Open Call for Entries

 

WOMEN & THEIR WORK SOLO EXHIBITION SERIES

Seeking applications from women and nonbinary artists in Texas who break new ground in their approach to form, content, and ideas. Solo exhibitions are seven weeks, beginning March 2026 and running through July 2027.

Accepting applications November 7, 2024 – January 8, 2025

 

APPLY NOW

CRITERIA

Women & Their Work (W&TW) seeks artists who create innovative, contemporary art that breaks new ground in its approach to form, content, and ideas. Selections are based on an evaluation of work samples submitted and ideas proposed; we look for a strong, consistent aesthetic vision. We strongly encourage selected artists to create new work for their exhibition at W&TW; no work that has previously been exhibited in Austin will be accepted for exhibition. The work in the application should demonstrate that you are capable in vision and scope of creating a powerful solo exhibition that can command an approximately 1,700 square foot gallery space.

We seek to ensure that women are equitably and inclusively represented in art; that we foster the artistic growth of women by nurturing their development within the context of their communities, and with work that responds to the moment; and share the art of our time with our audience.

 

ELIGIBILITY

Women artists living anywhere in Texas who have not had a solo exhibition at W&TW within the past ten years are eligible.
Emerging, mid-career, and established artists are invited to apply. Our curatorial priority is to present diverse experiences and perspectives. We strive for each exhibition season to represent a geographically, culturally, racially, and ethnically diverse group. Women of color are especially encouraged to apply. Applicants cannot currently be enrolled in undergraduate or graduate education. Membership with W&TW is not a requirement nor is it a consideration in the application process.

 

APPLICATION GUIDELINES

  1. Proof of residence – Applicants must be living and working in Texas at the time of application and expect to remain within the state for the 26-27 exhibition season.
  2. 10 work samples – All 10 samples may be images of 2D/3D work, or up to 4 samples may be videos of time-based work. We will only be able to view 3 minutes of each video so please prepare files accordingly. Select your images/videos with great care as they are the primary basis of our selection process. Prioritize recent, strong work that communicates well through documentation and that is emblematic of the quality of work proposed.
  3. Artist Statement – Include no more than a one-page (2000 characters including spaces) statement describing your work.
  4. Proposal – Your aesthetic vision for a future solo exhibition with W&TW (2000 characters including spaces).
    We encourage artists to create new work.
  5. Proposal Layout – You may include diagrams or renderings of how your proposed exhibition would activate the W&TW gallery.
  6. Resume – Upload a current resume or CV.
  7. Application Fee – A $20 processing fee is required. This fee helps us offset platform costs.

 

EXHIBITION SPACE

Our current gallery space is approximately 1,700 square feet with 12′ high ceilings, track lighting, and two moveable walls (8×8′ & 8×10′). Projectors, media players, and sound equipment are available. Floor plan available here; 3D renderings available here.

 

JURY PANEL

The 2024 jury panel is comprised of W&TW artist alumnae Shana Hoehn and Vicki Meek, as well as curator Claudia Zapata. Every application is carefully reviewed, considered, and discussed.

Shana Hoehn (she/her)
Working in sculpture and drawing, Los Angeles-based artist Shana Hoehn considers conditions of agency and transformation. Hoehn’s sculptural work combines traditional and digital fabrication techniques and employs various materials, including wood, sawdust, clay, bronze, and aluminum. 

Hoehn received her MFA from the Virginia Commonwealth University in Sculpture and Extended Media and earned a BFA in Painting from the Maryland Institute College of Art. She presented her work in a solo exhibition at Women & Their Work in 2019 following her time at the Core Program at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston from 2016-2018. She has been the subject of solo and two-person exhibitions at Jack Barrett Gallery, NYC, NY (2023); Deli Gallery, Mexico City, MX (2023), Prairie, Chicago, IL (2023); Make Room, Los Angeles, CA (2022); among others. 

Hoehn has participated in various residencies, including a Fulbright Fellowship in Mexico, Artpace’s International Artist-in-Residence in San Antonio, the Jan Van Eyck Academie in the Netherlands, Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, and SOMA Summer in Mexico City. Hoehn’s work has received notable coverage in publications including Artforum, The Brooklyn Rail, and Mousse Magazine, among others.

Vicki Meek (she/her)
Vicki Meek, born and raised in Philadelphia, is a nationally recognized artist who has exhibited widely. In addition to having a studio practice, she is an independent curator and writes cultural criticism for Dallas Weekly with her blog Art & Racenotes. She also wrote a monthly column, ARTiculate for TheaterJones, an online performing arts magazine.

