The St. Johns Cultural Council presents an opportunity for local visual artists to exhibit in St. Johns County's between August 2026 and January 2027.
Visual artists are invited to submit their work for a display opportunity throughout St. Johns County. The Art in Public Spaces expansion will feature 6-8 mini galleries that will be on display 24 hours a day in select locations. There is no generic, stylistic, or thematic constraint beyond the exclusion of nudity, partial nudity, or politically charged themes, although those that highlight St. Johns County are always encouraged.
Submissions must be made online by June 14, 2026. A Public Art Committee will select work to be included in each exhibition and notify artists on or before June 24, 2026.
GOALS:
The St. Johns Cultural Council is seeking local artists to showcase their work in the the SJC Lil' Art Galleries to expand artists reach in a whimsical but elevated way for the general public to enjoy. This will continue the expansion of the Art in Public Spaces to connect residents and visitors with more fine art.
BENEFITS:
- Artist stipend of $2,000-2,500 will be paid to the artist based on the number of works selected and level of artist work.
- The selected artists will have the opportunity to exhibit their work in miniature form to the public for the remainder of the year.
- The Cultural Council will publish a gallery hop catalog, promote the exhibitions, and spotlight local artists throughout the year.
- Artist profiles on historiccoastculture.com will link to the artist's work so the artist can facilitate all purchases of original artworks.
ELIGIBILITY:
This call is open to Northeast Florida artists, with preference to artists living in St. Johns County**. Applications will be judged by the eligibility criteria below:
- Complete application submitted by the deadline
- Artwork images fit the size requirements.
- Artist works are complete and available for purchase on the artist website.
FOR DISPLAY
The Lil Art Gallery display utilizes a scaled-down fine art print of the artist's original artwork. The artist will be given the miniature gallery box and is expected to paint the interior in their preferred color and the exterior white. Artist may design the interior with miniature benches, people, add additional walls, etc. The design concept must be approved by the St. Johns Cultural Council. Selected artists may reach out to the cultural council for printing recommendations if needed.
DISPLAY TIMELINE
The Cultural Council tentatively plans for artist to install the galleries with the venues the last week of August 2026. Dates are subject to change.
- June 14, 2026: Deadline for submissions
- June 24, 2026: Selections made, and artists are notified no later than this date.
- August 3 - 10: Artist deliver mini gallery to be installed at Venue. Please note some venues will request artists install or at least be present to make any final adjustments.
- January 2027: Display closes.
GUIDELINES
Submit a coherent portfolio of available works for exhibition, along with an artist statement and a short bio. The portfolio should consist of between 5 to 10 high-quality digital images. Artists should consider that the works will be on display in miniature.
- The display areas call for images of artworks. Low-res images will not be considered.
- Works must already exist, no concepts will be accepted at this time.
Artists of all ages are eligible, but anyone under 18 must have a parent or guardian sign their liability forms. All residents of St. Johns County, Florida, may submit their work to be considered by 11:59 PM on Sunday, June 14, 2026, with the following requirements:
Submitting with the following restrictions:
- JPG, JPEG, or PNG formats
- 1200px or more on the longest side, up to 5 MB in size. With a minimum of 750KB or larger
- 300 dpi
- Image file must include the artist’s last name and title of work with no spaces; titles may be shortened to avoid long file labels.
- ex. Smith_MyArtwork_size_media.jpg
- To ensure we receive all submitted images and that they maintain quality, please do not attach images in an email message or as a Word document.
- Please provide the following information about your submitted works:
The full title of all images with the corresponding file names
Materials and techniques
Dimensions in inches (height x width)
Proposed method of display
Artist statement
- Please note that curating this exhibition will possibly involve selections from your portfolio. Artworks do not have to be presented in person.
- Please provide a concept drawing or brief description of your gallery design.
This call for entries is competitive; entrants are not guaranteed an exhibition space or online acknowledgment by submitting an entry. The selection of the curators is final.
Submit your images via jotform. You may email info@historiccoastculture.com with any follow-up questions or materials.
The St. Johns Cultural Council reserves the right to make final decisions on all submissions. The artist certifies they hold the copyright for the artwork and its image and certifies the work submitted is original and does not infringe on any existing copyright. The Cultural Council will attribute the name of the artist whenever images of the artwork are used for print and/or digital promotion. The artist grants permission for the St. Johns Cultural Council to use the submitted images for promotion in print and/or digital media. Entrants assume and accept all legal and financial responsibility for any infringement on the privacy rights or copyright of others, caused by creating or presenting their work in public.
Selected artists must sign an authorization of exhibition and a waiver of liability agreement before their works may be displayed.
The St. Johns Cultural Council will archive all exhibitions electronically, allowing the promotion of exhibiting artists to curators and collectors as well as the viewing public. In case of a sale inquiry, the artist will be promptly contacted.
For further information, contact the Cultural Council via email at info@historicoastculture.com.