The Ontario Society of Artists (OSA) invites Canadian artists to apply to participate in our 148th Annual Open Juried Exhibition of Fine Arts.

To maintain public safety during COVID-19, an online Exhibition will be held from May 10-30, 2021. A downloadable catalogue will be made available to the artists and public for the exhibit.

Juried Artists will be invited to gather at a virtual preview online. A public online opening will be held later that week. Full details will be provided to the finalists when acceptances are sent out.

Key Facts

• Application Deadline: Monday, March 15, 2021
  
• Application Fee: $35.00
• ONE submission per artist
• Method of Payment: by PayPal or credit card at the end of this application form
• Number of entries will be capped at 500
• 50 pieces will be selected for the exhibit
• Notification: by May 3, 2021
  
• Notification method: Accepted applicants will be notified by email.
• The decision of the Jury is final. 

Criteria

There is no specific theme to the OJE. This is an annual exhibit of the OSA with the purpose of promoting the best that Canada has to offer from emerging and established artists. With that as our guide, the jurors will be looking for:

• Originality
• Artistry in composition and design
• Excellence and Skill in the chosen medium

All applicants are expected to be able to navigate basic digital processes including creating and uploading photographs of their work and properly labelling and submitting work according to the instructions.

Prizes

$1,000 – Award recipient chosen by an OSA Life Member
$1,000 – Best in Show Award recipient chosen by the Jurors
$250    – Four Awards for Excellence recipients chosen by the Jurors

Additional Value

For Non-Member artists: if you have shown work in two (2) or more Annual Open Juried Exhibitions in the past five (5) years, you are able to go direct to final jurying should you decide to apply for OSA Membership.

Adjudication & Jurors

Entries will be juried online. The decision of the jury is final.

We are honoured to have these 3 renowned jurors:

Charles Pachter: Charles Pachter is a leading Canadian painter, printmaker, sculptor, designer, historian and lecturer. He is an Officer of the Order of Canada, a Chevalier of France’s Order of Arts and Letters, and a recipient of the Order of Ontario. His images of the Queen, moose and maple leaf flag are icons of Canadian contemporary art. He spearheaded Toronto’s Queen Street West revival in the 1970s and 80s and is utilizing those skills in Orillia, Ontario where he has built a second iteration of his Toronto Moose Factory (affectionately known as MOFO, Moose Factory of Orillia). (Learn more about Charles here.)

Paula White-Diamond: Paula White-Diamond is well versed in both sides of the art business. She is a professional artist; her dynamic abstract works can be found in private collections throughout North America. As the owner of Paula White Diamond Art Gallery + Design Studio in Waterloo, Ontario since 2007, Paula has turned her passion for art into a career of connecting art patrons to artists and their work. The Gallery is recognized as one of Ontario’s leading fine art sources, showing and selling work from established and emerging artists in a broad spectrum of media, styles. Paula received her training at George Brown College in graphic design, and at the Ontario College of Art and Design in experimental arts. (Learn more about Paula here.)

Janet Read: Janet Read is a painter, musician and poet, who grew up near Lake Simcoe. An abstract painter, she is compelled by the lure of sea and sky, the water's edge, and infinite horizons to an investigation of water as a metaphor for strength and fragility. Travels to the far reaches of the world have landed her in the Arctic, Newfoundland, Ireland, Norway, Scotland, Iceland, and Japan. These land/seacapes prompt the fluid, metaphorical nature of the sea, to surface in her work. Read holds an MA in the philosophy of art, emphasizing the role of metaphor in art. Janet Read is representing the OSA on this year’s Jury. (Learn more about Janet here.)

Eligibility

The competition is open to all professional artists in Canada.

Artists may submit ONE work only in any two- or three-dimensional media. For two-dimensional media: one image per submission only. For 3D / sculptural pieces you may send two images, showing two different views.

Artwork previously exhibited in other OSA juried shows is not eligible.

Work must have been completed after January 1, 2019.

All works must be original art. Entries must not be copies or derivatives. Photography must be limited editions.

