Call Description

Mercury 20 Gallery is seeking art that interprets the theme: Mapping Time. 

This exhibition investigates how time is experienced, marked, and recorded—through physical landscapes, shifting rhythms, memory, and material traces. Selected works will explore layered narratives of change, continuity, and transformation.

Artists are encouraged to interpret this theme broadly and in their own distinctive ways, using a variety of artistic mediums including painting, sculpture, collage, photography, and mixed media.

About the Juror:

Minoosh Zomorodinia is an Iranian-born interdisciplinary artist, educator, and curator based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Through psychogeography and daily rituals, her work documents time and movement across landscapes to challenge colonial histories, redefine borders, and highlight ecological interconnectedness. She’s received awards and residencies from YBCA 100, the Warhol Foundation, Headlands Center for the Arts, and Recology. Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally and featured in the Chronicle, Hyperallergic, and KQED.

PRIZE - ONE artist in any medium will be selected for a solo exhibition in The Back Room Gallery at Mercury 20 Gallery in 2026

We look forward to receiving your thought-provoking interpretations of the Mapping Time theme.

Application Requirements

Submission Format: Please provide high-quality images of your artwork in JPEG format. Please be sure to crop the image to the artwork only. No background or borders, unless it is a 3d artwork

The file name must be titled in this order: LastName-FirstName-Title-Dimensions-Medium-Year

Artist Statement: Along with your artwork, include an artist statement describing how your work relates to the theme of Mapping Time

Medium: We accept all 2D & 3D mediums. No video or performance. 

Size - 60 inch limit in any direction.

Weight - 25lb maximum

Fee - $35 for up to 3 works of art. With the option to add up to 2 more artworks at $10 each. 

3 artworks = $35

4 artworks = $45

5 artworks = $55

Instructions for accepted entries:

Drop off Date: Sunday January 4, 2026, 12 - 3pm

- Exhibition Dates: January 9, 2026 - February 7, 2026 (Gallery Hours are Fridays, Saturdays 12 - 5 & by appointment)

- Opening Reception: January 10, 2026, 3-5pm

- Pick up Date: Saturday February 7, 5 - 7pm OR Sunday February 8, 9am - 12pm 

Please note that selected artists will be responsible for hand delivering and picking up their artwork. No artwork can be shipped or stored. Artists must ensure that their artwork is prepared for display. 

Artwork: All art must be dry upon delivery to the gallery and be ready to install. The backs of work to be hung must be wired, with wire ends covered. We realize certain pieces may need to be hung differently from these specifications, i.e. quilts, fiber arts. If special installation instructions are required, please email us clear instructions and related imagery to mappingtimecallforart@gmail.com

All submissions must be original artworks and completed within the last 3 years. 

The gallery holds a 50% commission on sales of artwork. Please price your work accordingly
 

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility: This call is open to artists, both emerging and established, above the age of 18 who are able to hand deliver and pick up their work. We welcome artists of all backgrounds and experience levels to submit to this opportunity.