAC and Hamilton Gallery. This is an open call to artists residing within 60 miles of Baltimore City. Baltimore residents are encouraged to apply. Click here to learn more.

 

Howard County Arts Council Quarterly Call For Artists – Ellicott City, MD

The Howard County Arts Council gallery program was established to enhance the public’s appreciation of the visual arts, provide a venue to exhibit the work of local, regional, and national artists in a professional space, and provide leadership in the arts by presenting a broad spectrum of arts in all media from both emerging and established artists. Artists, ages 18 and older, working in all media and styles including time-based and installation artists, are encouraged to apply either individually or as a group. Proposals from curators and arts organizations are also welcome. Click here to learn more.

 

Exhibit at Hotel Indigo Downtown Baltimore — Baltimore, MD

The Maryland Art Place (MAP) is working with Hotel Indigo in downtown Baltimore to offer rotating exhibitions in the hotel’s library and Poets Modern Cocktails and Eats restaurant. This opportunity is open to visual artists living or working in Maryland. ’s public art partnership projects (MAP), in partnership with Hotel Indigo, is pleased to announce an open call to artists. MAP will curate four exhibitions a year based on submissions entered through a rolling basis. Click here to learn more.

 

Solo or Group Shows in Athenaeum Gallery – VA

The Athenaeum Gallery in Alexandria, Virginia exhibits visual arts created solely by artists living or working in the region (DC, Maryland and Virginia) and strives to present visitors with a wide variety of excellent art and unique experiences.  In addition to the shows curated by the Gallery Director, the Athenaeum Gallery invites artists and curators to submit show proposals. For more information, visit https://artist.callforentry.org/festivals_unique_info.php?ID=6876.

 

The Creativity Grant Program State of Maryland (MD)

Deadline: Rolling. The purpose of the Creativity Grant Program is to strengthen the vitality and sustainability of artists and small organizations to maintain a strong and stable arts infrastructure in the State of Maryland. The Creativity Grant also provides opportunities to serve the growing needs of relevant arts projects and collaborations within Maryland communities. For more information regarding eligibility and funding timelines, please review the Creativity Grants Guidelines. For more information about the program, and to apply visit the Creativity Grant Program State of Maryland website.

 

Artist/Writers: Cover Art for Academic Medicine

Deadline: Rolling. Submit original works of art inspired by, but not necessarily representative of, an academic medicine experience from any perspective: caregiver, researcher, teacher, learner, or patient (for example, learning how to be a physician or scientist, caring for patients, exploring research questions, making a new discovery, being a research participant, teaching, or being cared for in a teaching hospital). The journal welcomes photography, sculpture, painting, textile work, and other visual media. Images may be cropped or resized to fit into the allotted cover space. Artists must also submit a related Cover Art essay as a narrative companion to the artwork, to explain the connection between the work and the “academic medicine experience.” The related narrative should be 250 to 600 words and is subject to editing. To apply for this opportunity, and to learn more, visit the Academic Medicine website.

 

The Awesome Foundation Accepting Applications for Art Projects

Deadline: Open. The Awesome Foundation for the Arts and Sciences is a worldwide network of people devoted to forwarding the interest of “awesomeness in the universe.” Established in 2009, the foundation distributes $1,000 grants on a monthly basis to projects and their creators. The money is pooled from ten or more self-organizing “micro-trustees.” The chapters are autonomous and organized by the trustees around geographic areas or topics of interest. Apply on the Awesome Foundation website.

 

Call for Artists: Maryland Art Place Seeks Proposals for Rotating Exhibition Partnership with Baltimore’s Hotel Indigo (MD)

Deadline: rolling. Maryland Art Place (MAP), in partnership with Hotel Indigo is pleased to announce an open ‘Call to Artists’. As an extension of MAP’s annual IMPACT public art partnership projects, MAP is working with Hotel Indigo to offer rotating exhibitions in Hotel indigo’s library and Poets Modern Cocktails and Eats. This opportunity is available to visual artists living or working in Maryland. Maryland Art Place will curate four exhibitions a year based on submissions entered through a rolling basis. Guidelines and information here.

 

Peripheral ARTeries – Biennial Contemporary Art Publication

Deadline: Rolling. Peripheral ARTeries is looking for artists to be featured in the new special Biennial Edition of their art publication, that comes to its 10th edition. This opportunity is great for both established and early career artists who need a boost to their artist portfolio. The 10th edition will once again explore and show current trends and tendencies in Contemporary Art: Peripheral ARTeries cultivates a spirit of openness through a unique collaborative and participatory approach.Each artist may submit a maximum of three works or projects made in any technique: painting, drawing, video art, experimental cinema, fine art photography, experimental media, mixed media, installations, public art, performance. The call is open to all proposed kind of art and media capable of challenging the viewers’ traditional perspective on art itself. To submit, visit the Peripheral ARTeries website.

 

Exhibit at Hotel Indigo (VA)

Artists works will displayed in the hotel’s gallery (220 S Union St, Old Town Alexandria) for a six-month period. Two-dimensional, framed works only. Artists will install the work using the hotel’s mounting hardware. Labels will be provided by the hotel. All sales handled by artist, no commission. Preference for local or locally influenced selections but not required. The space measures approximately 7’10” by 8’3.″ If interested, contact Kate Ellis, General Manager, [email protected].

 

The New Project Studio – Ongoing Opportunity (VA)

Ongoing. Located in Studio 8, the New Project Studio is a community-focused arts incubator space that offers a short-term location to test new program ideas, spotlight underrepresented voices, and enhance community engagement. Projects rotate on a regular basis. For more information, clickhere.

 

Public Arts Grants & Opportunities (VA)

Ongoing. The City of Alexandria’s Office of the Arts provides grants for nonprofit arts organizations as well as individual artists. See all current opportunities and online applications here.

 

Residency: Maryland

Deadline: ongoing. Montgomery College, Rockville and Germantown Art Department is seeking proposals for its Artist-in-Residence Program, encouraging proposals that cultivate collaborative work between artists and students.

