Artist Opportunities
CALL FOR TEACHING ARTISTS
Vision Kids Call for Proposals
Due Date: Monday, June 15, 2026
Description
Vision Gallery is seeking proposals for our 2026-27 Vision Kids season. You are invited to submit one or more proposals for individual, one-session classes you would like to teach.
Vision Kids has been central to Vision Gallery’s programming since 1997. These visual arts classes for kids age 6 to 16 are free to anyone who would like to participate, providing important access to arts education that our community’s youth may not be getting in school. We believe that all kids deserve an outlet to be creative.
Program Details
- The deadline to submit a proposal is Monday, June 15th, 2026.
- Classes are 2 hours each and are held in two separate sessions on Saturdays (10am – 12pm and 1pm – 3pm) with an hour break in between. Instructors will teach the same class twice on the same day.
- Class projects must be completed in the 2-hour session.
- Vision Gallery will purchase all supplies, with a budget of around $50 per class
- Teaching artists are paid a stipend of $125/teaching hour. Payment is made following completion of the class, up to a total of $500.
- We will be hosting 24 in-person classes and 2 virtual classes.
- Currently we are programming for August 2026 – June 2027.
Important Considerations
- We are planning to host two virtual classes. For these proposals, please utilize materials commonly found at home – for example, “something to color with” rather than “Prismacolor watercolor pencils”. We are able to provide some supply kits, but we are not able to give away supplies that are normally reusable in our studio to every family (ex. needle-nose pliers). If you have questions about this, please contact us – we are happy to discuss in more detail before you submit your proposal.
- We are planning to host two classes led in Spanish and are seeking proposals from bilingual instructors.
- Our Vision Kids students come from diverse ethnic, cultural, and socioeconomic backgrounds. It is important to us that our roster of teaching artists is just as diverse. Individuals across the spectrum of race, gender identity or expression, and sexual orientation are encouraged to apply.
Need Help?
Interested, but need more information? Please see our presentation online with answers to frequently asked questions. Program Coordinator Samantha Groff is also happy to answer any questions you have, go over your proposal ideas with you, and provide feedback before you apply. You are welcome to reach out by emailing [email protected]. You can also take a look at some of our recent classes here to get a sense of what we are looking for.
CALL TO ARTISTS
Art Quilts 31: Constructed Softly
Due Date: Monday, September 14 by midnight MST
Juror: Shelley Rothgeb
DESCRIPTION
This exhibition considers how textiles build meaning through softness, layers, mark making, and time—honoring processes often coded as feminine while welcoming all makers and interpretations—honoring voices often hidden and silenced through the open expression of ideas. Through layering, construction, and stitch, these soft materials may be transformed to challenge hierarchies, elevate overlooked labor, and assert the quiet force of making as an act of presence and power.
“This theme resonates with me on a personal level. Having a background in architecture and construction management, I struggle with the conflict between the perceived masculine world of architecture and my artwork. My career in architecture was very industrial focused. While my artwork inherently focuses on nature and organic forms. These two ideas feel worlds apart, but collide in my consciousness. My latest works have been a reflection on the collision of these two worlds.”- Juror, Shelley Ann Rothgeb
How will you interpret “Constructed Softly”? You are invited to interpret this theme from your own perspective. Challenge stereotypes, find your own voice and explore the power in your work. Artists are encouraged to think broadly about layered and stitched fiber works that explore construction through softness, fiber technique and accumulated labor.
About the Juror
Shelley was the sixth generation raised on her family farm in Northern Indiana where she inherited a tradition of making. She was the second in her family to graduate from college after her grandmother completed a degree in Commercial Art at the Fort Wayne Art School in the 1930’s. Following in her Grandmother’s footsteps, Shelley attended one year at the Otis College of Art and Design studying fine art. Then, completed a degree in Architecture at the College of DAAP at the University of Cincinnati.
She continued to pursue artistic endeavors while working and raising a family, but finally rediscovered her passion for fiber art in 2019. Since then, she has been awarded entry into multiple juried local, national and international exhibits. She currently serves as the President of the Board of Directors for Fiber Arts Center AZ.
ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
For a $20 fee, artists may submit up to 3 works for consideration. Please follow these instructions:
- Complete artist submission form
- Please complete the online submission form with all of the information relevant to your submission including contact and title card information. You will need the following: title, medium, year created, and sales price for all three artworks, images, and an artist statement with any information you think will be relevant to the juror. When pricing your work, please keep in mind the gallery’s 50% sales commission.
- Access the form here: https://forms.gle/hJ4PDkoZYPhNCfvV7
- Payment: the $20 submission fee can be paid either online or by calling 480-782-2695. Submissions are considered incomplete until the submission fee has been paid.
Pay online here: https://square.link/u/vdMRek3R
SHIPPING/DELIVERY
All delivery and shipping costs are the responsibility of the artist. To ensure your shipping and insurance needs are met when we ship your artwork(s) back to you, we ask you to include a completed return label when you send work for installation. This helps us efficiently process shipping at the end of the show. Art must be received by Saturday, November 7.
EXHIBITION TIMELINE
Entries due: Monday, September 14 by midnight
Notification to artists: Late September
Work drop-off in person: November 3-7
Work shipped to gallery must arrive no later than Saturday, November 7
Opening reception: Saturday, November 14, 4-6 pm
Show closes: Saturday, January 9, 2027
Work pick-up: Monday, January 11, 2027
ELIGIBILITY
All quilt artists are invited to enter. Collaborative work by two or more artists is also permitted. The works must not have been previously displayed at the Chandler Center for the Arts or Vision Gallery. Works should have been completed within the last three years. Both two and three-dimensional textile combinations will be accepted.
INSURANCE
Works are insured while on display at Vision Gallery for 50% of the retail price for the duration of the exhibition. All paperwork must designate whether an artwork is available for sale or is listed as NFS (not for sale), along with the insurance value.
QUESTIONS?
Contact staff at [email protected], or call us at 480-782-2695. Jillian or Hanley will be happy to help you!
Please read full PDF before submitting
Unsolicited Exhibition Proposals
Installation view of the exhibition Concerned, but Powerless, by artist Safwat Saleem
Are you interested in showing your work at Vision Gallery or the Chandler Center for the Arts? We always accept exhibition proposals for both spaces and jury them on a rolling basis during the months of January and June. Please click the button below to access our submission form.
Interested artists are encouraged to contact gallery staff prior to submission with any questions they may have. Gallery staff can be reached at [email protected] and 480-782-2695.
Tips
- Incomplete and improperly formatted applications may not receive a response
- Small group exhibitions including 2-4 artists in different media organized around a common theme are more likely to be accepted than solo exhibitions. This benefits both the gallery and the artists as it attracts a wider variety of viewers, but still allows the artists to display a cohesive body of work, as opposed to individual objects.
- Solo artists may still apply, but will be considered for both group and solo exhibitions.
- The quality of your images matters. Make sure your photographs are in focus, well lit, and with a plain background. It is possible to take good photographs with your phone, but if you have a better option – use it! Here is a good tutorial for taking quality pictures of your artwork with a smartphone.
- We do not have a budget for shipping artwork. If you live outside of Arizona, it may be quite costly to get your artwork to and from the gallery.
- Take a look at our past exhibitions to get a feel for the kinds of shows we host.
- If your primary goal is selling artwork, we might not be the right gallery for you. Although we are thrilled when artwork sells, our focus is on hosting engaging, thought-provoking exhibitions for our community to enjoy and not commercial sales.