Only complete applications submitted on or before the deadline (midnight, Monday, March 15, 2021) will be considered. This includes application form, accompanying artist biography/statement (max 150 words), JPEG image of artwork and the application fee.

Image Requirements

NOTE: Images submitted must be of a professional standard. Admission images are what will be used for the actual exhibit. We reserve the right to reject images that do not meet the standard, which may then disqualify your application.  Submission fee will not be refunded

Images must be no larger than 5 MB, in JPG/JPEG format

Maximum size: Images must be smaller than 5000x5000 pixels

Resolution: 72 dpi (note that 72 dpi will give excellent on-screen resolution, since we are not using these images to make prints)

Images must be cropped to the artwork edges. Show only the art; do not include frame or surrounding environment. Do not watermark your image.

Before you begin, you'll need to rename your file to help us identify them later and connect them to you. Your image must be labeled Your Initials (FirstLast), Artwork Title, Medium, Size (h x w inches) and price.

Some examples:

EC_RedCedar_44x27_oil_$5000.jpg
FP_LupinTears_photography_20x30_$600.jpg
PI_LeftHook_sculpture_8x6x13_$1850.jpg

Sales

20% commission will be charged to OSA members.
30% commission will be charged to all non-members.
Works which are not for sale must be marked NFS in the entry.

Please note: The OSA abides by an honour system. If the buyer goes directly to the artist, or if work is sold after the end of the show (up to the end of December, 2021), and the artist knows it to be as a result of the exposure from this show, we ask the artist and buyer to honour the commission structure indicated above.

Acceptances

Artwork will be juried online. The decision of the jury is final. 

Acceptances will be sent by e-mail, Monday, May 3, 2021. NO RESULTS WILL BE GIVEN BY PHONE. Work selected for the exhibition must be as submitted for jurying, or it will be disqualified.

Juried artists are expected to share information about their piece and the exhibit on their own social media platforms, including a link to the online exhibition. Most especially in these unusual times, the success of an online show depends equally on each of us communicating with our own followers in order to generate maximum eyes on the show for everyone. The OSA will also place advertisements and use their own social platforms and mailing list to promote.

By submitting to this exhibition, you agree to allow reproduction of your digital files for educational, publicity and archival purposes, unless we are informed otherwise in writing. You also give us permission to communicate with you via e-mail about this and future events.

Note: Personal ID will be concealed from the jurors so that all applications are judged entirely on merit.

Here again are the image specifications before you begin: 

Images must be no larger than 5 MB, in JPG/JPEG format

Maximum size: Images must be smaller than 5000x5000 pixels

Resolution: 72 dpi (note that 72 dpi will give excellent on-screen resolution, since we are not using these images to make prints)

If you need some help with resizing your image, this free, online tool can assist: https://resizeimage.net/

Images must be cropped to the artwork edges. Show only the art; do not include frame or surrounding environment. Do not watermark your image.

NAMING PROTOCOL: You will need to rename your file to help us identify it later and connect the image back to you. Your image must be labeled:

Your Initials (FirstLast)_ArtworkTitle_Medium_Size (h x w inches)_$price.jpg

Some examples:

EC_RedCedar_44x27_oil_$5000.jpg
FP_LupinTears_photography_20x30_$600.jpg
PI_LeftHook_sculpture_8x6x13_$1850.jpg

NOTE: if your artwork is not for sale please indicate price as $NFS.

NOTE: If your artwork is not for sale, please indicate that by typing NFS on the PRICE line. If not a photo, pleased type XX on the PHOTO EDITION line.

Please share some information about your art. This can include details about you (some biographical info, perhaps) + a statement about the actual artwork. Feel free to include your inspiration, process, meaning behind the work. You have 150 words.

NOTE: if your work is juried into the show, this information will be used as the public information panel in the exhibit. We want to create a richer experience for the audience by giving them more insight into your art.

 

Instructions: When you are ready to pay, please click PayPal Checkout or Debit/Credit Card.  You will then be prompted to log in to PayPal and select your payment option. If successful, you will receive an email receipt from PayPal and a copy of your application from Jotform.