Call Description

OPPORTUNITY: CALL FOR ENTRIES
Home is Where the Heart Is: 10/23/25 - 11/16/25
Opening Reception Sat 10/25/25

We’re on our way home. 
We’re on our way home.
We’re going home.

The Two of Us 
– The Beatles

Home is where you lay your head—whether you live with other people, alone, or with favorite furry friends. 

What is the stage set of your interior life? Surrounded by objects used in our daily life that reflect our interests, joys, and challenges and which also hold memories of the past, present, and a desired future—these objects make up the contents of a home and tell the story of a cherished life.

We invite you to submit work for consideration in our Drawing Rooms exhibit, "Home is Where the Heart Is," featuring works that relate to the home, which may include imagery of a house or contents within a house—from furniture and items kept in cabinets or on shelves and tables to the structure of the house—both indoor and outdoor—and even the architectural floor plans. We are looking for the parts—the elements that will make a whole—components that make up “the bones” and character of a home—think interiors, still life, room images, the neighborhood—views from the street, the door, a curtain, a tree, a plate of food, an open window, the couch, light and shadow, etc.  

The exhibition will feel like entering a poetic yet fragmented treasure hunt for the story of a lived life. But leave that to us to create. Let us build the elements of a home. You’ll supply the artwork, and we’ll design the setting. Then we’ll invite you over. 

**No people in the work, please. You are the people who will enter the home.** 

The Beatles
In keeping with our love of music, this show is dedicated to The Beatles, that English rock band from Liverpool formed in 1960 thought to be the most influential band in Western popular music and integral to the 1960s counterculture. John, Paul, George, and Ringo, the Fab Four, were a band for less than a decade—however, they forever changed music, and we are all the better for it. We love so many of their songs and dedicate “Home is Where the Heart Is” to their album Let It Be and specifically the song “Two of Us” which Paul wrote about travel adventures he had with his then-girlfriend, Linda Eastman, before they were married.

Drawing Rooms art gallery, in Jersey City on the Mana Campus, is a project of Victory Hall Inc., a 501c3 non-profit organization producing exhibitions, programs, and public art projects in the NJ/NY area with a national and international reach since 2001.

About the Curator

Anne Trauben is the Curator and Gallery Director at Drawing Rooms, a non-profit art center and gallery. Anne began working with Victory Hall Inc. in 2009, and was a founding artist of Drawing Rooms in 2012. Since 2013, she has organized, curated and created programming for year-round exhibitions of multiple artists at Drawing Rooms in the former convent on Grand St in Jersey City, and in 2018, at the new Drawing Rooms gallery in the Topps Building. In 2020, during the pandemic, she organized, curated and created programming for Prayers for the Pandemic, a 4 part Drawing Rooms national public art exhibition, and solo / two-person exhibitions at Dvora Gallery. In 2022, after the pandemic, Drawing Rooms reopened in a newly expanded space in the Topps Building where she has since been organizing, curating and creating programming for gallery exhibitions and public art programs. Anne is the Founder, Publisher and Editor of Nieuw Art Blog since 2017.

Learn more about the call below.

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EVENTS
*Opening Reception Sat 10/25/25
*Meet The Artists: 11/2/25 and 11/9/25, 3-5p, 11/16/25 4-6p 

CURATION
The curator will choose one or more of each artist’s works and place them in context together to create visual, formal, and conceptual connections, amplifying themes and deepening ways of understanding the works.

ACCEPTABLE WORKS 

• 2-dimensional works that are unframed, framed, or mounted on cradled panel. 3-dimensional works and video. Media: painting or drawing on paper, canvas, or other media; collage or textiles, photography, prints, video. Works must be original. No AI or reproductions of original works.
• All works must be For Sale.
• Size: Works that are dropped-off at Drawing Rooms, Jersey City can be any size.  Shipped 2D works must be no larger than 18 x 24 inches, be unframed, and must meet Shipping Requirements below.
• Please make sure any unframed paper works are durable enough to be exhibited with clips. We will not accept ripped, torn, wrinkled, or otherwise damaged or overly fragile paper.

HANGING PREPARATION
2D Works can be unframed, framed, or mounted on a cradled panel. 

Please use simple frames in white, black, or wood tones, no floating acrylic frames. All works must be ready-to-hang. Works can be hung from picture wire (not fishing line), D-rings, saw-tooth hangers, or the top of the frame or cradled panel. Please self-assess if your frame is strong enough for this. Cleats or any hanging systems that require the use of screws in the wall are not acceptable. 

Works that present hanging problems may not be included in the exhibit. 

SALE OF ARTWORK
All works in the exhibit must be for sale with 60% to artists and 40% to Drawing Rooms. 

SUBMISSIONS DUE: 9/19/25
ARTIST NOTIFICATION: 9/24/25

DROP OFF 
*Fri 10/10//25 4-7p, Sat, 10/11/25, 4:30 - 7:30p
Accepted work may be delivered by yourself or someone you assign. Our entrance is on Newark Avenue. Drivers: turn into Mana/Topps building driveway. Free parking lot.

MAIL-IN
Must ARRIVE by Saturday, 10/11/25

SHIPPING REQUIREMENTS
We prefer works to be dropped off at Drawing Rooms. If you live at a distance or live locally and have an extenuating issue, you may ship to our location below. 

Please follow these instructions. 

2D: ONLY unframed 18” x 24” or less, works on paper/panel may be mailed in and must fit in a padded or cardboard shipping envelope, (stay flat photo envelope / rigid mailer) and you may include a piece of cardboard inside the envelope if you choose, or a tube, and you MUST include a return label or postage. NO BOXES, please. Send to the location listed below.

3D: Please pack well in a box 30" x 50" x 50" or less. Work not packed well may be rejected. (Drop-off preferred)

LOCATION (near Journal Sq PATH)  
Drawing Rooms
926 Newark Ave. T101
Jersey City NJ, 07306

PICKUP
*Sun, 11/16/25 6-8p, Mon, 11/17/25 4-7p

MAIL BACK
*Starts Tues, 11/18/25

Application Requirements

JPGS

• You may submit up to 3 images of your work, unframed.
• Each jpg must measure at least 1200 pixels on the shorter dimension.

FAQ
What resolution and size should my images be? 
Any resolution (pixels per inch) is fine. We only care about the overall dimensions (how many pixels height by pixels wide). This is called pixel dimensions on the Image Size function of Photoshop. Minimum size 1,200 pixels on short dimension. Please crop any background out of your 2D images. 

Is the work insured?
All works are insured when they are in our possession. 

How are sales handled?
Commissions from any sales will be paid to the artist within 30 days of our receiving the payment, via check, PayPal or cash depending on the situation.

Why did my work not get chosen?
There are many factors which influence final selections and ultimately not all submissions can be included. We hope all the artists submitting work understand this and continue to respond to future calls.

Eligibility Criteria

• Artists must be over the age of 18.