March All-Media Show: All That Jazz Call For Entries 2025

 

March 2025

AMS: All That Jazz

Call For Entry:   February 1 – 16, 2025

Submission: Online through Artcall.org

 https://march2025cacallmediashowallthatjazzcallforentries.artcall.org

Juror: Merrily Johnstone 

Submission Fee: $15 each up to 3 entries

Commission: 70 % to artists, 30% to CAC

Artists Notified via Email by: Friday, February 21, 2025

Artwork Drop Off: Wednesday, March 12 – 15, 2025 by Noon

Exhibition Opening:  Friday, March 21, 2025, 5pm – 8pm

Exhibition End Date: Sunday, May 4, 2025

Artwork Available for Artists to Pick Up: Tuesday, May 6, 2025

Music Theme - The art theme "All That Jazz" could be interpreted as a celebration of jazz music, culture, and the vibrancy it represents. Artists might explore themes related to:

1. Music and Rhythm: Capturing the energy, spontaneity, and improvisation of jazz through dynamic compositions, abstract forms, and rhythmic patterns.
2. Instruments and Musicians: Depicting iconic jazz instruments like the saxophone, trumpet, piano, or drums, or paying tribute to famous jazz musicians.
3. Cultural and Historical Significance: Reflecting on the origins of jazz, its influence on culture, or the Harlem Renaissance, which was a key period in jazz history.
4. Mood and Atmosphere: Jazz is often associated with smoky clubs, vibrant cityscapes, and lively social settings. Artists could focus on mood, using color and light to evoke emotion.
5. Improvisation and Freedom: Jazz is often about freedom and breaking rules. Artists might experiment with unconventional techniques or styles to mirror this.

Overall, the theme invites creativity, freedom, and exploration, much like jazz itself.

As an Artist how would you like to apply this theme in your art?

Excluding the music theme, "All That Jazz" can be interpreted more broadly as an expression of energy, diversity, and vibrancy in various aspects of life and art. Here are some alternative interpretations:

1.      Celebration of Life and Vibrancy: Focus on dynamic, lively, and colorful scenes that reflect the joy and excitement of life—such as bustling city streets, carnivals, or nature in full bloom.

2.      Eclectic Mix of Styles: The phrase "all that jazz" can refer to a variety of things, suggesting a theme about diversity and eclecticism. Artists might create pieces that combine multiple styles, cultures, or mediums into a cohesive work.

3.      Urban Lifestyle: Think about the hustle and bustle of a big city—nightlife, skyscrapers, crowds, street art, and the interplay between architecture and human movement. The "jazzy" feel of a city can be represented through modern, energetic compositions.

4.      Human Expression and Emotion: The theme can highlight human emotions or expressions—such as joy, sadness, passion, or spontaneity—through figurative or abstract work.

5.      Fashion and Style: Jazz is often associated with a stylish, sophisticated look. Art could explore fashion, elegance, or the style of past eras, such as the Roaring Twenties, with its flapper dresses, sharp suits, and vintage glamour.

6.      Improvisation in Art: Emphasize artistic spontaneity and improvisation, encouraging artists to step out of their comfort zones and experiment with new techniques, materials, or ideas.

7.      Nature’s Rhythms: Artists might explore the rhythms and patterns found in nature—such as the movement of water, the growth of plants, or the patterns of animal behavior—that evoke a sense of harmony and flow.

These interpretations offer a broader range of possibilities for artists to engage with the "All That Jazz" theme creatively.

 

Submission Details:

You will need an artist statement - 200 word limit in first person when you first register in ArtCall. 

1. You do not have to create a portfolio site to enter the show.

2. The way you fill out the form is how it will be shown on the labels, awards, and publicity. We will not change text after the end of Call for Entries, unless it is our mistake. Please be sure it is what you want to say.
   

   a. Name: Use Capital Letters for the first letters of your name.

   b. Prices - DO NOT TYPE IN A COMMA. This produces the wrong price. ArtCall will add it automaticaally. Double-check it--We will not change prices after the end of the Call for Entries, unless it is our mistake.

   c. Measurements - HEIGHT first, then Width then Depth (H x W x D)

   d. Verbiage regarding the piece of art - The character limit is 300, including spaces!! This is used for all publicity and labels online and inhouse. Spellcheck it as well as word count it! We use it exactly the way your have written it in ArtCall, by copy/pasting what you type. We do NOT change prices after the Call For Entries ends, unless it is our mistake.

   e. FYI - You can go back in and add/edit images and edit text until the call ends.

   f. Please double check all information (see above). 

2D IMAGE REQUIREMENTS:

3 images of each piece are required, one of the art without frame, one with frame, and a close detail image (zoomed into a small section of interest). If the art is unframed, only 2 photos are required. 

If it is framed, this image must be included during the Call for Entries period.

NOTE: if the work is framed, we must have the outside measurements of the frame (H x W x D). Please do not guess. If we do not have the measurements for the art and/or the framed art, your piece will not be considered to jury. Walls and backgrounds SHOULD NOT SHOW in photos. When taking the digital image please make sure the photo is not at an angle or crooked.

 

3D IMAGE REQUIREMENTS:

For each 3D, installation, or wearable art entry, submit 3 images: one overall front, one overall rear or sideview, and one detail (zoomed into a small section of interest).

• Detail images must show an important aspect of the artwork. Make sure that both the full-view and detail images are oriented correctly. Please keep backgrounds as unobtrusive as possible.

 

IMPORTANT: After submitting, please go back in and double check your information. Did you enter the required 2 or 3 photos? Is your price correct? Measurements? Is your statement complete? Too long? Please remember we do not change prices or text after the CFE ends, unless we are at fault.

NOTE: You can delete and change photos, and change text within each submission up until end-of-call. Do not delete an entire submission and then replace it with a new one--ArtCall will charge you for a new submission!

 

JUROR: Merrily Johnstone 

 

 

Specializing in portraiture, Merrily Johnstone is a representational painter who favors the indirect method of oil painting, a process that allows for the gradual buildup of rich, luminous paint surfaces.

Born in Japan to a military family, she was fortunate to live in Europe, where she was profoundly influenced by early childhood visits to palaces, cathedrals, and museums in France and Germany. These cultural experiences shaped an indelible and lifelong fascination with art in its many forms.

Her inspiration to draw and paint continued after her return to the United States, and in her teens Johnstone studied with the portrait painter and author Jack Clifton in Hampton, Virginia. She attended Virginia Commonwealth University, graduating with a BFA in Painting and Printmaking.  

Over time, her continuing obsession has been to deepen her knowledge of technical art history as it applies to painting. She has explored numerous approaches to painting, from traditional to post-modernist abstraction; as well as other disciplines such as jewelry fabrication, sewing and fabric design, architectural rendering, and logo design for the signage industry. From these experiences she feels she has synthesized “a broader understanding of the principles that elevate all forms of art to a higher level; such as composition, proportion, line, form, value, color, surface quality, and a respect for enduring craftsmanship and materials”.

She maintains membership in the Portrait Society of America, and lives and works in Richmond, Virginia.

 

Crossroads Art Center’s AMS are open to mid-Atlantic artists through a bimonthly call for entries, and cash prizes are awarded for the winners. Each show is juried by a prominent art professional from the community (a gallery director, curator, museum official, arts professor, or accomplished artist). Cash awards are given for 1st $100, 2nd $75, and 3rd $50 place winners, as well as Honorable Mentions. The 2025 AMS shows are exhibited at Crossroads Art Center and as an online exhibition where customers can shop directly from the website.