Call for Art

Acts of Care: Nurturing the Present, Shaping the Future: July 12 – August 16, 2025
Care is both love and labor—nurturing, repairing, and sustaining ourselves, others, and our communities. This exhibition builds on feminist histories of care work, recognizing its often invisible, gendered, racialized, and classed dimensions. Open to women and non-binary artists, including transgender women and femme-identifying genderqueer artists, the exhibition welcomes up to three works per artist in any visual medium that engage with the theme and have not been previously shown at WMG. Juror: Kristen Carter
First Entry Due Date: May 14, 2025, 11:59 PM CST  | Final Entry Due Date: May 21, 2025, 11:59 PM | Entry Fee: $35

CALL FOR POETRY | Come (OUT) As You Are: June 20, 2025 | 6–8PM
Woman Made Gallery is looking for poets and writers to grace the stage for Come (Out) As You Are, a vibrant showcase celebrating queer joy and identity. We’re especially excited to uplift the voices of UIC students but all are encouraged to apply. Help us create a night of radical visibility. This is a space to honor the ways we come out, show up and show out just as we are. We’re seeking eight performers, each with up to ten minutes of stage time. All experience levels and identities are welcome. We want your stories, your poems and your truths. Juror: Le’trice Buckingham

8th Midwest Open: August 30 – September 27, 2025
The Midwest Open is an annual exhibition at WMG that highlights the achievements of women and nonbinary artists living in the American Midwest. According to the United States Census Bureau, the 12 states in the Midwest include Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota.
The exhibition encourages artists to expand their materials, push the boundaries of medium and texture, and explore innovative approaches. It seeks the most provocative work each artist has to offer, fostering a Midwest exhibition that challenges perspectives, sparks dialogue, and leaves a lasting impact. Artists may submit up to three works in any visual medium, provided they have not been previously shown at Woman Made Gallery. Juror: Kimberly Oliva
First Entry Due Date: June 20, 2025, 11:59 PM CST  | Final Entry Due Date: June 27, 2025, 11:59 PM | Entry Fee: $35

Drawing Resistance: The Artist’s Dilemma in Political Conflict | A Virtual Exhibition: August 16 – November 15, 2025
Woman Made Gallery invites women and non-binary artists worldwide to submit work for Drawing Resistance, a virtual exhibition exploring the complexities of creating art in politically turbulent times. Interpreting “drawing” both literally and metaphorically, the show seeks works that grapple with themes such as war, protest, censorship, and the personal cost of resistance. All mediums are welcome, and submissions should thoughtfully address the tensions between artistic expression and political conflict. All submissions must clearly relate to the exhibition theme. Selected works will be presented in an online gallery alongside artist statements to offer context and deepen audience engagement.
Entry Due Date: July 10, 2025, 11:59 PM CST  | Entry Fee: $15

Finding My Way: October 11 – November 8, 2025
This Call is open to undergraduate and graduate students currently enrolled in a university in Illinois, as well as students who have graduated in Spring 2025. This exhibition explores the profound transformations that shape our lives—particularly the journey from childhood to adulthood. Through this theme, we seek artwork that captures the physical, emotional, and psychological changes that define these formative years. We encourage submissions that reflect on personal or collective experiences of transition, whether through memory, identity, relationships, or the challenges of finding one’s place in the world. Jurors: Corinne Pompéy & Diana Vallera
First Entry Due Date: August 8, 2025, 11:59 PM CST  | Extended Entry Due Date: August 15, 2025, 11:59 PM | Entry Fee: $20

WMG Call for Words: My Abortion: My Choice

OPEN CALL | Ongoing

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ABOUT JURIED EXHIBITIONS

Woman Made Gallery (WMG) hosts between seven and nine exhibitions annually, five of which are juried exhibitions and open to submissions from women and nonbinary artists. These juried exhibitions explore a wide variety of themes that connect women and nonbinary artists with high-profile art industry professionals and foster dialogue within contemporary feminism and social justice.

The WMG programming committee (composed of WMG staff, board, and volunteers) identifies initial themes and potential jurors, and collaborates with each juror to develop the exhibition themes.

Our list of jurors include:
Alison Wong (Director and Curator at Wasserman Projects, Detroit); Dolores Mercado (Associate Curator at National Museum of Mexican Art), Jessica Bingham (artist, mother, and recent Curator at University Galleries of Illinois State University, Normal, IL), Juana Williams (Independent Curator, Detroit), Mia Lopez (Assistant Curator at the DePaul Art Museum in Chicago), Kathryn Markel (Director of Markel Fine Arts, New York City), Whitney LaMora (Curator at The Martin and LOCUS, Chicago), Amy Galpin (Chief Curator at Frost Art Museum of Florida International University), Sam Kirk (Multidisciplinary Artist, Chicago), Barbara Ciurej and Lindsay Lochman (collaborative photographers, Milwaukee, WI), Dorit Jordan Dotan (multi-media artist, Chicago), Indira Freitas Johnson (artist and educator, Chicago), among others

ELIGIBILITY

Woman Made Gallery is a space for women and nonbinary artists from our local community, regionally based, and around the world. We welcome art from all women, including trans women and femme/feminine-identifying genderqueer and nonbinary artists.

No work may exceed 6 feet horizontally or be over 75 pounds in weight unless delivered and picked up by the artist. WMG will refuse receipt of art that is heavier than 75 pounds. Artworks must be hand-delivered or shipped to the gallery “ready to exhibit.” Technology and/or works requiring special instructions will be organized upon acceptance.

ENTRY FEE

Unless indicated otherwise, WMG juried exhibitions require an entry fee of $30–$35. Only one submission may be entered per artist. Each submission requires at least one and up to three artworks. Selections are made by respective jurors. A paid submission does not guarantee an exhibition opportunity. Entry fees are nonrefundable.

Members at the Enhanced Artist Level and above receive one free entry annually. Please email general@womanmade.org to receive your one-time code for a free entry redemption.

WMG offers fee waivers to those who request them. WMG offers around 30 fee waivers per juried exhibition. To acknowledge the historic inequities of wealth distribution, 15 of the 30 are exclusively reserved for ALAANA/BIPOC and/or LGBTQIA+. Factors that result in an approved application include financial instability or low-income status, student or recent graduate status, identification as ALAANA/BIPOC and/or LGBTQIA+, or an other demonstrated need. WMG accepts Fee Waiver Requests on a rolling basis until all fee waivers have been distributed. The team at WMG will approve requests and send a Submittal fee waived link within three days to the applicant.

Please send an email to general@womanmade.org to request a fee waiver.

TERMS OF EXHIBITION

Woman Made Gallery expects accepted artworks to arrive to the gallery as pictured and with the installation requirements submitted at the time of application. A limited number of accommodations may be made but must be approved by WMG at the time of artist contract agreements. An artist contract agreement with the full terms of exhibition will be distributed for agreement by all accepted artists upon acceptance notification. Terms of exhibition include the final exhibition schedule, shipping and delivery, installation requirements, an insurance disclaimer, art sales and commissions, right of reproduction of digital files and images, and website and publicity requirements, among others. For details on the terms of exhibition, please review the information for each call for art or email general@womanmade.org with questions.