Heartland Horizons: A Midwestern Art Competition
Be curated for a commercial client and project! Seeking art inspired by and artists with ties to the Midwest.
Chris Plummer, "Untitled (a borrowed connection..." (2020)
Deadline for entries: November 30, 2024
The Midwest, a cultural tapestry woven from the heartland's rich landscapes and the vibrant souls who inhabit it, serves as an endless wellspring of inspiration for artists. Comprising states such as Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Missouri, here we celebrate artistry rooted in these Midwestern states that echo the beauty of rolling fields and the contrasting urban grit.
For this Open Call, we encourage artists with ties to these states and subjects to submit their work for consideration to be curated for commercial projects based in the Midwest.
We are currently looking for well-executed, high resolution works in the following styles of art:
- Landscape
- Abstract
- Non-Figurative works
- Botanicals
- Pop Art
- Photorealism
- Expressionism
- Minimalism
- Contemporary
THIS OPEN CALL IS FOR PRINTABLE and ORIGINAL ARTWORK.
Entry Inspiration
Damon Kowarsky, "Chicago I" (2009)
Leslie B Abraham, "Brayz" (2024)
Judy Hodge, "Autumn. Riverside Park, Ohio" (2024)
Awards & Prizes
Selected artists and their works will be distinguished for optimal exposure to commercial clients:
- Exclusive opportunities to be featured in client proposals for large scale commercial projects
- Global publishing and significant promotional initiatives targeting commercial buyers
- An ATP.art badge for excellence on your work as one of the highest quality available on Artrepreneur
- An ATP.art badge for excellence on your profile indicating that you have works that are Commercial Ready
- Inclusion in the Commercial Ready section of our artwork search on Artrepreneur
Application Instructions
Application Rules
Judging Criteria
Rules & Guidelines
- Submit up to 10 works
- You can apply more than once to this Open Call
GENERAL REQUIREMENTS:
- Artist profiles will be reviewed and special consideration will be given to profiles that are filled out and complete.
- Artists of all categories can apply.
- Applicants must be 18 years or older.
- Submissions must be created by the applicant.
- It is highly encouraged to provide a description of your work (including materials & tools used) along with your overall artist statement to your profile.
WHAT WILL NOT WORK:
- Using Phone Cameras: While phone cameras have come a long way, they still may not provide the necessary resolution for large-scale prints. It's essential to use a professional-grade camera to capture your artwork.
- Poor Lighting: Proper lighting when capturing your artwork is crucial. Bad lighting can result in shadows, glare, or color distortions, all of which affect the true representation of your piece. Upscaling Low-Res Images: Simply enlarging a low-resolution image doesn't maintain quality. This can introduce pixelation or a blurred appearance.
- Over-Editing & Artifacts: Excessive editing, especially over-sharpening, can introduce artifacts or other visual disruptions, undermining the artwork's true essence.
- Blurriness: Clear, sharp files are vital. Blurry images, irrespective of their resolution, don't translate well when printed.
Recommendation: If your current captures of artwork don't meet these standards, invest in a high-resolution camera or engage with a professional photographer or reproduction studio. This ensures your art is documented in the finest detail, without compromises to quality.
Remember: By ensuring the clarity, color accuracy, and overall quality of your submissions, we aim to present artworks that stand as a testament to your talent and vision. Your dedication to quality will only enhance your reputation and the potential of your art in the commercial space.
For more helpful tips, please go to Help Center on Artrepreneur.com.
IMPORTANT! Please read the Image Upload Guidelines before submitting. Work that does not adhere to these Guidelines may be disqualified.
You must be an Artrepreneur member to apply for this open call. If you are not currently a member, you will be directed to join after hitting the Apply button. Joining is free!
YOU RETAIN THE COPYRIGHT in your submitted works and ONLY provide us with the right to show your work on Artrepreneur and promote your work on social media.
Jurors
Amelia H CarleyAmelia Carley’s art explores the interplay between memories and dreams through imagined landscapes. Influenced by her upbringing in the American Southwest, these pieces are influenced by real geological formations in Western deserts, yet they represent fictional realms. They evoke both unique desert structures and a sense of uncharted terrain.
Carley’s most recent works focus on an imaginary place crafted from glass debris collected at southeast Brooklyn’s Glass Bottle Beach on Dead Horse Bay. This beach holds glass fragments dating back over a century, from bottles to sea glass. She meticulously creates and photographs small models, digitally processing them to create a surreal world. She draws from traditional landscape painting, incorporating references to its constructed nature, achieved by alluding to photographic effects like lens flare and blur. These images, with overlapping layers depicting various times and depths, forge passages between different views of the landscape, echoing the uncertain nature of dreams and memories. These works survey this imaginary realm, exploring a human-altered landscape through vibrant and unexpected forms.
As we grapple with our emerging anthropogenic reality, Carley questions the authenticity of experiences in nature. Using intense, saturated colors, often associated with harm, to allude to our changing planet. Reflecting on mediated natural experiences, these works explore the overlap of ‘natural’ and ‘artificial’ in a fabricated landscape.
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This Open Call has been closed!