Accepted Artworks

Born of Dirt
Clay, sand, wood, stone, plants, and metals are all materials used to create some of the most extraordinary and ancient artworks known to man. Imagine Da Vinci grinding his pigments to create the Mona Lisa or the ancient Greeks carving their statutes from marble, all have used elements provided by Mother Earth to create works of art. We may push our pigments out of a tube and buy our clay and all types of mediums and materials through vendors that supply them, but these are all made from natural materials that come from the earth. Share your clever use of materials in our exhibit Born of Dirt.

 Exhibition Dates:  April 4 - April 27, 2025

3/13              Application deadline Thursday by Midnight.                    
3/21              Notifications of accepted art posted on this page.
4/1                Drop Off, Tuesday 11 am - 4:45 pm only.  
4/3                Open for Visitors, Thursday 10 am
4/4                Reception Friday 6-8 pm in the Brock Gallery
                       Award Presentation, 7 pm 
4/29              Pick Up, Tuesday 11 am - 4:45 pm (see note below)

Judge:    Orgia Labidi
Orgia “Gia” Labidi is an award winning, self-taught artist influenced by her African heritage and her reverence for the divine feminine and sacred masculine energies expressed in nature.  Working in various visual mediums including clay, wood, paper and found objects, Labidi relies on intuition to ground her work in nature, humanity and the indigenous experience.
 
Gia’s work has been exhibited nationally and internationally for over 20 years.  Pieces are included in Old Dominion University’s permanent collection, Gyeongju Art Center North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea and private collections nationwide. She is currently a resident artist at Anne’s Visual Art Studio Gallery in Richmond, VA and Gallerie Ukwensi located in Norfolk, VA.
​

Awards: 

• 1st Place $250
• 2nd Place $200
• 3rd Place $100
• 6 Honorable Mentions 

Special Rules:    

• Expressive and energetic art comes from the heart and minds of artist that take that spark of imagination and translate it into all types of creations. Whether you work exclusively with just pigments, clay, wood, metal, precious stones and other types of materials they all have one thing in common, they are born of dirt. Our earth produces every single molecule that goes into artworks, even plastics are made from crude oils, natural gas and coal to mention a few. For this exhibit express your ingenuity through the manipulation of your materials of choice. This exhibit's theme is open to interpretation, and your only guideline is that you excel with your medium.
• Take the time to read all the instructions included in this form. All your questions are most likely answered below. If you are still unsure send an email to Art Curator, Jorge A. Saenz at [email protected] before you submit to this exhibit.    

​
Interpretation of Theme:
All you need for this exhibit is your excellence at using your selected medium. Innovation, cleverness, ingenuity are a few words that come to mind when describing the soulfulness of this exhibit. You decide what you want your work to be about since the title is more about how we use the materials we work with.
Here are a few ideas:

• Sculptures
• Paintings
• Pottery
• 3D artworks 
• Paper Art
• Stones
• Wood
• Plastic
• Photography (Photography is acceptable for this exhibit since the base material is paper.)

Themes:

• From the Earth
• Flora
• Fauna
• Landscapes
• Realism
• Surrealism
• Abstracts

These are just ideas that are meant to guide you and not limit you. There are countless other themes that fit perfectly well into the exhibit. A friendly reminder that we are a community gallery and that all art must be suitable to be viewed by all ages.

Diverse types of art can be submitted to the exhibition. Broad interpretation of theme is encouraged and not limited to just representational art. Abstract, collages, photography, jewelry, and all other types of art are welcomed to submit, as long as they are tied into the theme of the exhibit and never been exhibited in any of the center's art shows.
​
If you are unsure of how to approach this theme, please reach out to Art Curator, Jorge A. Saenz @[email protected].


Eligibility: 

• Open to Local/Regional Artists aged 18 or older (must be able to drop off work in person)  

Entry Fee: 

• $30 for up to three pieces ($25 for Annual Supporters and members of The Artists Gallery). Additional $5 for each additional entry for a max of 5 entries per artist. If you have not paid at the time the submissions are closed your artwork will not be considered for the exhibit. When submitting be patient and follow the prompts that will get you to the payment page. Once paid you will receive a ticket purchased email sent to the email address you provided.
• There is a jury process, and selected pieces will be accepted into the exhibition. Read and follow all instructions in the prospectus to ensure your artworks meet all the criteria's explained in this document.
• Entry fee is non-refundable.

To Submit: 

• Review the General Rules below to ensure that your art fulfills the requirements.
• Fill out the entry form on this page by midnight of the submission deadline. We do not accept late submission.
• Prior to uploading your photos rename them on the device you are using (PC, Mac Book, iPhone or other phone brand) in the following format: lastname_firstname_titleofartwork.jpg here is an example, smith_john_teachersexhibit.jpg once you have done this you can upload your file into the Choose File box under the submission form. You must ensure you are using a jpg format. We cannot convert your photos using a different format than jpg. Do not add other characters to the description of the photos as this will prevent them from uploading onto the website.
• MAKE SURE YOU ARE RENAMING YOUR PHOTO ON THE DEVICE YOU ARE USING. RENAMING IN THE UPLOAD BOX ON THIS FORM WILL NOT CHANGE YOUR FILE NAME. YOU MUST DO THIS BEFORE UPLOADING YOUR PHOTO TO THE SUBMISSION FORM. MAKE SURE YOUR PHOTO IS IN A JPG FORMAT; CHECK THE DEVICE YOU ARE USING BY GOING TO SETTINGS AND ENSURING YOUR CAMERA IS SET TO JPG.
• ​Please make sure you are following these instructions. If unsure of how to label a photo get with a friend or google instructions. 
• Make sure your photos are labeled correctly and that they are in a jpg format, and cropped around the edge of the painting without the frame as this distracts our jurors from seeing your work properly. Not doing will affect your submissions from being accepted into the jurying process​
• Submit a short statement about each piece, to be displayed with the work.  Statement should be ​50 words, basically 2 lines in a standard Word document.  The exhibition team will edit statements for clarity, length or typos. 
•  Be sure to enter your website and social media handles so we can tag you in our posts!
• Pay entry fee using button on the confirmation page. Not paying your submission fee will disqualify you from being considered for the jurying process.
• If you do not get the confirmation page, your entry did not go through.
•  It is the artist's responsibility to check back on this page for notification of acceptance to the show.