 

Looking for artists: Foundry Gallery (DC)

Deadline: ongoing. Foundry Gallery is seeking a few artists in the greater Washington, DC area. If interested in applying for membership please send up to five images (jpg attachments) and an email letter to: [email protected]. The oldest cooperative in Washington, the gallery holds monthly solo and members’ group shows at its beautiful space north of Shaw near the 9:30 Club.

 

Looking for artists: Printmakers (DC)

Deadline: ongoing. Washington Printmakers Gallery is seeking artist members specializing in printmaking, photography and book arts. An active cooperative for over 30 years, the gallery holds monthly solo and members’ group shows in its lovely space in upper Georgetown. Distant and shared memberships are available. If interested in applying for membership please email [email protected].

 

 

 

 

Artful Weekend October 31-November 1

“King Street – Two Ways to Miss You” by John Gosling is on view in the October 2020 Open Exhibit.

Welcome to Artful Weekend, our guide to fun and interesting ways to enjoy and engage in art as you shelter-in-place or practice social distancing. 

 

This weekend: League exhibits, political art, outdoor installations by women artists, and more!

 

 

October Exhibitions at The Art League

 

October 2020 Open Exhibition

“Fear, Courage, Protest” by Jinny Isserow received and Honorable Mention Award in the October 2020 Open Exhibit.

View a range of works created by our member artists in this open exhibit, not limited by theme, medium, process, or content. This month’s exhibit was juried by sculptor Raymond Padrón; View it in the Gallery through November 8, or online.

 

Steve Moen: Across the Gorge and Other Spaces Between

In his solo exhibition, painter Steve Moen ponders time and the human experience, depicting landscapes marked by passing millennia; on view through November 8.

 

Rosa Leff: Expectation/Reality

“Cashing Out” by Rosa Leff

Papercut artist Rosa Leff contemplates the notion of “adulting,” and how the current pandemic has altered the routine stuff of life, in her solo exhibition; on view through November 8.

The Art League Gallery is now open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, and 12 noon to 5 p.m. on Sundays. Safety of our members and our staff is always our first priority, so we will still be doing temperature checks at the door, masks are required for entry, and we ask that you keep social distancing practices in mind.

 

 

Red, White & Blue for Who?

“Insurrection: Battle at Lafayette Square” by Natacha Thys

 Using the American Flag as her canvass, Haitian-American artist and human rights lawyer Natacha Thys combines conceptual and mixed media elements to her signature abstract style to explore the collapse and rebirth of America after the 2016 presidential election. Red, White and Blue For Who? is on view at the Foundry Gallery through Sunday, November 1, or see it online here.

 

Monument & Marker

“Monument” by Maren Hassinger

Monument and Marker, a year-long, two part outdoor installation along Connecticut Avenue, is the latest exhibition from the Smithsonian American Women’s History Initiative. Monument, an organic structure created by New York-based artist Maren Hassinger with the help of volunteers, honors the physical and social achievements of the community and celebrates the possibilities of humans working together. It is on view at the Connecticut Avenue overlook south of Dupont Circle.

 

“Marker” by Rania Hassan

Marker, by Washington, D.C. artist Rania Hassan and based on her love of knitting, is a monument to women’s histories and the fibers that connect us all. See it at the intersection of Connecticut Avenue and K Street, NW.

 

First Peoples Tour

National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C.

Kick off Native American Heritage Month with a virtual tour of the National Museum of the American Indian. This free Zoom event, hosted by Washington DC History & Culture, will highlight the museum’s architecture, exhibitions, programs, and more; Sunday, November 1 from 7:30 to 9:10 p.m.

 

Enjoy the weekend, wear your mask.

 

Artist Opportunities #533

"Girls in Helmets," by Helen Sampson, is on view now in the October 2020 Open Exhibit.

Every week, we gather a variety of artist opportunities from the DC area and beyond. Find one below and apply today — good luck! Click here for recent opportunities posts, and submit your opportunity listing here.

 

Opportunities

 

Call For Vendors, Mt. Rainier Craft Fair – Mt. Rainier, MD

Deadline: November 1   This year’s Mt. Rainier Craft Fair will be an outside and virtual event, and you don’t have to live in the immediate area to participate. For more information click here.

 

Artists Magazine Over 60 Art Competition

Deadline: November 2   This contest is for artists age 60+ working in all traditional art media. Ten winners will receive cash prizes and their artwork will be published in the April 2021 issue of the magazine. Learn more here.

 

Call for 2021 Bresler Resident Artists at VisArts — Rockville, MD

Deadline: November 15   In honor of VisArts patrons Fleur and Charles Bresler, VisArts invites applications and proposals from local, national, and international artists for a four month residency at VisArts in Rockville, Maryland.  This residency provides a unique opportunity for a dynamic individual artist or collaborative artist team to create a new body of work, evolve an existing body of work or develop a project in a stimulating, supportive environment. Studio space is provided free of charge. For more information, click here.

 

Call For Entries, Cumberland Valley Artists Exhibition & Cumberland Valley Photographers Exhibition – Hagerstown, MD

Deadline: November 20   The Washington County Museum of Fine Arts in Hagerstown, MD is now accepting entries for both the Cumberland Valley Artists Exhibition (CVA) and the Cumberland Valley Photographers Exhibition (CVP). For more information, Click here.

 

Call For Photography, The Phillips Collection Community in Focus – DC

Deadline: November 29   Be a part of The Phillips Collection’s ambitious community project to capture a unique photographic snapshot of an unprecedented year. Everyone—no matter your skill level—is invited to submit a photo that captures a piece of your 2020. Show us your inimitable spirit, suffering, joy, and resilience. Community in Focus aims to put together a collective portrait filled with bravery, humor, sadness, creativity, and kindness—human emotions that connect us all. Learn more and submit photos here.

 

Call For Entry, Busboys and Poets EMERGE AND SEE – DC, VA, MD

Deadline: December 14   Busboys and Poets is looking for visual art to be displayed for its upcoming EMERGE AND SEE exhibition beginning January 2021 at all its locations –  14th and V, NW; 450 K NW; Takoma, Brookland, Shirlington, Hyattsville and Anacostia. Learn more here.

