Call Description

ALL SUBMISSIONS MUST DIRECTLY RELATE TO THE CASA BONITA RESTAURANT IN LAKEWOOD, COLORADO!

Casa Bonita is the restaurant with an 85 foot tall pink stucco tower, featuring a 30-foot indoor waterfall, cliff divers, mariachi music, puppet shows, a haunted cave and much, much, more.

CASA BONITA MURDER MYSTERY

Who done it?!

NEXT Gallery is proud to host the 9th Annual Casa Bonita Art Show

Artists, poets, writers are asked to imagine a murder that takes place in Casa Bonita - where, when, who and how it happened.

Think Agatha Christie, Alfred Hitchcock, Quentin Tarantino, Cocaine Bear, Clue, Sherlock Holmes, Nancy Drew…

Wanted posters. Movie Posters. Police interviews. Newspaper headlines. Crime scenes. Lineups.

In addition to visual art, we are accepting literary art fitting the theme of Casa Bonita Murder Mystery – Who done it? Accepting only flash fiction and poetry of any form– flash fiction requirements: 1000 words max. Poetry requirements: 1 page max. Previously published work with permission, simultaneous submissions accepted. Absolutely NO AI/chaptGPT work should be submitted. NO AI/chatGPT work will be considered.

This is a national juried call. Cash prizes and Casa Bonita related swag will be awarded.

Childrens’ Art Show (13 and under)

“Someone Swiped my Sopapilla!”

Hide a sopapilla in your Casa Bonita picture!

What is your favorite part of Casa Bonita? The divers, Black Barts Cave, The Puppet Show, Sorsoro, The arcade…. Wherever you like.

Fee for children’s art show is $15 and includes a 12”x12” canvas. 

All deadlines and dates apply to the childrens' art show.

Canvases may be picked up at NEXT Gallery during business hours. (Fri 5-9 Sat & Sun Noon-5) All kid's art should be 12" x 12".

SELECTION   

Submissions will be juried by Casa Bonita Art Show founder, Dolla B, Casa Bonita Aficionado, Andrew Novick and Fashion Designer, Mona Lucero. 

DEADLINE

Entry deadline is midnight, (MST) January  30th, 2026. No late applications will be considered.

NOTIFICATION 

Artists will be notified by Friday, February 6, 2026.

DROP OFF 

Accepted artwork drop off  is Monday, February 9, 2026

Specific arrangements will be made with out-of-state artists.

EXHIBITION DATES

Friday, February 13th - Sunday, March 1, 2026.  Accepted work will be exhibited at NEXT Gallery in the 40 West Arts Hub in Lakewood, Colorado. 

FEES

The fee for the NEXT Gallery Casa Bonita Art show is $35 per entry. Entry fees must be paid through callforentry.org  Fees are non-refundable and do not guarantee acceptance into the show.

SALES

Sold artwork will incur a 30% commission. Prices quoted on the entry form may not be changed after acceptance. Buyer will be charged sales tax for Lakewood area and buyer will be charged any applicable shipping fees.

Purchased artwork must remain in the gallery until the exhibition closes.

Artists will be notified by email of any sales, and will receive payment for any sold works within one month of the close of the exhibition.

PICKUP

Unsold artwork must be picked up Sunday, March 1, 2026 unless prior arrangements have been made.

Mailed artwork will be returned the week of March 2, 2026.

Application Requirements

Submissions will only be accepted through Callforentry.org (www.callforentry.org).  Entries and credit card payment must be submitted on or before the posted deadline, with no entries accepted after this date.

SCULPTURES/3-D ART: 3-D artists should submit a video of their piece. 

Upload requirements for image files:

• File format: JPEG only
• File dimensions: No smaller than 1920 pixels on the longest side
• File resolution: 72 ppi/dpi (standard web resolution)
• File size: 5 MB maximum
• Image must be correctly oriented (vertical or horizontal)
• No digital enhancement is allowed

Further  information on the image requirements for submission and resources for editing the digital image size can be found on Callforentry.org’s Help section.

Eligibility Criteria

The 2024 Casa Bonita Art Show is open to all. 

Kids 13 and under can submit their Casa Bonita art to the kids show. The fee is $15 and includes a 12x12 canvas. Canvases may be picked up at NEXT Gallery during business hours.

All artwork must be original in concept and not copied from another artist's work. 

No AI Art will be accepted.

Only entries submitted online through callforentry.org will be considered.