Sorting Show Entries

If you're asking artists to name their image files a particular way, give attention to the order in which the files will be sorted on the computer. It'll make keeping track of the entries a lot easier.

Digital Manipulation

I was reading an article the other day about the ethics of digital manipulation of images for juried entries and publications. Where is the ethical line and how much is too much?

JPEG File Size

Earlier this week, a client asked me whether a JPEG image of jewelry was high resolution even though the file size appeared to be small. Several factors determine the size of a JPEG file, and the number of pixels in the image is only one of them.

Too Much Resolution

Nearly every exhibition prospectus I see asks for "high resolution" images. Certainly desirable, but the requirement has pretty much lost any useful meaning with today's digital cameras. Unless you're publishing a book, the images you receive are more likely to have too much resolution than not enough.

Banish Long File Names

Some galleries and artists seem driven to include all of the information about a work, such as the medium and size, as part of the image file name. You do know there are practical limits to the length of a file name, don't you?

Do You Have Permission?

With most of the calls for entry I see, the artist agrees that the exhibitor can reproduce accepted entries in a catalog or for publicity purposes. This sounds reasonable, but can the artist always give you that permission?

No Goof Off!

I just finished scraping a large gallery price label off the side of an expensive frame. Arghh! Just because there are products like Goof Off® for removing labels and tape doesn't mean you can stick just anything on a piece of artwork.

Only One Dot in a File Name. Period.

While helping a client with an online entry recently, I was reminded about the use of special characters in file names and one rule in particular ... to use only one dot (the period character) right before the extension in a file name.

The Myth of 300 DPI

Most calls to enter I see these days ask for digital images at 300 DPI. When a client asks what it means, I tell them it means nothing ... 300 DPI is a myth, an urban legend that has taken on a life of its own.

About My Insights

I see a lot of calls to enter from galleries and arts groups. And I work with many artists to submit entries. As a result, I have a few insights on juried exhibitions, especially about working with digital images ... and this is where I'll share them with you.

Welcome to CalltoEnter.info

There have always been a wide variety of fine art exhibitions available to Michigan artists, both in-state and nationally, but until now there has been no easy way to learn about many of them. Our goal with this web site is to provide a comprehensive listing of the many opportunities open to Michigan artists to exhibit their artwork in galleries, in print, and online.