The Art Jurying Process: What to Expect, How to Prepare and What Rejection Actually Means

There are many times in your art career were your art may be juried. However, understanding the jurying process can help demystify what can feel like an intimidating experience.

What is Art Jurying?

An art jury is a panel of judges, usually consisting of artists, curators, or art professionals, tasked with reviewing submissions for an exhibition. Their job is to select pieces based on specific criteria such as originality, technique, relevance to the theme, and overall quality. Now, don’t just let that statement pass by. Think about that for a second. The art jurying mission is to create a great exhibition. This often means that the art jury will need to turn down good or even great work to balance an exhibition. More on that later.

Preparing Your Submission for Art Jurying

1. Read the Guidelines Carefully: Each show will have specific guidelines, from size restrictions to acceptable mediums. Make sure you follow these to the letter. I, personally, have never seen a jurying process were 100% of submitted artists followed all the rules. If the jury has to cull a large number, those are the first to go. Depending on the size of the organization you art application was submitted to, the jury may not even see that artwork, having an office assistant removed it from the process.
2. Choose Your Best Work: Only submit pieces that are strong examples of your style and skills. It’s better to submit fewer, stronger pieces than to pad your submission with works that are not your best. However, an astrisk on this – is choose your best work for the situation. If there was a call for art for artwork that is cutting edge, your landscape paintings are probably not what they are seeking. (Unless you have cutting edge landscapes…)
3. Professional Photography: High-quality images can make a huge difference. Invest in professional photography or learn how to take excellent pictures of your work. The lighting, clarity, and representation of colors are crucial. REPEAT: FANTASTIC PHOTOS.
4. Artist Statement: This should be concise, relevant, and reflect the work you are submitting. It helps the jury understand your perspective and intent. As a reminder, artist statements are written in the first person. Oftentimes I have heard, “My art speaks for itself.” And, I am sorry to say, that your art needs a warm introduction. A statement is a great way to do that. A docent or volunteer may use this to familiarize themselves with your intention. Make it clear (non-“art-speak”). Visitors spend more time and appreciate the work of artists on a deeper level when they have been giving an introduction to the work.

What Happens After You Submit?

The jury will review all the submissions, often in a blind format where they do not know the artists’ names in an attempt to prevent bias. The art jurying process used may or may not include deliberation. Sometimes it is a simple ranking of scores. If there is a deliberation, they will select the works that will be included in the show. If your work is not selected, don’t be discouraged—it doesn’t necessarily mean your art isn’t good. Juries have different tastes, and not being selected could simply mean your work wasn’t a fit for that particular show.

Some jurors are better than others. Some are more experienced. If the venue’s curator is there, they are extremely familiar with what will fit into their exhibition space. They will know where they need an impactful piece to hang, for example. Then they may pick more artworks out to visually support that impact artwork.  

Tips for Art Jurying Success

1. Follow the Theme: If there is a theme, make sure your work aligns with it. Submitting work that clearly fits the theme can increase your chances of being selected, winning an award, or other recognition (like your work being used as the publicity image). Don’t create just for the theme. Find a different exhibition that fits your work.
2. Submit Early: Don’t wait until the last minute. Give yourself plenty of time to prepare and submit your best work. Or to fix a problem you forgot about.
3. Stay Organized: Keep track of deadlines, submission requirements, and fees. Use a calendar or spreadsheet to manage your submissions.
4. Do NOT Submit Work that You Cannot Commit: If you will need an artwork back before the pickup dates then don’t submit it. Never ask to get your piece back early. It is so frustrating for staff to deal with this kind of thing. For the most part, they want to be nice, but you are putting people in a position to say “no.” That can be really hard for them. Just respect the boundaries set out in the beginning. It will reflect better on you. Or, if you aren’t in an friendly environment, the gallery may decide to never work with you again because of this breach of professionalism. If you have a lot of work coming and going, sketch out a calendar list to check for overlapping dates. Don’t forget transit time. The exhibition may end on a certain date, but do you have it back on that date?
5. And once again: Read the Submission Guidelines. Double check everything. Right kind of hanging system? Frames, sizes, etc. This is the easiest place to trip yourself up.
6. Make sure that the jury can match the images to your list of artworks. How do they know which one is “Untitled 1” or “Untitled 2.” (While we are there – title it.)

Learning from Art Jurying Rejection

Rejection is a common part of the jurying process. If possible, seek feedback to understand why your work was not selected. Use this as a learning experience to improve your chances in future submissions.

However, a HUGE behind the scenes note that may help with emotions of having your artwork rejected:

The jury is picking out an exhibition. Curating an exhibition may be affected by the following things (all of which I have personally witnessed in a variety of venues): 

• Having a variety of mediums represented.
• Having a variety of subject matters depicted.
• The size of the artwork selected so far verses the gallery layout.
• Problem spaces in a gallery. (A certain wall that is dark, or painted a different color. Maybe your piece would fade away there, so they went with a different one.)

I recently spoke with an amazing artist on this subject and she laughed joyfully and said she used to take rejection personally. Then she’d submitted the same painting to two shows. One show rejected it and the other gave her an award! It was then that she learned to take rejection with a grain of salt.

I’d like to end with an idea for you pursuing showing your art. Seek rejection. Reach just beyond your comfort zone. Look a few years down the line in your career and think about what it would take to bridge that gap between now and then. A stronger body of work? More practice (always). Diving into issues more? Pursuing that idea you have that you think no one else will like (do it!). Don’t be afraid to stretch. Or be afraid and do it anyway. 

Book Recommendation on art and fear is “Art & Fear,” (you never would have guessed that title). Here is an affliate link to it on Amazon in case your local book store doesn’t carry it or you want a glance at the cover.