Every artwork hanging in a gallery started with a single decision: the artist submitted. Open call exhibitions are the most accessible door into the gallery world — no agent, no gallery representation, no famous name required. My own journey through them took two of my pieces to a Tower Bridge gallery, selected from over 2,000 international submissions. Here is exactly how I approach them.
What is an open call exhibition?
An open call is a public invitation from a gallery, museum, art fair or organisation for artists to submit work for an upcoming show. A jury reviews submissions and selects a limited number of pieces. Some are free to enter; most charge a modest submission fee that funds the exhibition itself.
Where to find open calls that are worth your time
- Gallery mailing lists — sign up directly with galleries you admire. My selection for Dreams & Nightmares came from watching Boomer Gallery's calls.
- Art platforms — ArtRabbit, CuratorSpace, ArtConnect and Photocrowd list hundreds of vetted calls with deadlines.
- Institutions and societies — annual summer shows, like the RBSA Summer Show where I exhibited Iya Laje, are recurring opportunities you can plan a year around.
- Artist communities — half the calls I have entered came through other artists sharing them. Give the same energy back.
How to actually get selected
Jurors see thousands of images. Three things consistently separate selected work from rejected work:
- Fit the theme, don't force it. Read the curatorial statement twice. When I submitted Sanctuary of Nature and Stillness in the Storm to a show called Dreams & Nightmares, both works genuinely lived in that emotional territory — you can see them in the Aworan collection.
- Write an artist statement that tells a story. Jurors remember stories, not adjectives. Say what the work is about, why you made it, and what you want the viewer to feel.
- Submit exhibition-quality files. Sharp, colour-accurate, properly sized. A weak scan of a strong artwork is a rejection.
You miss 100 percent of the open calls you never enter. Rejection costs you a fee; never submitting costs you a career.
Budget for it like a professional
Fees, framing, transport and insurance add up. Treat submissions as marketing spend — a line item, not an afterthought. One sale, one collector, or one gallery relationship can repay a year of fees; my first collection sale came directly from an exhibition, a story I share on my exhibitions page.
After the show
Document everything. Photograph your work on the wall, collect press mentions for your press and awards page, thank the curators publicly, and follow up with everyone who left contact details. The exhibition is the beginning of the relationship, not the end.
If you want to develop work strong enough to submit, photography classes at Camera Boss cover composition, lighting and storytelling — and if you'd like to talk galleries, get in touch.
Work with me. For fine-art prints and exhibition enquiries, contact me here. For weddings, editorial and lifestyle photography across the UK and Nigeria, visit CameraBoss.co.uk.