The New Bedford Art Museum presents The Shape of Who We Are: Exploring Identity, a juried exhibition of works investigating origins, extinction, tradition, and transformation—a reflection of who we are and who we may become. Works may be any medium. The Shape of Who We Are is the second annual call for art of the New Bedford Art Museum's annual juried exhibition series and is open to artists internationally. 

Is Identity something to protect and preserve, or does it push us to seek recognition beyond ourselves?

The Shape of Who We Are will explore how Identity is formed, expressed, and redefined—through race, gender, class, culture, and personal experience. This juried exhibition invites artists to examine themes of origin, extinction, change, and tradition, reflecting who we are now and who we may become.

The New Bedford Art Museum welcomes artists worldwide to submit work that engages with the many ways Identity shapes our lives

Juror: Marcelle Joseph, independent curator and collector

Marcelle Joseph is an American independent curator and collector based in the United Kingdom. Since 2011, Joseph has produced and curated over 50 exhibitions in the UK and the rest of Europe, featuring the work of over 300 international artists. Joseph holds an MA in Art History with Distinction from Birkbeck, University of London with a specialization in feminist art practice. Her curatorial work focuses on gender and the performative construction of identity. Joseph is the Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees of Mimosa House in London and an Ambassador of the Royal Academy Schools in London. She served as a trustee of Matt's Gallery in London from 2018-2022 and served on the jury of the 2017-2019 Max Mara Art Prize for Women, in collaboration with the Whitechapel Gallery. She also collects artworks by female-identifying artists under the collecting partnership, GIRLPOWER Collection, as well as more generally as part of the Marcelle Joseph Collection. In 2023, she co-founded the GIRLPOWER Residency in southwestern France, an annual artist residency for female-identifying and non-binary artists.

Exhibition Dates: September 11th, 2025 – December 7th, 2025

Jury Period: July 12 - 21, 2025

Notification date: July 22nd, 2025

Cash prizes: $1000 first place, $500 second place

Entry fee: $40 for 5 images 
 

Additional $10 per image after your fifth image. (max 20 images)

Application Requirements

Submission Requirements:

• All work must be original, designed, and created by the artist applicant
• Works may be 2D or 3D
• Submit your images and other materials online via CaFÉ. Only digital images uploaded to CaFÉ will be accepted and reviewed. Physical submissions delivered to Art Museum will not be reviewed.
• Work needs to arrive at the gallery ready to hang but framing is not required. Magnets, clips, and other methods can be used.
• There is no size restriction for this exhibition.
• The artist must provide return prepaid postage or pre-paid return shipping label for work and packaging or arrange for drop off and pick-up
• Submitted work must be available for the duration of the exhibition
• Submitted images must be the same as the works intended for the exhibition. Unfinished or “like” work will not be considered. Work that has been modified from the original image submitted will not be accepted. Do not include borders or backgrounds in images as this only reduces the size of your artwork for viewing by jurors.

Eligibility Criteria

All artists are encouraged to apply. New Bedford Art Museum values the arts as a universal language and recognizes it is crucial to be an organization that integrates equity, diversity, inclusion, and access into everything we do. 

All submissions should relate to the theme of Identity.