Open call
apexart
Accepting proposals: Oct 1 – 31, 2026
apexart
291 Church St. New York
NY 10013, United States
opencalls@apexart.org
apexart.org/opencalls.php
apexart invites 500 word idea-based group exhibition proposals for our 2027-28 NYC Open Call from October 1 – October 31, 2026. Five winning proposals will each receive a $10k exhibition budget to become “apexart exhibitions” as part of our 2027-28
exhibition season. Curators, artists, writers, and creative individuals, regardless of experience level or location, are invited to submit a proposal online.
The submission process
Proposals should describe a focused, idea-driven, original group exhibition of 3 or more artists. No biographical info, CVs, links, or images will be accepted. The curator/organizer can be included as an additional artist. Submissions cannot exceed 500 words and must be submitted in English. Jurors from approximately 85 countries then review the proposals based on their personal interest, cultural assessment, content and communication of the idea. See examples of winning proposals here.
The selection process
Rather than a typical 5-person local panel to review hundreds of ideas, apexart’s crowd-sourced system involves hundreds of jurors from 85 countries, reviewing proposals at their own schedule over one month. The jury is composed of up to 1000+ individuals from a wide variety of professional backgrounds and international locations including students from 20+ participating university classes. Proposals are anonymous and randomized to ensure each submission receives equal consideration, resulting in more than 30,000 votes on about 500 proposals. apexart staff does not influence the results of the jury in any way.
The results
Each of the five winning proposals will receive an exhibition budget of $10,000; along with our exhibition brochure, mailed electronically and physically to over 7,000 international recipients; and be part of apexart’s 2027-2028 exhibition season. apexart provides full administrative and logistic support, assisting curators to realize their original ideas into apexart exhibitions. Exhibition curators must work within the funding provided to transform their winning proposals into focused, noteworthy exhibitions.
To submit an exhibition proposal, visit https://apexart.org/opencalls.php between October 1 and October 31, 2026.