Top tips for exhibition acceptance
There are many reasons not to get work accepted for an exhibition, but there are some that can be easily avoided when submitting work to our exhibitions.
Location, location, location
Artists must live in or be associated with the East Anglian region defined as Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk.
Size does matter
For any SEAW physical show there is a maximum size limit of 800 x 800mm framed. This means there is more gallery space for more artist’s work. Any artwork bigger than this will automatically be rejected.
Media
MUST be 80% water-based including watercolour, acrylic (but not in impasto form), gouache, liquid charcoal and water-based inks.
Paper base
MUST be painted on acid-free paper which includes yupo but not canvass or wood.
The right frame of mind
Your masterpiece must be framed behind glass, no perspex allowed. Proper backing boards are important too, no corrugated cardboard please. Your work deserves to be displayed beautifully even from behind!
Use basic, plain framing in a neutral tone, no coloured, extravagant or gilt frames. Use cream, off-white or white mounts only. Unframed works must be backed by neatly cut mountboard, wrapped in new cellophane and labelled clearly.
Hang-in there
Ensure your painting is secured with ‘D’ rings and strong hanging cord and secured with proper sealing tape, not masking tape and labelled.
Our full presentation requirements can be found here.
The price is right
Framed and unframed paintings must be priced in the range allowed, which may vary for different exhibitions. Any painting priced outside of the range will be rejected.
Keeping it fresh
To maintain the freshness of the Babylon Exhibition which is unselected for members, work should not have been physically exhibited within a 20-mile radius of the venue or shown in an online exhibition organised by an East Anglian Society or art network.
For this Babylon exhibition only, work that was submitted for the SEAW online show in October/November 2020 can be submitted to Babylon. Work could also have been shown in an artist’s own open studio, sole show, London galleries – both physical and online shows – or on the artist’s website.
Lillias August on submitting work for exhibition
Lillias August, our Patron, shares her thoughts about the importance of exhibiting
“I think the baseline for putting your work into open, judged exhibitions is that you are getting your art looked at by judges who are critical (in a good way) and usually know what art has quality and technical ability. If you get something accepted it is very gratifying and encouraging. For those who say that it is a waste of time because you may not get in, or it costs a lot to enter (cost is understandable though), I will say the age-old thing that ‘if you don’t try then you will never know let alone succeed’. If you are putting several paintings in to an exhibition then it is ‘a given’ that they should be consistent. I have seen entries where you cannot believe that the paintings have come from the same hand. A ‘group’ of paintings that would hang well together is even better.