Monmouth Museum

Prospectus/Guidelines
New Jersey Emerging Artists Series
2019 - 2020
Call For Entries  
OPENS: 2/1/19

DEADLINE to SUBMIT: Tuesday, April 16, 2019 by Midnight EST (No Exceptions) 

Announcement of Accepted Artists:  Thursday, May 16, 2019 by Midnight EST
Artists selected for the NJ Emerging Artists Series 2019 - 2020 will be contacted directly via email by the end of the day on Thursday, May 16, 2019. Artists declined will also be notified via email by the end of the day on Thursday, May 16, 2019.

MUSEUM STATEMENT:
The Monmouth Museum is committed to providing opportunities for New Jersey artists. We understand that the competition to be recognized in the neighboring major urban cities of New York and Philadelphia can be overwhelming to artists just entering the exhibition arena. The New Jersey Emerging Artists Series consists of six annual monthly solo exhibitions to showcase the new work of NJ artists who have not previously held one-person exhibitions in our State. Selected artists are guided through the exhibition process, provided promotional materials and are required to give an artist talk during their exhibition to further increase their visibility. Artwork will be considered in all media, but must be wall-mountable. Selected artists will be chosen from digital images submitted online via Submittable ONLY. The images must be representative of the artwork which will be exhibited if you are selected and must have been produced within the last five years. The Museum reserves the right to reject work delivered at the time of the exhibition that does not represent the artist’s accepted work. Selected artwork must be wired, framed (if media applicable) and ready to hang (no saw-tooth hangers). The exhibitions are held in our Nilson Gallery. 

ELIGIBILITY:
This exhibition opportunity is open to any artist who is a full-time resident of New Jersey, who is 18 years of age or older, and has not previously held a one-person exhibition in this State. This includes solo exhibitions in any public venue where work was exhibited for a period of over three weeks, publicized in the media, and accompanied by an opening reception. If selected, proof of New Jersey residency is required.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES:

• Artists are required to submit digital images and documents by the Tuesday, April 16, 2019 deadline online via the Submittable website ONLY. 
• All digital images must represent original creations by the artist that have been completed since July 1, 2014.
• ABSOLUTELY NO  mailing or emailing of submissions. All submissions must be made online by the deadline through the Submittable website only.
• With your submission you have agreed to the guidelines of this prospectus
• Sculpture that requires pedestals and is not wall-mountable is ineligible to be submitted as the Nilson Gallery is often used for meetings and events.
• Full gallery installations that incorporate the center of the floor are not eligible as the Nilson Gallery is often used for meetings and events.
• Number of images required: 10 images of different artworks per portfolio submission. 
• Submission Fee: $15 (per portfolio of 10 artworks) NO REFUNDS
• All work submitted must original and of the artist's own creation. 
• Reproductions of original works in the form of photocopies or commercial prints will not be accepted as show substitutes for original pieces.
• Any work derived from another source must identify and credit the source to avoid copyright infringement.

SUBMISSIONS MUST INCLUDE:

• Contact Information (Name, Address, Phone and Email)
• Payment
• Artist Statement Summary (Word Limit: 250) 
• Artist Statement: All artists MUST include a statement, written in the first person (no more than 1 page) on the body of work submitted. Explain WHY & HOW you create your art (your choice of media, subject matter, technique, inspirations, concepts and vision). Please use proper spelling, grammar, and capitalization or you may be asked to rewrite/submit your statement.
• Artwork List (This List must include a unique Title of each artwork, Media, Size (HxW), Year completed and Price and be in the same consecutive order of your 10 artwork image submissions.) 
• 10 Images of different Artwork/s (300 dpi/ppi* Jpeg is the preferred format and you must re-name your image files to correspond with your Artwork List before uploading into your submission)
• Images MUST be labeled with consecutive numbers from 1 - 10 and saved in the following format:
  1_Last name_ First initial_ Title_Media_Year_Price
  2_Last name_ First initial_Title_Media_Year_Price  
• IMPORTANT : DO NOT title your artworks in a repetitive fashion for this submission. Example: Untitled 1, Untitled 2, etc. is unacceptable. Each image submitted MUST have its own “unique” title. 

