Manifest's exhibit development process is two-part and very intense. The curator develops the exhibit theme which must be approved by the Manifest Board of Directors. Submissions are assembled by staff, and presented to a blind jury of four to six qualified advisors with an art/design background. The juries are a diverse mix of ages and backgrounds, including active professionals, professors, museum curators, and at least one student. The jury is directed to score based purely on their objective assessment of the quality of the work submitted, without regard to the exhibit space, theme, personal preferences, or logistical considerations. They are provided only the basic information for each work of art, including special notes if necessary to understand the submission. Other than the staff presentation the jury process is silent, with no debate.

The jury submits its scores back to staff who tally the results, and then provide the jury-approved works to the curator. Only the works scoring 50% or better are considered jury approved and given to the curator for consideration.

Usually there are far too many jury approved works to include in the exhibit. Therefore the curator is directed to assemble work from the approved pool. In this way, having undergone the filter of our jury, the exhibit returns to the person who proposed the concept, and develops thematic and spatial unity. The curatorial stage allows for subjective interpretation and judgment in order to fulfill the initial concept.

Emphasizing a two-part objective/subjective process and going to the extra effort to arrange for a variety of inputs into the process has contributed to Manifest's ongoing success at developing consistently strong exhibits with international participation and recognition.