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  • “Classical Aire” by Barbara Januszkiewicz


    DEL RAY ARTISANS - CALL FOR ENTRY
    OPEN TO ALL AREA ARTISTS

    Pictures at an Alexandria Exhibition

    A Fundraising Collaboration with Del Ray Artisans, the Symphony Orchestra League of Alexandria, and the Symphony Orchestra of Northern Virginia

    Online Auction: May 1–31, 2026

    Entry Deadline: Wednesday, March 25, 2026 by Midnight

    Curators: Kelly MacConomy (outreach@delrayartisans.org)
    and Margaret Slipek (secretary@delrayartisans.org)

  • The inextricable relationship between music and art is timeless. Del Ray Artisans (DRA), the Symphony Orchestra League of Alexandria (SOLA), and the Symphony Orchestra of Northern Virginia (SONOVA) present Pictures at an Alexandria Exhibition, an online art auction fundraising event and concert performance.

    Del Ray Artisans shares SONOVA’s vision, celebrating and empowering creative collaboration through partnerships across the arts.

    Ethan Lolley, Artistic Director of SONOVA, has selected excerpts from four pieces of music to inspire your artistic muse. Select the hyperlink to listen to the selection:

    • Grand Canyon Suite, Ferde Grofé ~ Movement 4 ~ Sunset
    • Dances of the Knights from Sergei Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet Ballet
    • Billy the Kid Suite, Aaron Copland ~ Movements 6, 7, 8: VI Celebration, VII Billy’s Death, VIII The Open Prairie
    • Mississippi Suite, Ferde Grofé ~ Movement 3 ~ Mardi Gras

    Artists are asked to draw inspiration from the above music for their creativity. You may submit one to four pieces of art and must identify which one of the musical selections is your muse for each artwork submitted. Any combination of musical selections listed above, or any single musical selection for all submitted artwork, is acceptable. Because the selected artworks will be presented in an auction format, artists are also required to submit a brief description of the artwork requested by the auction house.

    SONOVA will present a live performance of the music selections at the Rachel M. Schlesinger Concert Hall and Arts Center at Northern Virginia Community College, Alexandria Campus on Saturday, May 30 at 3pm.  Tickets are available on the SONOVA website. A digital slideshow of a selection of the auction artworks will be featured during the concert.

    The online auction is being run by Ararity Auctions, a professional auction house, who will prepare, promote, and publicize the auction.  The price you list for your artwork will be shown as the estimated sales price; however, your artwork may sell at a higher or lower price than the estimated sale price. If you wish to set a minimum sales price (called a ‘reserve’ price), there is a $50 reserve fee payable to Ararity Auctions. Your reserve fee will be collected by Ararity Auctions during the drop-off process. All artists will need to sign an auction contract with Ararity Auctions in order to participate and receive payment through their payment processor (Tipalti). The payment will be sent within 30 days after the auction ends.

    Drop-off of selected artwork and pick up of unsold artwork will be arranged with Ararity Auction. Ararity Auction will contact the artists to communicate this information.

     

    Entry to this exhibit is by online submission. Art may be two- or three-dimensional, and in any medium. There are no size limits on artworks for the auction. If submitting a multi-piece 2D artwork (such as a diptych or triptych), all parts must be framed together into one piece unless cleared in advance with the curator. Art should be ready to hang or display with wire and screw eyes, mounting and/or display stand, framed, matted, or with edges finished.  We cannot show work that is not ready for exhibition. Example of a professionally framed artwork with flat screw eyes and wire:

    If your artwork hanging system varies greatly from this example, contact the curators. See DelRayArtisans.org/exhibits/art-guidelines for additional details.

  • Entry Details

    • Open to all area artists.
    • Artists may submit up to four (4) pieces of artwork.
    • There is no entry fee.
    • Deadline for online submission of your art is Wednesday, March 25, 2026 by midnight.
    • You must provide one photo for each entry. Acceptable file types are: jpg, jpeg, pdf, and png; up to 5MB in file size. Smart phone photos are acceptable. You must name your files as follows: "YourLastName-FirstName-ArtworkTitle". You may also choose to provide one additional photograph per entry (not required). If you provide a second photo for an entry, add a "-2" to the end - e.g. "YourLastName-FirstName-ArtworkTitle-2".
    • All artwork must be original work and not a digital reproduction print. Giclée prints are not allowed. Art that relies on generated AI (artificial intelligence) content is discouraged, and may not be accepted. Photography, digital art, and hand-printed fine art prints (block prints, woodcuts, relief prints, monoprints, lithographs, intaglios, etchings, engravings, etc.) are welcome for entry. Contact the curator for more information.
    • All artwork must be for sale. (Carefully review the information on pricing under Accepted Artwork Requirements.)
    • Work previously shown at Del Ray Artisans gallery or elsewhere is eligible.

