Call Description

PEACE TALKS
Exploring dialogue, reconciliation, and the pursuit of peace through diverse artistic lenses. 

A national call in all mediums that invites artists and viewers alike to reflect on the many dimensions of peace — personal, political, spiritual, and environmental. The title is both literal and metaphorical. Peace Talks references the formal negotiations between nations or opposing forces, but it also evokes quiet conversations, collective or individual protest, internal reckonings, and the soft language of reconciliation. the exhibit centers on the idea of dialogue: between cultures, between generations, and within the self.

About Metro Art Studios:

Metro Art Studios is a non-profit arts organization located in the South End of Bridgeport, CT. The three-story renovated corset factory houses 38 loft studios for professional musicians and visual artists, as well as Crown Gallery, a large for-profit gallery space on the ground floor. Crown Gallery hosts 6-7 exhibitions a year, a mix of juried and invitational curated shows. Metro supports local, regional, and national artists with professional development workshops and panels, and provides inclusive cultural experiences and diverse opportunities to the Greater Bridgeport area and beyond. 

About the Juror:

EDUARDO ANDRES ALFONSO is Associate Curator of the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum in Ridgefield, CT. Before this, he served as Associate-Curator-at-Large at The Shed in New York until early 2023, where he worked on The Yanomami Struggle and the Open Call 2023 Visual Arts Group Show, for which he coordinated the production of new works by eleven artists for the exhibition. Alfonso received a Masters in Curatorial Studies at Bard College’s Center for Curatorial Studies. His curatorial interests involve situating exhibition histories within larger social, economic, and political contexts. Past curated exhibitions include Frame (Traced) (2022), FIGURE DOOR PASSAGE (2022) and Ñande Róga (2021) at Bard College. Alfonso was Curator-in-Residence at EMPAC in Troy, NY, where he co-curated Conspiracy Influencer (2022), and a curatorial fellow at the Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts at Harvard University (2021). Alfonso was an adjunct lecturer at The Spitzer School of Architecture at City College (2018-20) and a visiting assistant tutor at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts School of Architecture (2015).

Calendar:

Entries Due: July 3

Notification: July 14

Artwork Drop Off or Arrive By: July 26

Dates of Show: August 3 to September 20

Reception: Sunday, August 3, 1 - 3 PM

Delivery of Accepted Work: Shipped work must arrive at Metro Art Studios no later than July 26, 2025. Artists are responsible for paying shipping costs, including any insurance, with the carrier of their choice to and from Metro Art Studios. Reusable packing materials will be retained by Metro Art Studios for return shipping. Metro Art Studios will not be responsible for damage due to incorrect packing materials or insufficient container when returning artwork as it was originally shipped. Artists must provide a pre-paid shipping label for return of artwork.

Drop off of Accepted Work: For local artists, accepted works can be dropped off in person at Metro Art Studio on July 26, 2025 from 1-4 pm, unless other arrangements are made in advance in writing.

Sales:

A commission of 40% will be retained by Metro Art Studios on all sales. A sale or retail price must be indicated for all work. Artists will be paid for works sold within 30 days after the closing date of the exhibition and the collection of the sales proceeds.

Questions:

Please contact us with any questions. Jane Davila, Executive Director, Metro Art Studios & Crown Gallery, jane@metroartstudios.org 

Application Requirements

Entry Requirements:

Artists must enter online at callforentry.org. One $35 entry fee covers up to three entries. One image must be submitted for each entry. Entry fees are non-refundable. Metro Art Studios reserves the right to refuse a work which has been significantly misrepresented by its entry.

Metro Art Studios is committed to providing opportunity to fine artists, while being highly aware that entry fees can be a financial barriers to entering exhibits. Therefore, our call for entry includes a small number of entries available at no cost. If you would like to be considered for a no cost entry, please send us an email with your request and we will do our best to honor it. No cost entries are paid for by an anonymous donor and are based on financial need. Contact Jane Davila, Executive Director, at jane@metroartstudios.org for more information.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility:

All artists aged 18 years and older may apply. Open to work in any medium except video and sound. We do not have the capability at this time to include these mediums. Entries must be original, entirely the work of the entrant, and made without the supervision of an instructor. Copies of existing artworks or those based on copyrighted artworks by others are not eligible. 

There is no maximum or minimum size for submitted work, although it must fit through a standard doorway. 20” x 20” x 36” pedestals are available. If selected, work must arrive ready for hanging or display. Framed works will only be accepted with plexiglass - absolutely no glass. It is highly encouraged that work be for sale. 

Early pick up of accepted artwork is not permitted. Work purchased during the exhibit must remain on exhibit until the end of the show. Metro Art Studios reserves the right to refuse to hang or display any accepted work with insufficient hanging hardware, at its discretion.