Axis Gallery invites you to submit work to its 18th National Juried Exhibition, featuring juror Emily Zaiden, the director and curator of the Craft in America Center in Los Angeles. Accepted artworks will be displayed at our gallery in downtown Sacramento throughout August.

Eligibility & Media

• Open to all artists residing in the U.S.
• Contemporary original 2D and 3D work in any medium including painting, print, drawings, video, photography, or digital images.
• All work must be original (no reproductions), produced within the last two years and not previously shown at Axis Gallery.
• 2D work should not exceed a framed size of 48” in the longest dimension.
• 3D work is limited to 36” and not more than 60 lbs.
• Video work must either be a) 5 min or shorter (this work will be rotated on a 60” monitor installed in the gallery with other accepted work) or b) the artist must provide and install their own equipment. In this case, monitors should be no larger than 30” diagonal. If audio is integral to the work, please provide headphones for viewers.
• Work with complex installations will be included at the discretion of the juror and gallery

About the Space

Axis Gallery is an artist-run space in downtown Sacramento that has been in operation for over 30 years, with a national reputation for mounting contemporary and challenging exhibitions to Sacramento. The gallery is dedicated to the highest standards of excellence in the selection and presentation of works of art.

About the Juror

Emily Zaiden is director and curator of the Craft in America Center in Los Angeles, where she has organized over seventy contemporary art, craft, and design exhibitions for the Center and partner museum venues since 2010. Zaiden oversees public programs, a K-12 education initiative, and digital projects, including the development of an online Craft Video Dictionary for Craft in America. She publishes catalogs, essays, and articles for journals and books including Archives of American Art Journal, American Tapestry Alliance, Metalsmith, Ettore Sottsass: Architect and Designer and Consuelo Jimenez Underwood (2022). She has served as juror and lectured widely. Zaiden has an M.A. from the Winterthur Program in American Material Culture and has focused on craft processes, functional design, cultural art, and craft from a historical lens throughout her work. She was Research Associate to the Decorative Arts and Design department at LACMA and research editor for Architectural Digest prior to joining Craft in America.

Awards

Cash awards and a printed exhibition catalog.

Submission Requirements

Please submit JPEG files and prepare your images according to the CaFÉ guidelines.

Entry Fee

$40 for three images/videos, additional entries $10.00 each, limit 6.
Videos are limited to a total of 3

Timeline

Call for Entry Opens:
March 20, 2023

Entry Deadline:
June 7th, 2023, 11:59pm MDT

Notification of Selected Artists: 
Late June

Gallery-ready artwork received by Axis:
No later than July 30, 2023
Further details on work eligible for showing and how to prepare and deliver work to Axis will be provided upon acceptance.

Exhibition dates:
August 5–27, 2023
Second Saturday reception evening of August 12

Sales

• Sales are encouraged. The gallery will retain 40% commission on any work sold. Please confirm the price listed for your pieces when submitting via CaFÉ.
• Price of work should include commission to gallery.

Insurance & Liability

• Work will be insured while at Axis Gallery, but we cannot insure work while it is in transit.
• The gallery will not assume responsibility for work improperly framed or poorly packaged for shipping.
• Images of accepted work will be featured in an exhibition catalog and may be used for promotional purposes.

Shipping

Shipping instructions will be emailed following the jury process.

Unsold artworks will be returned after the close of the exhibition.

Questions

Email Axis Gallery: juried@axisgallery.org

If your work is selected

Here are some guidelines to make sure your work is ready to for display at Axis.

Preparing your work for exhibition

All 2D artwork chosen by the juror must be framed or mounted and ready to hang. Frames can be in any style or material, but if work is glazed, we prefer acrylic over glass. Matted but unframed work will not be displayed. Mounted work is welcome as long as it has some hanging method. One exception: no sawtooth hangers for any work. Instead, consider D-rings, cleats, or hanging. 
We can provide pedestals and plinths for 3D works, but please must include any specialized hardware required for a safe and stable display.
For the safety of your work and our gallery visitors, we cannot make exceptions for these display requirements.

Delivery and return of artwork

Accepted work needs to arrive at Axis by Sunday, July 30th, 2023. In-person drop-off is available during our gallery hours, Saturday and Sunday, noon – 5:00 pm. If an accepted submission reaches us after July 30th, it cannot be shown.
If you ship your work, please use sturdy, art-safe, reusable packaging and crating. Note that we will use the same packaging to return the piece to you, so both the work and the packaging must be able to survive the return trip intact. Please include return postage to make the return journey as smooth as possible.

Application Requirements

Submit files via CaFÉ and pay application fee

Eligibility Criteria

This is a national call for all media