Open Call for Emerging Artists: Summer 2027 Group Exhibition

About this call

Smack Mellon in Brooklyn invites emerging artists to submit work for a summer 2027 group exhibition guest-curated by Alma Chaouachi. The call starts from Vishal Rawlley's 2010 public installation Hauz-i-Shamsi, or "Say Hello to the Hauz", in a historic reservoir in Mehrauli, Delhi, and asks artists to consider site-specificity, infrastructures, systems and the conditions that let an artwork, especially a public one, become a site for collectivity. It looks for works that operate as studies, proposals or systems for thinking through forms and conditions for collectivity. Besides traditional visual artwork, all media and vernacular forms are considered, including technological systems, a set of instructions, an object, a photograph, a sculpture, a film, a drawing or a sound piece.

Who can apply

• Limited by country or region
• Medium: Installation / New Media / Photography / Sculpture / Video / Drawing / Mixed Media
• Entry fee: See official site
• Only for emerging artists living and working in the greater New York City area. Smack Mellon defines an emerging artist as one at the beginning of their public artistic career; artists may have some group shows, solo shows at lesser-known spaces, some press, and/or be recent BFA or MFA graduates. It does not consider artists emerging if they have had solo exhibitions at widely recognized galleries or institutions, already received consistent production opportunities, awards and press, or have 10 years or more of consistent public experience as an artist; age is not a factor. Artists cannot be enrolled in degree seeking programs at the same time as the exhibition. Submit up to 3 images of the work you wish to include and/or similar artworks (named Lastname_Firstname_01.jpg and so on), up to 2 video excerpts of 3 minutes maximum each (reviewed for no more than 3 minutes; time-based, moving-image or performance work only, no documentation of still works or exhibitions), an image list with title, date, medium, dimensions and up to 100 words of context each (PDF), an artist statement of 150 to 200 words (PDF) and a current CV (PDF). There are no funds to commission new artworks and no budget for shipping, transportation or on-site production. Artists arrange safe and timely transport of their work to and from the gallery, give Smack Mellon's art handling team instructions on safe handling, and are expected on site for installation and de-installation unless other arrangements are made with the curator and staff. Artists are notified in March 2027.