​
Drop Off and Pick Up of Art:

• Drop off is Tuesday, April 1, 11 am to 4:45 pm.
• No works will be accepted after Tuesday at 4:45 pm. If you cannot drop off on Tuesday, you must contact the art curator to make other arrangements. The center does not have an available storage area for incoming art but will work with an artist should certain circumstances prevent them from delivering on the specified date. Please email Art Curator, Jorge A. Saenz at [email protected] if you have a question about the delivery and pick up dates.
• Ensure artwork is labeled on the back and under 3D with your name and title of work.
• Art will be checked during drop off and ensure all requirements have been met. Art can still be refused for the show if there are issues with presentation, hanging wire, craftsmanship, etc. or if the artwork differs from the art juried in.
• Exhibition postcards/handouts will be available at drop off.
• Pick up is Tuesday, April 29, 11 am-4:45 pm.  

ATTENTION:  Read ALL GENERAL RULES at the bottom of this page, but be aware of these common oversights:

• Original works that have never been exhibited in any of the center's art shows only.  No reproductions.  Digital works (photography, digital art, hand-pulled prints) must be in limited editions (25 or less), signed and numbered. Please include if AI was used to create the artwork. Should your photography/digital print sell you may not replace with another of the same artwork juried in. 
• Presentation must be professional and not detract from the artwork.  
• Gallery wrapped canvases that are 1" or wider must be painted on the sides with either the painting wrapping around or with a complimentary color. No visible staples on the sides of the canvas. NO EXCEPTIONS!
•  Paintings that are on a 3/4" canvas or smaller MUST HAVE A FRAME. There are no exceptions for this requirement.
• Hanging wires must be tight across, and near the top 1/3 of the frame. Absolutely no SAWTOOTH HANGERS! Artwork is checked at drop off and you will be required to rectify if directions have not been followed.
• Artwork must be for sale and on view for entire exhibition.
• PLEASE READ ALL GENERAL RULES at very bottom.

​Commission:   

• 30% of sales retained by The Artists Gallery for Invitational Artists
• 25% of sales retained by The Artists Gallery for AG Artists​

 

• VOLUNTEERS FOR RECEPTIONS:
•  We value the participation of volunteers at our first Friday events and invite you to sign up at: Volunteer (artcentervb.org)
  Click on the above link and choose Reception or if you wish to volunteer in another capacity, please click on what interest best suits you.​

Questions/Contacts:
Virginia Beach Art Center
532 Virginia Beach Blvd. Suite A
Virginia Beach, VA 23451
[email protected]
www.artcentervb.org
​

GENERAL RULES

• This is a juried exhibition. 
• One to five pieces can be submitted.
• Current original works only, not previously exhibited at any other Virginia Beach Art Center monthly exhibition.
• Artworks must be created by the person submitting.
• No Reproductions. (Photography and Digital Art must be limited in edition to no more than 25 and signed and numbered.) Should your photography/digital print sell you may not replace with another of the same artwork juried in.
• All work must be visibly signed by the artist (2D on front or back, 3D on bottom) and include edition numbers (e.g., 1/25, 2/25) for hand-pulled prints, photography or digital art.
• Virginia Beach Art Center is a community gallery.  All artworks should be suitable for viewers of all ages.
• All works must be free of copyright infringement.  It is the individual artist's responsibility to ensure that they are adhering to copyright requirements.  The Virginia Beach Art Center and The Artists Gallery are not liable for any copyright infringement issues that may arise.
• Artworks, mats and frames must be in good and clean condition.
• Unframed canvas must have a professional finish that does not detract from the art.  No visible staples. 
• WIRE INSTRUCTIONS: All two-dimensional works must have a tight hanging wire, near the top 1/3 of the frame.  Wire must be attached to the frame and not the backing/canvas. No saw-tooth hangers.  -NO EXCEPTIONS-
• Works must be labeled on back with artist name and title of work. 
• Size and weight limitations:  Width of 2D works is limited to 60 inches (including frame) and 40 pounds or less.  The base of 3D works may not be more than 36" square.  Any 3D works over 40 lb. must be installed and moved by the artist. Size and weight restrictions may be waived by contacting the art curator directly prior to submission. If you have any questions about if your work qualifies, please email Art Curator, Jorge A. Saenz at [email protected].
• Works requiring special installation must be cleared in advance by the art curator. Please email [email protected] before submitting art that has special requirements.
• All works must be priced for sale and remain at the gallery throughout the duration of the exhibition.
• Pricing should be consistent with the artist's other works. In other words, do not over price because you do not want to sell it. We check websites and social media platforms to confirm the pricing is comparable to other works you have for sale.
• Artist will be notified of a sale.​
• Sales checks are ready for pick up by the 5th of the month that follows the close of the exhibition.  
• While staff and volunteers take great care with the artworks, the Virginia Beach Art Center and The Artists Gallery are not responsible and cannot be held liable for any damages to artworks before, during or after this exhibition.
• ​Submitting your images is an indication that you give the Virginia Beach Art Center permission to use images of your art for promotional purposes.