At one time the world of living things was classified into two simple groups, plants and animals. Botany concerned itself with the study of plants. We are linked to these, our earthly cousins, in so many ways. As a planetary phenomenon we take for granted that to our yin the plants provide the yang. We breath in oxygen and out carbon dioxide, they absorb carbon dioxide and exhale oxygen. Clearly an elegant arrangement was agreed upon by the forces of the Universe to arrive at such a symbiosis. Whether it be the form of organic plant life, or the concept of its functionality, the implications of its shared existence with humanity, or its clever ability to convert sunlight into food, plant life is as fascinating as it is beautiful. In the context of contemporary society it is interesting to consider what this can mean in the hands of artists.
Manifest continues its eighth season with an exhibit seeking works which explore the theme of plant life (using formal or conceptual methods). These may be in ways that are quite straightforward, or which are abstract, conceptual or in other ways surprising or inventive. Manifest is eager to see just how artists make work of any media or genre (painting, drawing, collage, photography, printmaking, sculpture, mixed media, video, and non-traditional art, etc.) using plant life as a source of inspiration and exploration.
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Eligibility: BOTANICAL is open to everyone. Professionals as well as students are encouraged to enter.
Note that artists who previously exhibited at Manifest or had work included in our publication projects ARE eligible and encouraged to submit. Our juries are always conducted blind, and we do not disqualify artists who have success in past juries. However there is no advantage here either because our jury members vary from project to project.
Media: Open to any and all traditional and non-traditional visual arts genre and media, (including painting, drawing, printmaking, video, photography, sculpture, collage, design, illustration, etc.). The only limitation is that the subject, form, or concept of the work must be directly related to plant life in some way.
Jury and Curator: Manifest's selection process involves a complex two-part system. This exhibit will be juried by an anonymous 5-9 member panel of professional and academic advisors with a broad range of expertise. The jury will then pass along their recommendations to the exhibit curator who will make the final selections from the jury-approved pool.
Catalog: Manifest will produce a full-color catalog documenting the work selected for exhibit. Each exhibiting artist will receive one free copy of the catalog. Artists will receive their copy either in person when picking up work after the exhibit, or with the return shipment of their artwork. Additional copies can be purchased via the online bookstore. For examples of past catalogs visit Manifest Press.
Delivery and Return of Work: All work accepted for the exhibition must arrive ready to install. Works not gallery-ready, or not exhibiting good craftsmanship, may be omitted from the exhibit. Accepted work that differs significantly from the entry images or suffers from poor presentation, will be disqualified. Please note that professional-level presentation is a must. Work may be hand delivered or shipped. Shipped works must be sent in an easily reusable container/packaging with return shipping prepaid, and include the return shipping label with the work. Works will be returned in the same manner as delivered or via UPS/USPS. All work must arrive at Manifest by the specified date (see calendar
below). Accepted work will remain on display for the duration of the exhibition. Works not claimed within 30 days of the end of the exhibit will become the property of Manifest. The artists are responsible for all shipping costs.
Calendar:
March 7
March 19
March 26
April 14
April 20
May 18
May 19 - 26
May 23 |
Deadline for receipt of entries
Notifications sent by email to all entrants sometime this week.
Hi-res images needed for catalog and PR
Artwork due to Manifest by this date
Opening reception
Final Day of Exhibition
Pick-up hand-delivered work
Schedule shipped artwork for pickup (arranged by artist) |
Insurance: Works will be insured while on gallery premises. Insurance covers theft, vandalism, damage caused by gallery patrons or staff (in accordance with insurance policy). PLEASE NOTE: Insurance does not cover damage caused during shipping due to any reason, including mishandling by carrier or failure of packaging to protect works in transit. Also not covered is damage caused to work by failure of the work itself, its mounting systems installed by the artist, or disintegration/degradation due to the nature/quality of materials or craftsmanship.
Entry Fee: Each work submitted must be accompanied by a $10 non-refundable
entry fee. Number of entries is unlimited. Entry fee must be paid
by U.S. check or U.S. or International money order made payable to MANIFEST, or by credit card
via PayPal. (If paying by PayPal PLEASE use the paypal link provided on the page that follows the submission of the online entry form.) Detail images may be included at no additional cost, but should only be included if necessary for understanding the nature or quality of the artwork. For more than one entry fee paid by PayPal PLEASE remember to update quantity when doing so on the PayPal site.
How many works should I submit?
The average number of works submitted to typical Manifest calls is 3. Some artists like to submit several more, especially if they have a couple different bodies of work which they'd like our jury to consider, or if they have a suite of works that are interrelated. While we have absolutely no minimum number required (other than one), nor do we give an advantage to those who submit more, it is helpful to have a few options to select from at the curatorial stage. And we do routinely accept pairs or sets of work by artists once they are determined to be a finalist through our blind jury system.
Sale of Work: All work, unless indicated as not for sale (NFS),
will be available for sale during exhibit. Manifest Gallery will
retain a commission of 30% on all artwork sold during the exhibition.
Submission Images: In an effort to conserve resources Manifest accepts only digital images/files for consideration. See specifications below. The Gallery will retain the submitted images of accepted artwork and reserves the right to use the images in publications and gallery publicity. CD's of works not selected will only be returned if accompanied by a SASE.
(emailed entries submission preferred, online entry form required)
Digital Format: Digital images can be submitted on CD or by e-mail
(send to: show@manifestgallery.org). The email and online submission process is HIGHLY PREFERRED because it makes our process more efficient and saves postage and materials for the artists. Hi-Res, print-quality images will be requested for accepted works upon conclusion of the jury process. If suitable images are not provided, the work may not be included in the catalog.
To send via email: (send to: show@manifestgallery.org). The email should include the artist's full name as subject along with 'BOTANICAL submission.' The images must meet the following specifications:
FILE NAMING:
All entry files (regardless of type or media) must be named with artist's last name (underscore) first name, followed by the entry number as noted on the entry form
(i.e. Jones_Mike_1.jpg). Please DO NOT include any other information in the file name, such as title of work, etc.
Detail, installation, or alternate view images must include the word 'detail' in the filename (i.e. Jones_Mike_1detail1.jpg). If you do NOT include the term DETAIL as part of the filename for any additional, extra, installation, or closeup images supporting your entry these will be counted as additional separate entries and our system will expect a corresponding fee for them.
EXAMPLE:
Detail info should NOT be included on the entry form. The image files should be in HIGH QUALITY JPEG format,
images should be no smaller than 1000 pixels in any direction (about 13”) and
72dpi. This should result in most image files ranging from 700kb to 2mb in file size.
Be ABSOLUTELY sure you are sending files at the correct size AND that your email app. does not automatically downsize the attached images when sending. Apple Mail, for example, provides a setting for resizing attachments in the new message composition window (lower right corner).
Images must be oriented properly (i.e. top of image is top
of artwork) and should not include text info or borders that are not part of the actual work. Video work should be sent with similar naming conventions in a quicktime compatible format file (preferably not DVD format for the jury process). If selected, a DVD copy will be requested for gallery presentation.
When emailing images, it is preferred that you do not include messages in the body of the email, nor attach anything other than the entry images to the email (no resume, bio, receipts, or statement). Our system automatically files the attachments of each message without reading notes. If you wish to comment you may send a follow up email with no attachments.
If for any reason you submit your entry form more than once, only the most recent form will be retained in our system. All previous forms will be deleted. If you decide to submit additional work later, you’ll need to submit a new form containing ALL the works for the exhibit.
Entry Checklist (for your reference):
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