 

Re-runs: These have been previously posted, but it’s not too late to enter!

 

Gutierrez Memorial Fund’s Legacy Grant – Maryland

Deadline: October 30   This annual project-based arts grant calls for proposals from arts organizations and individual artists who are residents of Maryland and whose programs or projects serve Maryland communities. Special consideration is given to projects that build skills, engage community and transform our built environment. Click here to apply.

 

ArtsFairfax Grant Funds for Creatives – Fairfax, VA

Deadline: October 30   ArtsFairfax is making additional grant funding available to Fairfax County creatives who have lost income due to COVID-19. The new funding available through the Emergency Relief and Recovery Grant Program is specifically for individual artists. Learn more and apply here.

 

Research Fellowships, Smithsonian American Art Museum – D.C.

Deadline: November 1   The museum hosts a number of fellows each year through the Smithsonian Institution Fellowship Program (SIFP), and also awards its own named fellowships to candidates from this general pool. Only one application is necessary. For more information click here.

 

Virginia Museum of Fine Arts 2021-22 Fellowship Program – Richmond, VA

Deadline: November 6   The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Fellowship (VMFA) Program, a vital source of funding for the visual arts and art history in Virginia, is committed to supporting professional artists as well as art and art history students who demonstrate exceptional creative ability in their chosen discipline. Applications are now being accepted for the 2021-22 fellowship program. Click here to apply.

 

Art & Climate Solution Artist Open Call – NY

Deadline: November 15   Earth Celebrations’ – Ecological and Social Change through the Arts is now accepting proposals to create and present ecologically thematic work for Ecological City: A Cultural & Climate Solutions Action Project engaging community on the Lower East Side of New York City. For more information, click here.

 

Call For Entries, The Art League December 2020 Open Exhibit – Alexandria, VA

Deadline: November 15   The Art League’s juried open exhibits are not limited by theme, medium, process, or content. Artists must be a current exhibiting artist member of The Art League gallery, and may enter works made within the past five years. Learn how to become a member artist here. For more information on the open exhibit, click here.

 

Call For Art: Global Curated Online Exhibition

Deadline: November 20   This open call is an opportunity to submit your work for consideration for a curated virtual group show. If chosen, your work will be included in a virtual exhibition through Create! Magazine and promoted to our broad audience of international readers, collectors, and followers. learn more here.

 

Open Call for Eco-Urgency at Wave Hill and Lehman College Art Gallery – Bronx, NY

Deadline: November 30   Wave Hill is accepting applications for the exhibition Eco-Urgency: Artists Make the Case, an expanded collaboration with Lehman College Art Gallery, at galleries in both locations, planned for July through November 2021. Eco-Urgency features artists focused on critical issues affecting ecosystems and biodiversity. Learn more here.

 

Atlantic Gallery Juried Show 2021: Drawn to Paper

Deadline December 1   Artists are invited to engage in a conversation with paper in whatever way they want. Some examples of paper but not limited to: cardboard, paper, rice paper, newsprint, construction paper, decoupage paper, card stock, recycled paper, kraft paper, deconstructed books, etc. To enter, click here.

 

The 2021 Socrates Annual Open Call – Long Island City, NY

Deadline: December 4   The 2021 Socrates Annual awards ten artists – selected through open-call application process by a curatorial jury – with the funding, technical assistance, and administrative support needed to realize ambitious public art projects for dedicated exhibition in the Park’s landscape. Learn more here.

 

Call For Entry, Dreams and Nightmares National Juried Exhibition – Arlington, VA

Deadline: December 14   Gallery Underground announces a call to artists for a juried art exhibition, February 1 – 26, 2021. Artists will interpret the theme “Dreams and Nightmares” – from the beautiful and sublime to the dark and twisted. All media accepted. Learn more here.

 

Mobius Fall 2020 Portrait Photography Competition

Deadline: December 15   Mobius Photo, an online platform dedicated to the curation of emerging and established photographers, seeks portraiture on fashion, politics, family, nudes, etc., for their fall competition. For more information, click here.

 

Torpedo Factory Art Center 2021 Open Call for Solo Exhibition – Alexandria, VA

Deadline: December 20   Target Gallery invites regional artists living in the D.C., Maryland, or Virginia to apply for an open call for proposals for a solo exhibition for the summer of 2021. The individual with the chosen proposal will receive an exhibition at Target Gallery from May 29 – July 18, 2021 as well as a virtual online catalog. The artist will also receive a $2000 stipend as well as $100 for providing an artist talk and guided tour. For more information, click here.

 

Call For Entries, Artist/Writers: Cover Art For Academic Medicine

Deadline: December 30   Submit original works of art inspired by, but not necessarily representative of, an academic medicine experience from any perspective: caregiver, researcher, teacher, learner, or patient (for example, learning how to be a physician or scientist, caring for patients, exploring research questions, making a new discovery, being a research participant, teaching, or being cared for in a teaching hospital). The journal welcomes photography, sculpture, painting, textile work, and other visual media. Images may be cropped or resized to fit into the allotted cover space. Artists must also submit a related Cover Art essay as a narrative companion to the artwork, to explain the connection between the work and the “academic medicine experience.”  Learn more here.

 

Call For Entries, Techpressions 2021

Deadline: December 31   Techspressionism 2021 is an online exhibition to be presented online at Techspressionism.com using the Kunstmatrix 3D exhibition platform. Entries will be limited to two-dimensional works (paintings, drawings, digital images, and prints) in which technology is utilized as a means to express emotional experience. Learn more here.

 

Call For Entries, Outwin Boochevar Portrait Competition 2022 – D.C.

Deadline, January 28, 2021   The National Portrait Gallery invites artists to submit portraits in any media for consideration in the sixth triennial Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition. Artists are encouraged to think about portraiture’s potential to engage with the social and political landscape of our time. For more information, click here.

 

Call For Entries, Athenaeum Gallery – Alexandria, VA

Deadline: August 25, 2021   Artists who live or work in Virginia, Maryland, or the District of Columbia may submit a proposal for a solo show.  A group of artists who live or work in the area may submit a proposal for a group show.  A curator, living or working anywhere, may submit a proposal for a show featuring works by artists living or working in this area. For more information, click here.