Jurors: The Monmouth Museum Exhibition Committee will jury all submissions. The Committee consists of museum administrators, college art professors, professional visual artists, curators, designers, art directors, gallery owners and art appraisers. Submissions will be judged on creativity, originality, technique/skill, presentation (how effectively digital submission guidelines are met) and overall quality.


*Answers to Frequently Asked Questions:
 

• The image specifications stated above are preferred due to the PR and printing needs of the Museum. Images of different resolutions and formats can still be submitted, for example 72 dpi/ppi and 92 dpi/ppi or PNG and TIFF files, etc. can be submitted and will not exclude your work from consideration. 
• There is no Height or Width requirements on images submitted to the Museum. If you upload an image that is too large, which rarely happens, Submittable will give you a notification. Just make sure images can be visible on a standard computer screen or tablet.  
• If you are selected for the Series you may be asked for a 300 dpi/ppi JPEG image at a later date.
• Please visit the internet for an abundance of various sources and YouTube tutorials on how to re-size your image if needed
• IPhone and Smart Phone photographs are usually comparable with our requested format.
• Your submitted portfolio should be cohesive in artistic vision and media BUT not repetitive .  
• Remember to photograph the artwork only. Please do not include the frame, glass, or wall, and crop the image when needed.
• The requested Artist Statement has a limit of one page. Please simply state HOW & WHY you created the specific work/s being submitted, including the materials used, artistic process, technique, vision, and inspirations. When we say inspirations we mean what compelled you to create the artworks submitted, not an artist/s or art movement/s necessarily. 
• You must be a full-time NJ resident and identify yourself as such in reference to your artistic career.
• It is suggested to come visit the Museum and specifically the Nilson Gallery to get an idea of the space limitations. 
• After you make your submission you will receive a confirmation email from Catherine Clark, cclark@monmouthmuseum.org . Please check the email inbox (including all spam, junk, social and promotion folders) you used to set up your Submittable account before resubmitting your portfolio. Email cclark@monmouthmuseum.org if you feel you completed your submission but did not receive an automated email confirmation.

Calendar: 

All NJEAS exhibitions will be held in the Nilson Gallery

• NJEAS 2019/20 Artist I: 7/12/19 - 8/11/19 (Opening reception 7/12/19, Gallery Talk TBD)
• NJEAS 2019/20 Artist II: 8/16/19 - 9/15/19 (Opening Reception 8/16/19, Gallery Talk TBD)
• NJEAS 2019/20 Artist III: 9/20/19 - 10/20/19 (Opening Reception 9/20/19, Gallery Talk TBD)
• NJEAS 2019/20 Artist IV: (Dates TBD)
• NJEAS 2019/20 Artist V : (Dates TBD)
• NJEAS 2019/20 Artist VI: (Dates TBD)
• All Opening Receptions and Gallery Talks are free and open to the public
  

*The Monmouth Museum Exhibition Committee will determine the dates of each artist’s show based on the overall structure and design of the Series.

Sale of Artwork:
The Monmouth Museum encourages the sale of exhibited artwork. The Museum will collect the purchase price for all work, take a 10% sales commission and issue a check for the remainder to the artist at the close of their exhibition.

Exhibition Promotion:
The Museum handles all marketing and press at no cost to the selected artists. The Museum reserves the right to use digital images of accepted and exhibited artwork for the purpose of media and website public relations, advertising and promotion of the NJ Emerging Artists Series.
Artist Talk:  Selected artists are required to give an artist talk/gallery talk during their exhibition to further increase their visibility.
IMPORTANT: If selected, all work must be available for the duration of the exhibition. As a selected artist you may not have another solo show in or out of NJ until after your NJ Emerging Artists Series Exhibition at the Monmouth Museum has closed.


For more information: 

Catherine Clark, Arts & Fund Development Manager 

• cclark@monmouthmuseum.org
• 732-747-2266, Ext. 6 

For assistance with Submittable:

Dawn DiCicco, Artist Liaison

• ddicicco.mmgalleryasst@gmail.com 
• 732-224-1995 (Tuesday - Thursday)