Organizer Information
The open call is organized by the Visionary Art Collective, a curatorial and publishing platform dedicated to supporting contemporary artists through juried exhibitions, online showcases, and editorial features. The collective operates as both an exhibition producer and a professional development platform, working with guest curators and partner galleries to create themed group exhibitions that combine physical presentations with digital dissemination.
For this specific project, the curatorial direction is led by Jessica Libor, a Philadelphia-based visual artist and curator, and founder/director of Era Contemporary. Libor’s curatorial practice focuses on narrative-driven and figurative work, often engaging themes of mythology, identity, and emotional interiority. Her dual background as an exhibiting artist and curator informs a curatorial approach centered on storytelling, accessibility, and professional exposure for emerging and mid-career artists.
The exhibition will also be supported by Artsy, where selected works will be listed for sale, and by Warnes Contemporary, which functions as the presenting gallery partner. In addition to the physical exhibition, Visionary Art Collective maintains a strong digital presence through its website and social media channels, extending visibility to international audiences.
Title & Description
The Midnight Garden — NYC Pop-Up Exhibition
“The Midnight Garden” is a curated pop-up exhibition exploring themes of cultivation, transformation, and invisible processes of growth. The conceptual framework positions the garden as a metaphor for both artistic practice and emotional life—an evolving system shaped by cycles of bloom, decay, regeneration, and rest.
The exhibition is interested in the tension between structure and unpredictability. A garden is simultaneously designed and wild, controlled yet autonomous, and this duality becomes a lens through which artists are invited to reflect on their own creative processes. Works may engage with ideas of care, labor, intuition, and transformation, or interrogate the boundaries between order and entropy.
Artists are encouraged to interpret the theme broadly through abstraction, realism, conceptual approaches, or experimental methods. The curatorial emphasis is not on literal botanical representation, but on metaphorical and psychological interpretations of growth, change, and unseen systems. The exhibition seeks works that explore how meaning develops over time—both in nature and in human experience.
The project will be presented as a physical pop-up exhibition in Brooklyn, New York, accompanied by programming events during the exhibition period. A parallel digital exhibition will also be hosted online for several weeks, expanding accessibility and global reach.
Categories
- Painting (oil, acrylic, watercolor, mixed media)
- Drawing and illustration
- Photography (digital and analog)
- Printmaking
- Collage and assemblage
- Sculpture (all material-based practices)
- Ceramics
- Fiber and textile art
- Installation art
- Mixed media / interdisciplinary 2D & 3D works
Film, video, and time-based media are not accepted for this open call.
Eligibility
- Open exclusively to visual artists based in the United States
- Artists at all career stages may apply (emerging, mid-career, and established)
- No age restrictions specified
- Both represented and unrepresented artists are eligible
- Works do not need to be for sale to be considered
Program Benefits & Awards
- Inclusion in a curated physical group exhibition in Brooklyn, NYC
- Exhibition dates: August 20–23, 2026
- Participation in accompanying public programming during the exhibition
- Online exhibition feature hosted by Visionary Art Collective (4–6 weeks duration)
- Digital presentation of selected works on the organizer’s website
- Potential inclusion in New Visionary Magazine editorial feature
- Optional listing of works for sale via Artsy through Warnes Contemporary
- Increased visibility through social media promotion and curatorial exposure
Application Fee
- 1–2 images: $25
- 3–4 images: $30
- 5–6 images: $35
Fees are non-refundable and are used to support curatorial labor, exhibition production, artist compensation structures, and catalog and programming development.
Application Requirements
- 1–6 high-quality images of artworks (depending on fee tier)
- Images must be a minimum of 800 pixels wide, 72 DPI
- Files must be under 10 MB each
- Images must show only the artwork (except in the case of 3D works)
- Artist bio (maximum 300 words)
- Artist statement (maximum 300 words)
- Basic personal and contact information
Additional notes:
- Artwork creation dates are not required
- Works do not need to be available for sale
- All media must fall within accepted categories
How to Apply?
Online Application
Key Dates
- Application Deadline: 31 May 2026
- Exhibition Dates (physical): August 20–23, 2026
- Online Exhibition Launch: Spring 2026
- Digital Exhibition Duration: 4–6 weeks (post-launch)
Location
Brooklyn, New York, United States
Additional Details
This exhibition emphasizes curatorial storytelling and cross-platform visibility. Selected works will be exhibited in a professionally curated environment and documented for both online and print dissemination.
Artists should note that works may be included in both physical and digital formats simultaneously. The curatorial approach values conceptual coherence within the theme rather than strict stylistic uniformity, allowing for a wide range of interpretations.
Submission fees directly support production infrastructure, including curator honorariums, installation costs, exhibition documentation, and publication development. The organizer explicitly states that fees enable a higher standard of professional presentation and artist support.
All submissions are reviewed through a curatorial selection process led by Jessica Libor in collaboration with the Visionary Art Collective team.