 

 

Ongoing: These opportunities have rolling deadlines.

 

Call For Artists, Busboys and Poets

Busboys and Poets is looking for submissions from Maryland and Virginia artists as it expands to new locations in both areas. Submissions can include drawings, painting, photography, sculpture, mixed media, assemblage, fiber, quilts, etc. Art images reflecting life in the city, family, portraits, whimsy, abstraction, social uplift and life experiences within diverse cultures are encouraged for submission. For more information, click here.

 

Alterwork Studios Online Residency

This residency was designed to give emerging contemporary artists an online platform to create new work and explore their practice. Over the course of four weeks, artists will be encouraged to experiment and explore their concepts and move their work forward in the contemporary art world. Learn more here.

 

Accepting Artwork for Curatorial Review by AIWA

The Alper Initiative for Washington Art features five exhibitions per year in the newly constructed first floor space in the American University Museum. We accept submissions, on a rolling basis,  from Washington artists of all ages and backgrounds, and working in diverse media. The museum’s Director and Curator, Jack Rasmussen, will select curators who will review these submissions for potential use in Alper Initiative exhibitions. For more information click here.

 

Call For Entry Hamilton Arts Collective Guest Artist Exhibition – Baltimore, MD

The Hamilton Arts Collective (HAC) and the Hamilton Gallery seek applications from artists for month-long Guest Artist exhibitions at Hamilton Gallery located at 5502 Harford Road, Baltimore, MD. The selected guest artists will be invited to exhibit a selection of their current work in Gallery I of the Hamilton Gallery. The Guest Artist exhibition is featured in Hamilton Gallery communications and will be promoted by the HAC and Hamilton Gallery. This is an open call to artists residing within 60 miles of Baltimore City. Baltimore residents are encouraged to apply. Click here to learn more.

 

Howard County Arts Council Quarterly Call For Artists – Ellicott City, MD

The Howard County Arts Council gallery program was established to enhance the public’s appreciation of the visual arts, provide a venue to exhibit the work of local, regional, and national artists in a professional space, and provide leadership in the arts by presenting a broad spectrum of arts in all media from both emerging and established artists. Artists, ages 18 and older, working in all media and styles including time-based and installation artists, are encouraged to apply either individually or as a group. Proposals from curators and arts organizations are also welcome. Click here to learn more.

 

Exhibit at Hotel Indigo Downtown Baltimore — Baltimore, MD

The Maryland Art Place (MAP) is working with Hotel Indigo in downtown Baltimore to offer rotating exhibitions in the hotel’s library and Poets Modern Cocktails and Eats restaurant. This opportunity is open to visual artists living or working in Maryland. ’s public art partnership projects (MAP), in partnership with Hotel Indigo, is pleased to announce an open call to artists. MAP will curate four exhibitions a year based on submissions entered through a rolling basis. Click here to learn more.

 

Solo or Group Shows in Athenaeum Gallery – VA

The Athenaeum Gallery in Alexandria, Virginia exhibits visual arts created solely by artists living or working in the region (DC, Maryland and Virginia) and strives to present visitors with a wide variety of excellent art and unique experiences.  In addition to the shows curated by the Gallery Director, the Athenaeum Gallery invites artists and curators to submit show proposals. For more information, visit https://artist.callforentry.org/festivals_unique_info.php?ID=6876.

 

The Creativity Grant Program State of Maryland (MD)

Deadline: Rolling. The purpose of the Creativity Grant Program is to strengthen the vitality and sustainability of artists and small organizations to maintain a strong and stable arts infrastructure in the State of Maryland. The Creativity Grant also provides opportunities to serve the growing needs of relevant arts projects and collaborations within Maryland communities. For more information regarding eligibility and funding timelines, please review the Creativity Grants Guidelines. For more information about the program, and to apply visit the Creativity Grant Program State of Maryland website.

 

Artist/Writers: Cover Art for Academic Medicine

Deadline: Rolling. Submit original works of art inspired by, but not necessarily representative of, an academic medicine experience from any perspective: caregiver, researcher, teacher, learner, or patient (for example, learning how to be a physician or scientist, caring for patients, exploring research questions, making a new discovery, being a research participant, teaching, or being cared for in a teaching hospital). The journal welcomes photography, sculpture, painting, textile work, and other visual media. Images may be cropped or resized to fit into the allotted cover space. Artists must also submit a related Cover Art essay as a narrative companion to the artwork, to explain the connection between the work and the “academic medicine experience.” The related narrative should be 250 to 600 words and is subject to editing. To apply for this opportunity, and to learn more, visit the Academic Medicine website.

 

The Awesome Foundation Accepting Applications for Art Projects

Deadline: Open. The Awesome Foundation for the Arts and Sciences is a worldwide network of people devoted to forwarding the interest of “awesomeness in the universe.” Established in 2009, the foundation distributes $1,000 grants on a monthly basis to projects and their creators. The money is pooled from ten or more self-organizing “micro-trustees.” The chapters are autonomous and organized by the trustees around geographic areas or topics of interest. Apply on the Awesome Foundation website.

 

Call for Artists: Maryland Art Place Seeks Proposals for Rotating Exhibition Partnership with Baltimore’s Hotel Indigo (MD)

Deadline: rolling. Maryland Art Place (MAP), in partnership with Hotel Indigo is pleased to announce an open ‘Call to Artists’. As an extension of MAP’s annual IMPACT public art partnership projects, MAP is working with Hotel Indigo to offer rotating exhibitions in Hotel indigo’s library and Poets Modern Cocktails and Eats. This opportunity is available to visual artists living or working in Maryland. Maryland Art Place will curate four exhibitions a year based on submissions entered through a rolling basis. Guidelines and information here.