Meek was an adjunct faculty member for UMass Arts Extension Program in Amherst, Massachusetts where she taught a course in Cultural Equity in the Arts. She has over 40 years of arts administrative experience that includes working as a senior program administrator for a state arts agency, a local arts agency, and running a non-profit visual arts center. She served on the board of NPN from 2008-15. In 2016, Meek was selected to be a Fellow in the Intercultural Leadership Institute and also became a Voting Member of Alternate Roots, a national artist service organization.

Meek has been awarded a number of grants and honors including the 2021 Texas Artist of the Year by Art League of Houston and the Meadows School of the Arts Moss/Chumbley Award for artistic excellence. In 2022, she became the inaugural Fellow for Nasher Sculpture Center. Meek currently serves as Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson’s at-large appointment to the Arts and Culture Commission and the Public Art Committee.

Claudia E. Zapata (they/them)
Claudia E. Zapata earned their Ph.D. in art history at Southern Methodist University’s RASC/a: Rhetorics of Art, Space, and Culture program. They received their BA and MA in art history from the University of Texas at Austin, specializing in Maya art. Their research interests include curatorial methodologies of identity-based exhibitions, Chicanx and Latinx art, digital humanities, and BIPOC zines. Zapata was the curator of exhibitions and programs at the Mexic-Arte Museum in Austin from 2010-2014.

They co-founded the Latinx art project Puro Chingón Collective in 2012. This experimental art group develops zines, prints, apparel, designs, and art toys. From 2018-2022, they were the curatorial assistant of Latinx art at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, working on the award-winning exhibition, ¡Printing the Revolution! The Rise and Impact of Chicano Graphics, 1965-Now. 

From 2022-2023, Zapata was a Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Fellow at UCLA, mentored by Charlene Villaseñor Black, professor in the Departments of Art History and Chicana/o and Central American Studies. In 2023, Zapata became the inaugural Associate Curator of Latino Art at the Blanton Museum of Art in Austin. 

 

NOTIFICATION

Applicants will be notified via email by February 12, 2025. Please do not seek information on the status of your application prior to the notification date.

 

HONORARIUM

  • Honorarium – Women & Their Work will award selected artists an honorarium of $3,000. Our gallery staff will work with the artist to help them achieve all aspects of their vision.
  • Curatorial Advisor – We provide a modest honorarium for a Curatorial Advisor of the artist’s choosing. This may be someone who meets with the artist for studio visits as the work develops, offers guidance on installation of the work, or offers other assistance.
  • Catalog – We will publish a color catalog for the exhibition featuring a commissioned essay and images of the artwork. Past and future catalogs with be housed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Thomas J. Watson Library.
  • Video – We will produce a 6-8 minute video of the artist discussing their work which is featured as supplemental material in the gallery and on our website.
  • Public Program – With the artist’s guidance, we will organize a public program to take place during the run of the exhibition. This could be a panel conversation, performance, workshop, etc.

 

SALES

Artists receive 75% of the sale price of any work sold during their exhibition. There is no requirement to make work available for sale or to make “sellable work.”

 

LIABILITY & AGREEMENT

Women & Their Work agrees to insure artwork while in its custody. Artists are responsible for transportation of artwork to and from W&TW gallery. Artists agree to exhibit work that has not previously been shown in Austin.

 

APPLICATION SUPPORT & DEADLINE

Please upload your application by January 8, 2025 at 11:59pm. Late applications will not be accepted. We encourage you to begin your application early.

All applications must be submitted online here. We can not accept or review emailed or paper applications.

For clarification of guidelines, encouragement, or internet access, contact Jordan Nelsen at W&TW for support during weekdays 10am-6pm at [email protected] or (512) 477-1064. We appreciate this opportunity to view your work.

 

ABOUT US

Women & Their Work fosters the artistic growth of women artists by encouraging them to make new, adventurous work and develops audiences for whom contemporary art is meaningful. Our mission is to ensure that diverse women artists are equitably represented in all forms of art. For 46 years, Women & Their Work has been a cornerstone of the Austin arts community and has actively developed the careers of more than 2,000 women artists, presenting hundreds of visual art exhibitions, music, dance and theater events, film festivals and education programs. Nationally recognized for the quality of its work, Women & Their Work has played an important role in the development of the visual and performing arts in Texas.

Visit our online Archive to learn about past exhibitions.

 

Images top of page: Virginia L. Montgomery, Honey Moon from Eye Moon Cocoon, 2023; Hiba Ali, Songs of the H’s from Lullabies for the stars in our eyes, 2024; Alejandra Almuelle, Body of Becoming from Circular Body, 2024.

Images on bottom of the page: Jade Walker, from Wayfinding, 2023, Aryel René Jackson, A Welcoming Place, 2022; Jenelle Esparza, It Could Only Be Lived, 2022.