Artist Application Form Template
An open-call application for exhibitions and art spaces — a page-limited portfolio PDF, a scoped artist statement, medium, and hanging logistics.
Our open call is exactly that — open. First-time exhibitors are read with the same eyes as regulars, and the work itself carries the decision.
As you want it printed and credited.
150–300 words about your practice — what you make and what it is asking.
One image per page with title, medium, dimensions, and year.
An open call succeeds when the jury can compare work fairly and fast — which makes the application mostly a container-design problem. Every choice in this template exists to make fifty submissions readable in one sitting without flattening what makes each artist distinct.
Why these fields. The portfolio is a single PDF with a ten-page ceiling and a prescribed format — one image per page with title, medium, dimensions, and year. Uniform containers are what make jurying equitable: no advantage for whoever sends thirty images, no penalty for the artist who didn't know how many was normal. The artist statement is deliberately scoped to 150–300 words; unbounded statements reward art-school fluency more than practice, and jurors stop reading at the second page anyway. The medium multi-select is the curator's balance sheet — a strong group show needs range, and this field turns "do we have too much photography?" into a filter instead of a memory exercise. Piece count feeds the hanging plan directly: wall meters are the real constraint of most spaces, and knowing whether an artist wants to show two works or fifteen changes everything. The exhibited-before question helps program a mix of returning names and first-timers — and the intro promises first-timers a fair read, which visibly changes who dares to apply.
What we left out. Prices and insurance values — commercial details belong in the consignment paperwork after selection, not in front of a jury. Exhibition-history CVs — the work should carry the decision, and history lists quietly bias panels toward the already-shown. Physical drop-offs — digital first-round review saves everyone a van trip.
Who uses this. Galleries running annual open calls, cafes and offices with rotating wall programs, residencies screening applicants, art fairs curating booths, and artist guilds jurying member shows.
Make it yours. Set the deadline as a close date so "is it too late to apply?" answers itself, and write the closed message with the next call's season. Jurying works well straight from the response view — statements and portfolio links sit together — or export CSV to build a scoresheet with one row per artist. If your call has themes or size limits, say so in the intro text block; ambiguity there generates your entire inbox for a month.
One curatorial note. The prescribed portfolio format is doing quiet labor for your jurors. Resist relaxing it — the moment formats diverge, comparison becomes impression, and impressions favor the familiar.
Frequently asked questions
Why one PDF instead of separate image uploads?
A page-limited PDF keeps every submission the same size and shape, which is what makes jury comparison fair. It uploads once (up to 10 MB) and reads like a portfolio should.
How does the jury review submissions?
Panels read directly in the response view, where the statement and portfolio sit together — or export everything as CSV and score in a spreadsheet, one artist per row.
Can we set a submission deadline?
Yes — a close date in Settings shuts the call automatically and shows your message. Most spaces use it to announce when the next open call begins.
What about pricing and sales details?
Leave them out of the call — request prices and consignment terms from accepted artists only. Putting money in front of the jury changes how work gets read.