 

Peripheral ARTeries – Biennial Contemporary Art Publication

Deadline: Rolling. Peripheral ARTeries is looking for artists to be featured in the new special Biennial Edition of their art publication, that comes to its 10th edition. This opportunity is great for both established and early career artists who need a boost to their artist portfolio. The 10th edition will once again explore and show current trends and tendencies in Contemporary Art: Peripheral ARTeries cultivates a spirit of openness through a unique collaborative and participatory approach.Each artist may submit a maximum of three works or projects made in any technique: painting, drawing, video art, experimental cinema, fine art photography, experimental media, mixed media, installations, public art, performance. The call is open to all proposed kind of art and media capable of challenging the viewers’ traditional perspective on art itself. To submit, visit the Peripheral ARTeries website.

 

Exhibit at Hotel Indigo (VA)

Artists works will displayed in the hotel’s gallery (220 S Union St, Old Town Alexandria) for a six-month period. Two-dimensional, framed works only. Artists will install the work using the hotel’s mounting hardware. Labels will be provided by the hotel. All sales handled by artist, no commission. Preference for local or locally influenced selections but not required. The space measures approximately 7’10” by 8’3.″ If interested, contact Kate Ellis, General Manager, [email protected].

 

The New Project Studio – Ongoing Opportunity (VA)

Ongoing. Located in Studio 8, the New Project Studio is a community-focused arts incubator space that offers a short-term location to test new program ideas, spotlight underrepresented voices, and enhance community engagement. Projects rotate on a regular basis. For more information, clickhere.

 

Public Arts Grants & Opportunities (VA)

Ongoing. The City of Alexandria’s Office of the Arts provides grants for nonprofit arts organizations as well as individual artists. See all current opportunities and online applications here.

 

Residency: Maryland

Deadline: ongoing. Montgomery College, Rockville and Germantown Art Department is seeking proposals for its Artist-in-Residence Program, encouraging proposals that cultivate collaborative work between artists and students.

 

Looking for artists: Foundry Gallery (DC)

Deadline: ongoing. Foundry Gallery is seeking a few artists in the greater Washington, DC area. If interested in applying for membership please send up to five images (jpg attachments) and an email letter to: [email protected]. The oldest cooperative in Washington, the gallery holds monthly solo and members’ group shows at its beautiful space north of Shaw near the 9:30 Club.

 

Looking for artists: Printmakers (DC)

Deadline: ongoing. Washington Printmakers Gallery is seeking artist members specializing in printmaking, photography and book arts. An active cooperative for over 30 years, the gallery holds monthly solo and members’ group shows in its lovely space in upper Georgetown. Distant and shared memberships are available. If interested in applying for membership please email [email protected].

 

Artful Weekend October 24-25

"Me and my Shadow" by Christine Bernstein is on view in the October 2020 Open Exhibit.

Welcome to Artful Weekend, our guide to fun and interesting ways to enjoy and engage in art as you shelter-in-place or practice social distancing. 

 

This weekend: League exhibits, mythological expressions at Target Gallery, and portraiture from the Corcoran.

 

 

October Exhibitions at The Art League

 

October 2020 Open Exhibition

“Watermelon Platter with Figs and Strawberries” by Evelyn Rabin

View a range of works created by our member artists in this open exhibit, not limited by theme, medium, process, or content. This month’s exhibit was juried by sculptor Raymond Padrón; View it in the Gallery through November 8, or online.

 

 

Steve Moen: Across the Gorge and Other Spaces Between

In his solo exhibition, painter Steve Moen ponders time and the human experience, depicting landscapes marked by passing millennia; on view through November 8.

 

Rosa Leff: Expectation/Reality

“Cashing Out” by Rosa Leff

Papercut artist Rosa Leff contemplates the notion of “adulting,” and how the current pandemic has altered the routine stuff of life, in her solo exhibition; on view through November 8.

The Art League Gallery is now open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, and 12 noon to 5 p.m. on Sundays. Safety of our members and our staff is always our first priority, so we will still be doing temperature checks at the door, masks are required for entry, and we ask that you keep social distancing practices in mind.

 

 

Mythos

A global vision of myth—from ancient Greek and Roman tradition to the legends of various world cultures—is expressed in expansive and creative ways in this multimedia group exhibition at Target Gallery in the Torpedo Factory Art Center. Mythos is on view in-gallery through Sunday, October 25, or see it online.

 

 

Recent Acquisitions: Gifts from the Corcoran Gallery of Art

“Lily Tomlin, New York City” by Annie Leibovitz

 Saturday, October 24, is the final day to see Recent Acquisitions: Gifts from the Corcoran Gallery of Art at the National Portrait Gallery. The exhibit features over 20 portraits of historical and contemporary figures—from poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow to comedienne Lily Tomlin—reflective of the Corcoran’s wide-ranging collection.

 

Enjoy your weekend, wear your mask.

 

An Iconic Mask Acquires Haunting New Significance in Teresa Oaxaca’s Best-in-Show Painting

Oaxaca_190927#1, 9/27/19, 10:57 AM, 8C, 9000x11996 (0+0), 150%, Custom, 1/25 s, R63.9, G39.0, B59.8

By Haven Ashley 

 

Inspired by the decadence and debauchery of the famed Venetian Carnival, Plague Mask, by painter Teresa Oaxaca, is a ghoulish reckoning of science and vanity. The life-size portrait, rendered in tones of pewter and smoked amethyst, was painted after the artist visited Italy, several years before mask-wearing became part of our everyday routine. Now, viewed in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the significance of Oaxaca’s best-in-show is a macabre coincidence of circumstance and subject. A reminder that pride does not provide immunity to infection; an apple can be wormed at the core no matter how pink the skin. 

The figure in Oaxaca’s painting wears the mask of the Medico Della Peste; the plague doctor. Seventeenth-century French physician Charles de Lorme is credited with inventing the eerie, full-body protective garment, easily recognized by its distinct, avian mask. Intended to shield the wearer from the bubonic plague, the mask’s beaked tip was often filled with flowers or fragrant herbs to temper any unwelcome odors of the sick. The dramatic curved mandible brings to mind another hooked, half-moon omen—the dreadful arc of the Grim Reaper’s scythe, Death’s shepherd’s crook. And indeed, the very sight of the plague doctor was soon feared as a harbinger of death to sufferers of a plague that claimed millions of victims.  

 

The plague doctor attire was the PPE (personal protective equipment) of the Middle Ages.

