Call Description

JURIED SHOW: The Value of Nature

The Value of Nature

October 9 - November 30, 2025 

Description of Exhibition

Nature works constantly—pollinators fertilize crops, wetlands filter and divert water, fungi and microbes enrich soil—all without cost, contract, or recognition. These unpaid systems quietly sustain our food supply, economy, and communities. Yet the ways we assign value are inconsistent and often viewed through an anthropocentric lens. What do we choose to protect, and what do we allow to disappear? At a time when environmental protection is being rolled back and critical agencies face funding cuts, the stakes are especially high. How do we make visible the often-invisible work of the natural world? 

This exhibition invites artists to reflect on what we protect, what we overlook, and how we define nature’s worth. Submissions might explore themes of interdependence, ecological labor, preservation, or personal relationships to land, species, or place. We invite a wide range of perspectives on what it means to value nature. 

Work can be 2-D or 3-D, representational or abstract. 3-D work must fit on a 15” x 15” pedestal or be freestanding or suspended.

About the Juror

Alondra M Garza is an artist, curator, and gallerist. She was born on the Mexican side of the TexMex RGV borderlands and obtained dual citizenship. Garza received an MFA at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, a BFA at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, and attended master classes at the New York Academy of Art.

Her interdisciplinary artwork has been exhibited internationally across the U.S., Mexico, and Italy. Including solo exhibitions at Minneapolis College of Art and Design (MN), Modus Locus (MN), Pink Slip Gallery (MN), two-person shows at MCAD (MN), Art in Motion (MN), and group exhibitions at A.I.R Gallery, (N.Y.C), Artsy.net with Emerge Gallery (NY), The Minneapolis Institute of Art (MN), The Brownsville Museum of Fine Arts (TX), Museo Miguél Alemán (MEX), and YAG Garage Galeria (ITL), among others. She has obtained awards, grants, and fellowships from Forecast Public Art, the University of Minnesota, the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, the New York Academy of Art, and the Emerging Curators Institute. Her work has been published in the book Latin Art in Minnesota, Miami Art Week Magazine, and Brown University's Somos Magazine. She has also attended art residencies around the U.S., including at the Weisman Art Museum, and is a 2024-2025 studio resident at Second Shift Studio Space of Saint Paul.

Garza is the founder of SEMILLAS, https://semillasgaleria.com/ a non-conventional Latine gallery awarded the 2022 Visual Arts Fund grant through the Warhol Foundation. She is both the Specialist of Arts and Culture and Curator of Art Gallery at Comunidades Latinas Unidas En Servicio, a 2024 grantee of the National Endowment for The Arts. She is also part of the Fresh Eye Gallery Advisory Board.

Calendar of Events

Application Deadline: August 10 by 11:59 pm

Notification by Email: September 9

Delivery by Shipment or Drop-Off: September 22 - 28 from 9 am - 5 pm

Exhibit Opens: October 9

Opening Reception: October 9 from 6 - 8 pm

Exhibit Closes: November 30

Return of Artwork: Dec 1 – 15 for artist pick up or week of Dec 15 for return shipping

Submission Process

Application Deadline: August 10 by 11:59 pm

You must set up an account with CaFÉ in order to submit your entry. CaFÉ will guide you through application process.                     

Please be prepared to submit the following materials:

• 1-3 individual work samples permitted. If more than 3 are submitted, we will only jury the first 3 works.
• You can submit up to 5 images to allow for different views or details if needed. Not required.
• Image info for each image
• Artist statement
• Short resume or bio saved as PDF. Include name on document.

Accepted Work

Artists are responsible for all shipping fees and insurance of artwork during exhibition. Work must be ready to hang. Framed and wired. Gallery reserves the right to exclude work not ready to hang. Juror reserves the right to exclude accepted work that does not represent the digital file. Silverwood retains a 30% commission on work sold in gallery.

About Silverwood Park and Silverwood Park Gallery

Silverwood Park, a Three Rivers Park District facility located in St Anthony, MN, is devoted to the integration of artistic creation and nature-based experiences. We are a unique park in the Twin Cities area, offering picture-perfect views of Silver Lake and a tranquil oak forest. Nature-inspired artwork is exhibited in our gallery and performances are scheduled in our multi-use amphitheater. Art classes are offered throughout the year.

The Silverwood Park Gallery is 1300 square feet and is located in the main visitor’s center that also has a café, gift shop, and large event hall. Architectural details in the gallery include polished concrete floors, site-specific salvaged oak, and intimate fireplace seating. Modular display panels are custom designed and equipped with a contemporary Walker hanging system.

Silverwood Park is located at 2500 County Road E, Saint Anthony, MN 55421.

Questions?

If you have questions or concerns, please call Eileen Cohen at 763-694-2091 or email eileen.cohen@threeriversparks.org.

Application Requirements

• 1-3 individual work samples permitted. If more than 3 are submitted, we will only jury the first 3 works.
• You can submit up to 5 images to allow for different views or details if needed. Not required.
• Image info for each image
• Artist statement
• Short resume or bio saved as PDF. Include name on document.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility: Silverwood Park invites artists who are at least 18 years old to submit work to be considered for a juried exhibition The Value of Nature.