  • Accepted Artist Requirements

    • Artwork acceptance is at the discretion of the curators. Accepted artwork may be withheld from the auction at the discretion of Del Ray Artisans and Ararity Auctions.
    • Artwork will be sold at online auction. The price set by the artist in the entry form will be the listed estimated sale price. Your artwork may sell at a higher or lower price than the estimated sale price. You may choose to sell your work without (by default) or with a reserve price. If you choose to set a reserve price, a $50 fee payable to Ararity Auctions is required, along with communicating the reserve price directly with Ararity Auctions. If applicable, your reserve fee will be collected by Ararity Auctions during the drop-off process.
    • All artists will need to sign an auction contract with Ararity Auctions in order to participate and receive payment through their payment processor (Tipalti).
    • All taxes, including sales tax, are the responsibility of the artist. Factor your tax burden into the price of your artwork. Del Ray Artisans, SONOVA, and Ararity Auctions do not collect taxes separately.
    • When art sells, Del Ray Artisans, SONOVA, and Ararity Auctions retain a shared 30% commission.
    • Even if the artist's work has sold, artists are not allowed to bring in new entries after Artwork Receiving.
    • Del Ray Artisans, SOLA, SONOVA, Ararity Auctions, and the City of Alexandria cannot be held liable for any loss or damage to artwork at any time. Insurance for artwork is the sole responsibility of the artist.
    • Permission to photograph any artwork for Del Ray Artisans, SOLA, SONOVA, Ararity Auctions publicity and archival purposes is automatically granted by the artist as a requisite for entering the online auction. The photos you provide in the entry form below may also be used to post this exhibit online. Anyone not agreeing must contact the Curating Director at Curating@DelRayArtisans.org.
    • The information collected in this call for entry (including artists’ contact information) will be shared with Ararity Auctions.
    • Selected artwork must be dropped off by the artist or designated representative of the artist at Ararity Auctions (8208 Cinderbed Road, Lorton VA 22079 - five minutes south of the beltway off I-95) by appointment (10am-2:30pm, Monday–Friday) no later than April 8, 2026. All art must remain available and exclusively for sale at auction with Ararity Auctions throughout the entire length of the online auction period.
    • Ararity Auctions will contact the artist to pick up any unsold artwork after the auction ends. Artwork must be picked up between June 1-15, 2026 at Ararity Auctions by appointment.
    • Del Ray Artisans, SOLA, SONOVA, and Ararity Auctions cannot be held responsible for any artwork left after the pickup deadline. Any art left over 30 days after the close of the auction will become the property of Del Ray Artisans.

  • Important Dates

    • Deadline: Digital submissions to the auction are due by midnight on Wednesday, March 25, 2026.
    • Artists will be notified of artwork acceptance by Sunday, March 29, 2026.
    • Accepted artwork must be dropped off at Ararity Auctions (8208 Cinderbed Road, Lorton VA 22079 - five minutes south of the beltway off I-95) no later than Wednesday, April 8, 2025. Ararity Auctions will contact artists to set up an appointment between 10am-2:30pm, Monday–Friday.
    • The Pictures at an Alexandria Exhibition concert will be held on Saturday, May 30 at 3pm at the Rachel M. Schlesinger Concert Hall and Arts Center at Northern Virginia Community College, Alexandria Campus (4915 E Campus Dr, Alexandria, VA 22311).
    • The online exhibit and auction runs May 1–31, 2026.
    • Unsold artwork must be picked up from Ararity Auctions between Monday, June 1, 2026 and Monday, June 15, 2026. Ararity Auctions will contact artists to set up an appointment between 10am-2:30pm, Monday–Friday.

     

  • Entry Form

  • Artwork Entries

    You may provide up to four (4) entries. 

    Please provide one photo for each entry.  Acceptable file types are: pdf, jpg, jpeg, png,and gif; up to 5MB in file size.  Smart phone photos are acceptable.  You may also provide an additional photograph per entry if you wish (not required). 

    Name your files as follows: YourLastName-FirstName-ArtworkTitle. If you provide a second photo for the entry, add a “-2” to the end, e.g. YourLastName-FirstName-ArtworkTitle-2.

    Any questions or concerns about this application, contact the curators: Kelly MacConomy (outreach@delrayartisans.org) and Margaret Slipek (secretary@delrayartisans.org).

  • Entry 1

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  • Entry 2

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  • Entry 3

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  • Entry 4

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  • Terms and Conditions

    Carefully review all the terms and conditions in this Call for Entry; especially note the Accepted Artist Requirements section and Important Dates section. You must also check the following acknowledgements:

  • Select the "Submit Entry Form" button below to submit this entry form.


  • Special thanks to the City of Alexandria, Alexandria Commission for the Arts, and Virginia Commission for the Arts for their continued support of Del Ray Artisans, a 501(c)(3) organization.

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