 

Eventually, as the specter of its original context lost its malice, the plague doctor would become one of the most popular costumes at the Venetian Carnival, influenced by both de Lorme’s hair-raising attire, and a character trope familiar to viewers of commedia dell’arte, an early form of Italian theater. 

Oaxaca’s plague doctor is, noticeably, lacking other necessary vestments: personal protective equipment in the form of a long leather coat, hood, hat, gloves, and cane. Perhaps the figure’s nudity is a reference to the raucous delights of the carnival, those wanton, fleshy desires that must remain bottled up during the subsequent Lenten season.

The male figure in Plague Mask is solitary, not out among masked revelers enjoying the temptations provided by anonymity. Showered in flowers like an adored thespian, maybe this man is reflecting on his commedia dell’arte character. Fortunately for him, he was not cast as another familiar trope—the fool.

Artist Opportunities #532

"Nourishment" by Deborah Taylor, on view now in the October 2020 Open Exhibit.

Every week, we gather a variety of artist opportunities from the DC area and beyond. Find one below and apply today — good luck! Click here for recent opportunities posts, and submit your opportunity listing here.

 

Opportunities

 

MFA Exhibition Open Call, UrbanGlass – Brooklyn, NY

Deadline: October 21   UrbanGlass’ exhibition New Work, will feature the work of 3-5 recent graduates of MFA programs whose work features glass. The exhibition provides an international showcase for new and noteworthy talent in the field and is an important platform for the presentation of new work. Each of the finalists will be represented by up to 3 artworks in the exhibition. For more information, click here.

 

Gutierrez Memorial Fund’s Legacy Grant – Maryland

Deadline: October 30   This annual project-based arts grant calls for proposals from arts organizations and individual artists who are residents of Maryland and whose programs or projects serve Maryland communities. Special consideration is given to projects that build skills, engage community and transform our built environment. Click here to apply.

 

Call For Entries, The Art League December 2020 Open Exhibit – Alexandria, VA

Deadline: November 15   The Art League’s juried open exhibits are not limited by theme, medium, process, or content. Artists must be a current exhibiting artist member of The Art League gallery, and may enter works made within the past five years. Learn how to become a member artist here. For more information on the open exhibit, click here.

 

Open Call for Eco-Urgency at Wave Hill and Lehman College Art Gallery – Bronx, NY

Deadline: November 30   Wave Hill is accepting applications for the exhibition Eco-Urgency: Artists Make the Case, an expanded collaboration with Lehman College Art Gallery, at galleries in both locations, planned for July through November 2021. Eco-Urgency features artists focused on critical issues affecting ecosystems and biodiversity. Learn more here.

 

The 2021 Socrates Annual Open Call – Long Island City, NY

Deadline: December 4   The 2021 Socrates Annual awards ten artists – selected through open-call application process by a curatorial jury – with the funding, technical assistance, and administrative support needed to realize ambitious public art projects for dedicated exhibition in the Park’s landscape. Learn more here.

 

Torpedo Factory Art Center 2021 Open Call for Solo Exhibition – Alexandria, VA

Deadline: December 20   Target Gallery invites regional artists living in the D.C., Maryland, or Virginia to apply for an open call for proposals for a solo exhibition for the summer of 2021. The individual with the chosen proposal will receive an exhibition at Target Gallery from May 29 – July 18, 2021 as well as a virtual online catalog. The artist will also receive a $2000 stipend as well as $100 for providing an artist talk and guided tour. For more information, click here.

 

 

Re-runs: These have been previously posted, but it’s not too late to enter!

 

Call For Entry, Maryland Art Place MASKerade Competition – Baltimore

Deadline: October 24   Maryland Art Place is partnering with Baltimore Community Foundation’s LGBTQ Fund MASKerade Baltimore – a Mask Design Competition & Virtual Event to raise awareness of and fundraise for issues facing the LGBTQ community. Click here for more information.

 

ArtsFairfax Grant Funds for Creatives – Farifax, VA

Deadline: October 30   ArtsFairfax is making additional grant funding available to Fairfax County creatives who have lost income due to COVID-19. The new funding available through the Emergency Relief and Recovery Grant Program is specifically for individual artists. Learn more and apply here.

 

Research Fellowships, Smithsonian American Art Museum – D.C.

Deadline: November 1   The museum hosts a number of fellows each year through the Smithsonian Institution Fellowship Program (SIFP), and also awards its own named fellowships to candidates from this general pool. Only one application is necessary. For more information click here.

 

Virginia Museum of Fine Arts 2021-22 Fellowship Program – Richmond, VA

Deadline: November 6   The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Fellowship (VMFA) Program, a vital source of funding for the visual arts and art history in Virginia, is committed to supporting professional artists as well as art and art history students who demonstrate exceptional creative ability in their chosen discipline. Applications are now being accepted for the 2021-22 fellowship program. Click here to apply.

 

Art & Climate Solution Artist Open Call – NY

Deadline: November 15   Earth Celebrations’ – Ecological and Social Change through the Arts is now accepting proposals to create and present ecologically thematic work for Ecological City: A Cultural & Climate Solutions Action Project engaging community on the Lower East Side of New York City. For more information, click here.

 

Call For Art: Global Curated Online Exhibition

Deadline: November 20   This open call is an opportunity to submit your work for consideration for a curated virtual group show. If chosen, your work will be included in a virtual exhibition through Create! Magazine and promoted to our broad audience of international readers, collectors, and followers. learn more here.

 

Atlantic Gallery Juried Show 2021: Drawn to Paper

December 1   Artists are invited to engage in a conversation with paper in whatever way they want. Some examples of paper but not limited to: cardboard, paper, rice paper, newsprint, construction paper, decoupage paper, card stock, recycled paper, kraft paper, deconstructed books, etc. To enter, click here.

 

Call For Entry, Dreams and Nightmares National Juried Exhibition – Arlington, VA

Deadline: December 14   Gallery Underground announces a call to artists for a juried art exhibition, February 1 – 26, 2021. Artists will interpret the theme “Dreams and Nightmares” – from the beautiful and sublime to the dark and twisted. All media accepted. Learn more here.

