Behind the Scenes – How We Select Artists at Marea Gallery
Every open call ends the same way for most artists – with a wait. The submission is sent, and then silence. What happens on the other side of that silence is rarely explained.
This article opens that process up. I want to explain how curators select artists for exhibitions at Marea Gallery – not in abstract terms, but in practical, honest detail. What I look at, in what order, and how decisions are made. Because understanding the process makes you a better candidate for it.
How the open call works at Marea Gallery
Each Marea Gallery edition runs on a monthly cycle. Submissions open on the first of the month and close on the fourteenth. During those two weeks, artists from around the world submit their work through the online form – one piece per submission, with an image, artwork details, and an artist statement.
When submissions close, I begin the selection process. No submissions are reviewed while the call is still open – every submission is considered together, after the deadline, so that earlier and later entries are reviewed on equal terms.
The online exhibition opens on the twenty-second of the month. Between the fourteenth and the twenty-second, all selection and preparation work happens – reviewing submissions, making decisions, building the exhibition page, contacting selected artists, and preparing the digital catalogue.
The first pass – image quality and theme fit
When I sit down to review submissions, the first thing I do is go through all of them quickly – image by image. This first pass is not the selection. It is a filter.
At this stage I am looking at two things: image quality and immediate connection to the theme. A submission with a blurry, dark, or poorly-framed photograph rarely survives this pass – not because the work might not be good, but because I cannot see it well enough to evaluate it.
I am also asking, with each image: does this work feel connected to the theme of this edition? This doesn’t need to be obvious – the connection can be abstract, metaphorical, or emotional. But it needs to be there. Work that feels completely unrelated to the theme is set aside at this stage.
After the first pass, I am left with a smaller group of submissions that have clear images and a visible connection to the theme. These are the ones I review in depth.
The second pass – reading every statement
For each submission that passes the first filter, I read the artist statement carefully. This is where the selection goes beyond the visual – the statement tells me what the artist was thinking, what they intended, and how they relate their work to the theme.
A strong statement can elevate a work that I was initially uncertain about. It can open up a piece, help me see something I hadn’t noticed, and make the connection to the theme explicit in a way that changes how I read the image.
A strong statement can elevate a work I was initially uncertain about. It can open up a piece and change how I read the image entirely.
A generic statement – one that could have been written for any open call – does the opposite. It tells me the artist didn’t engage seriously with this edition. That matters.
Building the exhibition – why not all strong work gets in
After the second pass, I have a shortlist. Now comes the part of how curators select artists for exhibitions that is hardest to explain from the outside – building the exhibition as a coherent whole.
I am not selecting a collection of the best individual works. I am building an exhibition – a group of pieces that will exist together on the same page, that will be seen in relation to each other, that together need to create something coherent.
This means that at a certain point, I am making choices not just about quality but about balance. If I already have three pieces that are all dark, dense, and heavy in tone, a fourth similar piece might not be selected – not because it isn’t strong, but because it would make the exhibition feel one-note. A lighter, more open work might be chosen instead to create contrast and breathing room.
This is the part of the process that can feel unfair – and I understand that. A strong submission that doesn’t get selected is not necessarily weaker than one that does. It may simply have arrived in a round where the balance of the exhibition was already going in a different direction. That is not a judgement on the work. It is the nature of curation.
Selecting the winner
From the selected artists, I choose one winner per edition. The winner receives a highlighted position at the top of the exhibition page, a winner badge in the digital catalogue, and a dedicated feature post on Marea Gallery Instagram and Facebook.
The winner is the submission that, in my view, best embodies the theme of the edition – not just a strong work in general, but the piece that speaks most directly and powerfully to what this particular exhibition is about. It is often the submission where the image and the statement work most completely together.
What happens after selection
Selected artists are contacted by email before the exhibition opens. The email includes confirmation of their selection, details about the exhibition, and information about the participation fee and how to confirm their place.
Once confirmed, selected artists receive:
- A dedicated section in the online exhibition with their artwork image, full details, and artist statement
- A Certificate of Selection – a personalised PDF document
- Inclusion in the edition digital catalogue
- A social media feature on Instagram and Facebook
- A YouTube video presentation featuring all edition participants
- Archiving on the gallery website for one year
What to take from this if you are submitting
Understanding how curators select artists for exhibitions changes how you approach a submission. Here is what I would take from this process if I were submitting:
- Your image is the first thing seen. Make it sharp, well-lit, and true to the work.
- Choose the work that connects most genuinely to the theme – not your favourite piece in general.
- Write a statement that is specific to this work and this edition. A generic statement is immediately recognisable.
- If you are not selected, it may not be about the quality of your work. Try again in a future edition.
- Keep submitting. The artists who appear consistently are the ones who show up consistently.
Submit to the current Marea Gallery open call
Each Marea Gallery edition is themed, curated personally, and open to visual artists worldwide. Browse the current open call and submit your work at mareagallery.com/open-calls.