TOTALLY OPEN: International Open-Theme Exhibition

About this call

TOTALLY OPEN is Manifest's open-theme call, now in its third year: instead of setting a theme first, the gallery hosts an open call and discovers the theme or themes through the curatorial process. Manifest, a non-profit gallery in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States, uses a reduced entry fee for this donor-funded call to lower barriers for artists with limited means. An anonymous panel of professional and academic advisors juries the entries and the curator makes the final selection; notifications are sent by 25 January 2027 and the exhibition runs from 5 March to 2 April 2027. Exhibited works appear in Manifest's season annual publication.

Who can apply

• Open to applicants of any nationality
• Medium: Painting / Drawing / Printmaking / Photography / Sculpture / Ceramics / Textile / Installation / Video / Mixed Media / New Media
• Entry fee: $10
• Open to all artists anywhere in the world, in any traditional or non-traditional media (2D, 3D, video and more); artists in Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana are encouraged to consider Manifest's Regional Showcase for this exhibit period. There is no size limit beyond what fits the gallery, and no limit on when works were made. Entry fee $10 per work, non-refundable, unlimited entries, paid by PayPal or by U.S. check or money order (postmarked by the deadline); an entry is one work, and extra images not named 'detail' count as extra entries. Submit the online entry form, then upload JPEG images (at least 1000 pixels in any direction, 72 dpi, named Lastname_Firstname_1.jpg) to the project Dropbox; video and interactive work needs a viewing link plus one JPEG still. If the form is submitted more than once, only the latest is kept, so a new form must list all works. Submitting the form commits you to send accepted work: do not double-book or sell it before the results. Each work must be marked for sale or not for sale; Manifest keeps 30% of sales, and price and status cannot be changed after the deadline. High-resolution images of accepted works are requested around 1 February 2027. Accepted work must arrive gallery-ready by 27 February 2027 (work that differs significantly from the entry images or is poorly presented is disqualified); artists pay shipping both ways, shipped work needs reusable packaging with return shipping prepaid, and gallery insurance does not cover damage in transit. Work not claimed within 30 days of the exhibition's end becomes Manifest's property. Awards are subject to revision based on funding.