Call Description

Where the Spirit Meets the Bone: Grief and Healing
Exhibition Dates: October 25 – December 21, 2025
Diane Williams, Juror

Grief and loss are universal human experiences, causing complex emotions, thoughts, and feelings that are difficult to express verbally. The various mediums and styles of art provide a vehicle for individuals to describe and communicate their feelings in a tangible way that can be shared with others. Arts Benicia, a non-profit art center in Benicia, CA, invites artists to submit artwork for Where the Spirit Meets the Bone: Grief and Healing, a juried exhibition that seeks to showcase artists’ representations of the concepts and process of grief, loss, and healing. 

All 2D and 3D media accepted, and video files. 2D work may not exceed 36” in width or 72” in height, including the frame. 3D work may not exceed a 36” x 36” footprint.

* Used with permission from Lucinda Williams in acknowledgment of her music Down Where the Spirit Meets the Bone (inspired by Millar Williams’ poem Compassion).

Deadline for Entries:  August 1, 2025 (10:59 pm Pacific Time)

Jurying of entries: August 4-16, 2025
Notification to artists: August 20, 2025
Hand Delivery of artwork: October 10-11, 2025, 1-4 pm
Delivery of shipped artwork: October 7-10, 2025 (no later than October 10)
Members and Exhibition Artists Preview: Thursday, October 23, 2025, 6 - 7 pm
Opening Public Reception: Saturday, October 25, 2025, 4 - 6 pm
Close of exhibition: Sunday, December 21, 2025
In Person Pick-up of Artwork: December 22, 2025 1 - 4 pm (or by appt)
Return Shipped Artwork: begins December 22, 2025

Juror

Diane Williams is an American artist whose paintings have been widely exhibited in the United States. Having shifted her artistic focus towards tranquility, her compositions emphasize the potential of nature and the human spirit. Williams' paintings reflect a meditative calm with "an assurance of resiliency and resolve to heal the soul". 

She uses intuitive color, bold brushwork and monumental scale as a vehicle for the voice of the strong feminine to weave nature’s story across time.

Multiple layers chronicle what is concrete and what is illusive; erasures remind us that nothing is permanent, yet everything leaves an impression. The calm, vast space of the canvas allows a story to be told through generations.

​Her paintings invite the viewer to enter uncharted territory; a world where women and elders are revered as holders of our collective intuitive lineage and where listening to one's intuition is the highest form of prayer.

She has a studio in Crockett, CA.

GALLERY LOCATION
1 Commandant's Lane, Benicia, CA 94510

GALLERY HOURS
Thursday - Sunday, 1:00 to 5:00 pm, during exhibitions. The gallery is closed between exhibitions.

CONTACTING ARTS BENICIA
Staff often works remotely. The best way to reach staff is via email or leave a phone message: Jean@artsbenicia.org; 707-747-0131.

ABOUT ARTS BENICIA
Arts Benicia is a community-based non-profit organization offering diverse and relevant exhibitions in its gallery and at other venues in Benicia, and providing engaging public programs, creative workshops for adults, and inspiring youth arts educational programming. Located in the Commanding Officer’s Quarters, an 1865 mansion in the historic Benicia Arsenal, Arts Benicia has been a vital part of the Bay Area regional art scene for over 37 years, supporting artistic development and enriching the larger community.

POLICIES
Arts Benicia has a history of selling artworks at every exhibition. Upon sale, a check and purchaser information will be mailed to the artist within 30 days after exhibition closure, to the address provided in the Exhibition and Consignment Agreement. Artists receive 60% on the sale of their work. Arts Benicia, a non-profit organization, receives 40%. Arts Benicia also bears all the sales transaction fees and collects and reports sales tax on artwork sales.

Entry fees are not refundable. Only use the member entry price if you are a current member, otherwise your entry will not be juried.

Exceptions for late delivery of artwork cannot be made.

RELEASES AND WARRANTIES
Artists agree to release Arts Benicia for damages in shipping or delivery. Artworks are insured while they are at the gallery. Our gallery includes a security alarm system and a security camera system.

Application Requirements

MEDIA
All 2D and 3D media accepted, video files. Any digital files must be in a common format and if the work is accepted the artist must provide the video player.

SIZE LIMITATIONS
2D work may not exceed 36” in width or 72” in height, including the frame. 3D work may not exceed a 36” x 36” footprint. There is a 35-pound weight limit for any hanging work. Floor weight for 3D work must not exceed 300 lbs. Please contact the staff with any special requirements for installation.

ENTRY PROCESS
Artists may submit one application. One application allows you to submit up to 6 artworks with appropriate payment of entry fees.

