Eligibility
Anyone can submit a proposal. Artists should bear in mind the need for a consistent and very strong body of work when submitting. Images sent as 'details' are encouraged to reveal the presentation choices and gallery context of works when possible and appropriate for the type of work submitted.
Media/Genre, etc
Open to all traditional and non-traditional genre and media qualified in some way as ceramic-based. Manifest sets out to survey, exhibit, and document excellent quality amongst all types of art. Our record of showing a broad mix speaks for itself. Experimental and non-traditional approaches to ceramic-based artwork are welcome.
For consideration for any other exhibition spot across our season, separate applications to the general season proposal opportunity are required. Artists have the option to submit to both.
Cash Award Potential
The annual Manifest Grand Jury Prize will result in the awarding of one cash prize ($2500) to a single work selected as the 'best of the entire season'. The winner will be determined by a final end-of-year jury from among a pool of all top-scoring works from each exhibit's jury process across the exhibition season. Solo exhibitors will automatically have one work of their choosing (or the Manifest Director's choosing, should the artist wish it) from their exhibition included in the Grand Jury Prize pool. Details on the Manifest Grand Jury Prize can be found here.
Jury and Curator
Manifest's main selection process involves a complex two-part system. Most group exhibits are juried by an anonymous panel of professional and academic advisors with a broad range of expertise. The jury then passes along their recommendations to the exhibit curator who makes the final selections from the jury-approved pool. Solo proposals are handled in a similar way. While artists may provide a specific goal for an exhibit, the final selection and layout of works will be determined by a Manifest curator (usually the Executive Director) in consultation with the artist/applicant.
Publication
Through nine seasons Manifest Press produced 74 full-color catalogs documenting the works selected for every exhibit presented in our galleries. Starting during Season 10 we shifted to the design of one much larger high quality hard-cover publication documenting each entire season of exhibits, artists, and works shown. This continues Manifest's commitment to long-term documentation and dissemination of our projects, and the expansion of physical exhibits into a broader geography and time frame, while also bringing all exhibits together under one cover each year to create a better product which will be more valuable to the public, teachers, libraries, and exhibiting artists. Each season's book will be similar to the first volume (Manifest Exhibition Annual season 10) which received a silver medal award from the Independent Publishers Association at its initial release.
Each exhibiting artist who is a Manifest Annual Fund Supporting Member at the appropriate level* or above can choose to receive one free copy of the season publication. Exhibiting artists who are not supporting members at the specified level during the season will be able to purchase their copy of the season publication at half price. Solo exhibitors will receive one copy for free regardless of membership status.
The publication will be designed and printed within the first quarter of the following season, and expected to ship by the following spring. Manifest's exhibit season runs September to September each year. (The production process for earlier MEA books has been delayed because they are quite large and complex—covering each entire season. Nevertheless, by this 17th season the books should be produced on time as described.)
Visit Manifest Press to see past catalogs (the former style) and our award-winning INDA, INPA, and INPHA books.
*Become a supporting member of our non-profit organization here.
Delivery and Return of Work
Artists must cover the cost to transport the artwork to and from the gallery. All work selected 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 submitted 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. Works will be returned in the same manner as delivered or via UPS/USPS. Exhibited 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.
For this special exhibition period, it will be helpful if pedestals specific to individual works, if necessary, can be provided by the artist. Manifest does have a limited quantity of standard pedestals of various sizes as well.
Insurance
Works will be insured while on gallery premises. Insurance covers theft, vandalism, damage caused by gallery patrons or staff (in accordance with and within limitations of gallery's 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, or incidental damage to works whose artist-directed presentation methods put them at risk. The artist must be capable of providing proof of value in the event of any necessary insurance claim. In general we recommend artists to have separate insurance coverage on their artworks to ensure full coverage and protection while in transit, and as a supplement to gallery and other venue insurance.
Submission Fee
Each proposal must be accompanied by a $50 non-refundable
submission fee. Number of works is not limited. 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 proposal form.) Detail images may be included, but should only if necessary for understanding the nature or quality of the artwork, its construction, installation, or presentation.
What is my fee used for?
Manifest is a 501(c)(3) non-profit and state-funded charitable organization operated by artists, for artists, with no reserve or endowment. All proceeds from entry fees fund project-related expenses. Not unlike paying a fee to enter a marathon race, this democratically enables our organization's projects to take place. For over a decade and a half Manifest has earned an international reputation for producing quality exhibits, and benefitting the artists involved over time, on its meager budget. Our board of directors and small dedicated staff work hard to make involvement with Manifest projects well worth the effort and cost to do so. It is important to note that this jury fee is the only cost charged by Manifest for participation.
How many works should I submit?
For proposals we request 12 images be sent for consideration. If the proposal is accepted, additional images may be requested or offered for consideration and further discussion. For proposals requiring more or less work for some reason, we can accept a different number than the preferred 12 for consideration. While not absolutely necessary, it is highly preferred for works submitted to be available for exhibit if selected, rather than simply offered as a representational sampling of potential future work for exhibit. Our selection committee strongly prefers to know and see what it will be exhibiting before making a commitment.
It is advisable that, when possible. submissions include 'in context' shots revealing how the work appears when on exhibit. It helps our committee to understand the physical nature of the artwork. Such images would be considered 'details' as per the instructions below.
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. The artist sets the final sale price on the proposal form/agreement.
Images and Info
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. Beyond such use, the artist retains full copyright of exhibited work. Submission CDs will not be returned.
(emailed entries submission is highly preferred, online entry form is 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 season publication.
Entry 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. The copy of your entry form sent by email will provide samples for file-naming.
EXAMPLE:
Information for detail images 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 but this is only approximate.
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.
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. Any essential information regarding the nature of entries should be included in the notes section for each work on the entry form.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR SUBMITTING VIDEO, MOTION, and INTERACTIVE, ENTRIES or DETAILS
Manifest requests that all video or interactive submissions, or video details illustrating an entry, be in the form of a link to a viewable online copy of each work. The work should be shown online in its full length. It is understood that online versions of video files may be lower quality than those expected for exhibition in the gallery due to compression and Internet formatting.
Note that a jpeg still image should still be submitted to represent the entry in addition to the video material, and this file name should include the term 'video'. Please email us if you have any uncertainty about this (info@manifestgallery.org)
Video links should be provided on the entry form for each work in the NOTES or VIEWING LINK section, and should link directly to online or downloadable content that does NOT require a login password or membership to view. These may be in the form of Youtube, Vimeo, Dropbox, or other similar links. Effort should be made to eliminate confusion or extraneous information that may interfere with the jury's viewing of the work. Any extraneous information, or material not considered to be 'the work' will inevitably detract from the jury score for that work.
Links to entries must remain valid and active through the notification of jury results.
AGREEMENT TO PARTICIPATE
Submitting the entry form indicates that you agree with the conditions of entry and exhibit as outlined in this prospectus, that you are reserving spots in our jury, that you will send the application fee, and that you agree to make your work available and will ship/deliver it to the gallery should it be selected for exhibit. DO NOT submit an application form if you are not prepared to follow through.