 

Mobius Fall 2020 Portrait Photography Competition

Deadline: December 15   Mobius Photo, an online platform dedicated to the curation of emerging and established photographers, seeks portraiture on fashion, politics, family, nudes, etc., for their fall competition. For more information, click here.

 

Call For Entries, Artist/Writers: Cover Art For Academic Medicine

Deadline: December 30   Submit original works of art inspired by, but not necessarily representative of, an academic medicine experience from any perspective: caregiver, researcher, teacher, learner, or patient (for example, learning how to be a physician or scientist, caring for patients, exploring research questions, making a new discovery, being a research participant, teaching, or being cared for in a teaching hospital). The journal welcomes photography, sculpture, painting, textile work, and other visual media. Images may be cropped or resized to fit into the allotted cover space. Artists must also submit a related Cover Art essay as a narrative companion to the artwork, to explain the connection between the work and the “academic medicine experience.”  Learn more here.

 

Call For Entries, Techpressions 2021

Deadline: December 31   Techspressionism 2021 is an online exhibition to be presented online at Techspressionism.com using the Kunstmatrix 3D exhibition platform. Entries will be limited to two-dimensional works (paintings, drawings, digital images, and prints) in which technology is utilized as a means to express emotional experience. Learn more here.

 

Call For Entries, Outwin Boochevar Portrait Competition 2022 – D.C.

Deadline, January 28, 2021   The National Portrait Gallery invites artists to submit portraits in any media for consideration in the sixth triennial Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition. Artists are encouraged to think about portraiture’s potential to engage with the social and political landscape of our time. For more information, click here.

 

Call For Entries, Athenaeum Gallery – Alexandria, VA

Deadline: August 25, 2021   Artists who live or work in Virginia, Maryland, or the District of Columbia may submit a proposal for a solo show.  A group of artists who live or work in the area may submit a proposal for a group show.  A curator, living or working anywhere, may submit a proposal for a show featuring works by artists living or working in this area. For more information, click here.

 

 

Ongoing: These opportunities have rolling deadlines.

 

Alterwork Studios Online Residency

This residency was designed to give emerging contemporary artists an online platform to create new work and explore their practice. Over the course of four weeks, artists will be encouraged to experiment and explore their concepts and move their work forward in the contemporary art world. Learn more here.

 

Accepting Artwork for Curatorial Review by AIWA

The Alper Initiative for Washington Art features five exhibitions per year in the newly constructed first floor space in the American University Museum. We accept submissions, on a rolling basis,  from Washington artists of all ages and backgrounds, and working in diverse media. The museum’s Director and Curator, Jack Rasmussen, will select curators who will review these submissions for potential use in Alper Initiative exhibitions. For more information click here.

 

Call For Entry Hamilton Arts Collective Guest Artist Exhibition – Baltimore, MD

The Hamilton Arts Collective (HAC) and the Hamilton Gallery seek applications from artists for month-long Guest Artist exhibitions at Hamilton Gallery located at 5502 Harford Road, Baltimore, MD. The selected guest artists will be invited to exhibit a selection of their current work in Gallery I of the Hamilton Gallery. The Guest Artist exhibition is featured in Hamilton Gallery communications and will be promoted by the HAC and Hamilton Gallery. This is an open call to artists residing within 60 miles of Baltimore City. Baltimore residents are encouraged to apply. Click here to learn more.

 

Howard County Arts Council Quarterly Call For Artists – Ellicott City, MD

The Howard County Arts Council gallery program was established to enhance the public’s appreciation of the visual arts, provide a venue to exhibit the work of local, regional, and national artists in a professional space, and provide leadership in the arts by presenting a broad spectrum of arts in all media from both emerging and established artists. Artists, ages 18 and older, working in all media and styles including time-based and installation artists, are encouraged to apply either individually or as a group. Proposals from curators and arts organizations are also welcome. Click here to learn more.

 

Exhibit at Hotel Indigo Downtown Baltimore — Baltimore, MD

The Maryland Art Place (MAP) is working with Hotel Indigo in downtown Baltimore to offer rotating exhibitions in the hotel’s library and Poets Modern Cocktails and Eats restaurant. This opportunity is open to visual artists living or working in Maryland. ’s public art partnership projects (MAP), in partnership with Hotel Indigo, is pleased to announce an open call to artists. MAP will curate four exhibitions a year based on submissions entered through a rolling basis. Click here to learn more.

 

Solo or Group Shows in Athenaeum Gallery – VA

The Athenaeum Gallery in Alexandria, Virginia exhibits visual arts created solely by artists living or working in the region (DC, Maryland and Virginia) and strives to present visitors with a wide variety of excellent art and unique experiences.  In addition to the shows curated by the Gallery Director, the Athenaeum Gallery invites artists and curators to submit show proposals. For more information, visit https://artist.callforentry.org/festivals_unique_info.php?ID=6876.

 

The Creativity Grant Program State of Maryland (MD)

Deadline: Rolling. The purpose of the Creativity Grant Program is to strengthen the vitality and sustainability of artists and small organizations to maintain a strong and stable arts infrastructure in the State of Maryland. The Creativity Grant also provides opportunities to serve the growing needs of relevant arts projects and collaborations within Maryland communities. For more information regarding eligibility and funding timelines, please review the Creativity Grants Guidelines. For more information about the program, and to apply visit the Creativity Grant Program State of Maryland website.

 

Artist/Writers: Cover Art for Academic Medicine

Deadline: Rolling. Submit original works of art inspired by, but not necessarily representative of, an academic medicine experience from any perspective: caregiver, researcher, teacher, learner, or patient (for example, learning how to be a physician or scientist, caring for patients, exploring research questions, making a new discovery, being a research participant, teaching, or being cared for in a teaching hospital). The journal welcomes photography, sculpture, painting, textile work, and other visual media. Images may be cropped or resized to fit into the allotted cover space. Artists must also submit a related Cover Art essay as a narrative companion to the artwork, to explain the connection between the work and the “academic medicine experience.” The related narrative should be 250 to 600 words and is subject to editing. To apply for this opportunity, and to learn more, visit the Academic Medicine website.