IMAGES TO SUBMIT
Up to 6 entries (images or files) may be uploaded...and a maximum of 6 artworks may be submitted. For optimal juror viewing, submit the highest quality images. For each image file, 1 MB is the minimum size; maximum file size for each still image is 5 MB. If your photo software specifies quality levels instead of pixels (i.e., you are submitting an image directly from a cell phone), choose "actual size" or “very high quality.”

Do not include your name in any of your file titles. Use the artwork title to name the files.

For questions on using café to apply for this call and prepare your images, etc. visit https://www.callforentry.org/artist-help-cafe/ 

CONCEPT STATEMENT, OPTIONAL
A brief explanation describing your concept to the juror may be submitted during the application process. This statement will be seen by the juror. Omit your name from this statement. This is not your artist statement which can be submitted upon invitation to the exhibition.

FEES AND PAYMENT

Entry fee is $45 (or $35 for current Arts Benicia members; selected at checkout) for one artwork; an additional $5 fee is required for any additional entries, up to a maximum of 6. For example, to submit 5 entries, a non-member artist will pay $45 for the first entry, plus an additional $20 ($5 each for four additional), for a total of $65. Fee may be paid through CaFE using a credit card or Paypal.

Entry fees are not refundable for any reason, in whole or in part. Arts Benicia members receive a discount on the entry fee, by selecting member at checkout. To review other benefits of becoming an Arts Benicia member, including NARM benefits, or to join online before submitting your entry, visit artsbenicia.org.

NOTIFICATION OF JURY RESULTS
The deadline is August 1, 2025, at 10:59 PM, PDT. An email will be sent via CaFE to all submitting artists by August 20 with jury results. Additionally, the results will be available in CaFE artist accounts after August 20. Arts Benicia will produce and distribute promotional materials in digital formats and make them available to exhibiting artists at no cost. 

It is the responsibility of all submitting artists to check for emails, possibly in your SPAM or Promotions files, for notification. If you do not receive notification about either acceptance or non-acceptance of your submissions by August 20 contact Arts Benicia via email at info@artsbenicia.org.

CONTRACT
All artists with accepted artwork must provide a signed exhibition contract to participate.

DELIVERY AND SHIPPING DETAILS
Artists must be able to deliver or pick up your work, or have someone else do it for you, on the designated dates. See schedule above. Exceptions for late delivery cannot be made. Late pickups will be charged fees for storage and retrieval of the artwork. Except in rare situations, we cannot store packing materials of hand-delivered work; take packing materials with you and bring them back when you pick up your work at the end of the exhibition. Artists should use UPS or FedEx to ship work to the addresses indicated in the contract. Artists shipping work to Arts Benicia must purchase a return shipping label. This is most easily accomplished at the time you purchase your outgoing shipping. Enclose the pre-paid label inside your package or crate or email it to jean@artsbenicia.org. We cannot access individual shipping accounts.

PREPARATION
All artwork must be clean, fully dry, and in good repair. Arts Benicia reserves the right to decline any artwork that does not meet the preparation standards or is otherwise unsuitable for exhibition. Examine your artwork for cleanliness under good lighting.

Artworks must have secure identification on the back or bottom of the work, with the Artist’s name and the title. If artworks require special installation, the Artist must include written instructions. 

Wall works must be wired. Works cannot hang from sawtooth hangers. Stretched canvas must not have exposed staples. Giclées are not accepted. Due to nature of the hanging system in the Commanding Officer’s Quarters, there are weight limitations (see SIZE LIMITATIONS above) and a cleat system is not permitted.  If your artwork requires an exception with regard to hanging mechanisms, please contact celeste@artsbenicia.org before submission to discuss the options. For 2-D work, Arts Benicia reserves the right to change the position of your hanging wire to accommodate the COQ hanging system.

ART SALES
Artwork must be available and for sale. Arts Benicia will retain 40% of art sales during this exhibition and mail a check to the Artist at the postal address the Artist provides above, in the amount equal to 60% of the sales price declared by the Artist in this contract or CaFE application (and either confirmed or amended on the Inventory Form, after selection to the exhibition), within 30 days of the exhibition closing date. The Artist agrees Arts Benicia is not responsible for any commission, division of sales, or financial obligation between the Artist and any other gallery, organization, or person. Arts Benicia handles all art sales, including sales tax.

ARTIST STATEMENT
Selected artists juried into the exhibition will be asked to submit their bio, artist statement, and resume, to be made available within the gallery. These materials are not required until after artist selection into the exhibition.

Eligibility Criteria

National and international artists invited to apply.