 

The Awesome Foundation Accepting Applications for Art Projects

Deadline: Open. The Awesome Foundation for the Arts and Sciences is a worldwide network of people devoted to forwarding the interest of “awesomeness in the universe.” Established in 2009, the foundation distributes $1,000 grants on a monthly basis to projects and their creators. The money is pooled from ten or more self-organizing “micro-trustees.” The chapters are autonomous and organized by the trustees around geographic areas or topics of interest. Apply on the Awesome Foundation website.

 

Call for Artists: Maryland Art Place Seeks Proposals for Rotating Exhibition Partnership with Baltimore’s Hotel Indigo (MD)

Deadline: rolling. Maryland Art Place (MAP), in partnership with Hotel Indigo is pleased to announce an open ‘Call to Artists’. As an extension of MAP’s annual IMPACT public art partnership projects, MAP is working with Hotel Indigo to offer rotating exhibitions in Hotel indigo’s library and Poets Modern Cocktails and Eats. This opportunity is available to visual artists living or working in Maryland. Maryland Art Place will curate four exhibitions a year based on submissions entered through a rolling basis. Guidelines and information here.

 

Peripheral ARTeries – Biennial Contemporary Art Publication

Deadline: Rolling. Peripheral ARTeries is looking for artists to be featured in the new special Biennial Edition of their art publication, that comes to its 10th edition. This opportunity is great for both established and early career artists who need a boost to their artist portfolio. The 10th edition will once again explore and show current trends and tendencies in Contemporary Art: Peripheral ARTeries cultivates a spirit of openness through a unique collaborative and participatory approach.Each artist may submit a maximum of three works or projects made in any technique: painting, drawing, video art, experimental cinema, fine art photography, experimental media, mixed media, installations, public art, performance. The call is open to all proposed kind of art and media capable of challenging the viewers’ traditional perspective on art itself. To submit, visit the Peripheral ARTeries website.

 

Exhibit at Hotel Indigo (VA)

Artists works will displayed in the hotel’s gallery (220 S Union St, Old Town Alexandria) for a six-month period. Two-dimensional, framed works only. Artists will install the work using the hotel’s mounting hardware. Labels will be provided by the hotel. All sales handled by artist, no commission. Preference for local or locally influenced selections but not required. The space measures approximately 7’10” by 8’3.″ If interested, contact Kate Ellis, General Manager, [email protected].

 

The New Project Studio – Ongoing Opportunity (VA)

Ongoing. Located in Studio 8, the New Project Studio is a community-focused arts incubator space that offers a short-term location to test new program ideas, spotlight underrepresented voices, and enhance community engagement. Projects rotate on a regular basis. For more information, clickhere.

 

Public Arts Grants & Opportunities (VA)

Ongoing. The City of Alexandria’s Office of the Arts provides grants for nonprofit arts organizations as well as individual artists. See all current opportunities and online applications here.

 

Residency: Maryland

Deadline: ongoing. Montgomery College, Rockville and Germantown Art Department is seeking proposals for its Artist-in-Residence Program, encouraging proposals that cultivate collaborative work between artists and students.

 

Looking for artists: Foundry Gallery (DC)

Deadline: ongoing. Foundry Gallery is seeking a few artists in the greater Washington, DC area. If interested in applying for membership please send up to five images (jpg attachments) and an email letter to: [email protected]. The oldest cooperative in Washington, the gallery holds monthly solo and members’ group shows at its beautiful space north of Shaw near the 9:30 Club.

 

Looking for artists: Printmakers (DC)

Deadline: ongoing. Washington Printmakers Gallery is seeking artist members specializing in printmaking, photography and book arts. An active cooperative for over 30 years, the gallery holds monthly solo and members’ group shows in its lovely space in upper Georgetown. Distant and shared memberships are available. If interested in applying for membership please email [email protected].

 

Artful Weekend October 17-19

"Psychedelic Mushroom" by Judy Guenther

Welcome to Artful Weekend, our guide to fun and interesting ways to enjoy and engage in art as you shelter-in-place or practice social distancing. 

 

This weekend: League exhibits, an outdoor homage to area artists, mixed media flowers, and more!

 

October Exhibitions at The Art League

 

October 2020 Open Exhibition

“Cultura” by Jose Eduardo Barrows Castillo

View a range of works created by our member artists in this open exhibit, not limited by theme, medium, process, or content. This month’s exhibit was juried by sculptor Raymond Padrón; View it in the Gallery through November 8, or online.

 

 

Steve Moen: Across the Gorge and Other Spaces Between

In his solo exhibition, painter Steve Moen ponders time and the human experience, depicting landscapes marked by passing millennia; on view through November 8.

 

Rosa Leff: Expectation/Reality

“Cashing Out” by Rosa Leff

Papercut artist Rosa Leff contemplates the notion of “adulting,” and how the current pandemic has altered the routine stuff of life, in her solo exhibition; on view through November 8.

The Art League Gallery is now open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, and 12 noon to 5 p.m. on Sundays. Safety of our members and our staff is always our first priority, so we will still be doing temperature checks at the door, masks are required for entry, and we ask that you keep social distancing practices in mind.

 

Take Me, I Love You

In his first U.S. full-scale exhibition, German artist Timur Si-Qin contemplates nature in the face of global pandemics, climate change, and the cultural response to it in 11 varied media new works; on view through November 15 at von ammon co., 3330 Cady’s Alley NW.

 

Monuments: Creative Forces

Experience Monuments: Creative Forces, an expansive, outdoor art installation by Australian artist Craig Walsh at Strathmore. The exhibition features moving, dimensional video portraits of local artists whose work and endeavors are impacting the community; on view through October 25, 10701 Rockville Pike, North Bethesda, MD.

 

 

Within My Meadow

“Mount St. Angelo” by Carol Barsha

In her solo exhibit, Carol Barsha introduces a series of large-scale, multi-media works that unearth and explore the complexities of the natural world; on view through October 31 at Gallery Neptune & Brown, 1530 14th Street NW.

 

Enjoy your weekend, wear your mask.