When we go to an art gallery or an exhibition what we see are unique pieces by incredibly talented artists. We don’t see the behind-the-scenes of selecting and curating different artwork that makes up the great experience.

A lot of thought goes into the curating process, from art selection to pairing and display to tell a unique story. Because yes, we want to see different artworks but not haphazardly without any connecting element or central theme. This is why galleries, art shows, and exhibitions use art submission forms.

Art submission forms allow curators to see and select artwork that resonates with their gallery or exhibitions.

Understanding Art Submission Forms

Art submission forms are like typical submission forms but focused on art. They allow artists to showcase their work to your gallery, and enter contests, publications, or other creative contributions. So, it’s just like a job application form for artists asking them for their portfolio instead of their experience at different companies.

Why Do You Need an Art Submission Form?

• Efficiency: As a curator or art event organizer, art submission forms create a structured system for receiving and evaluating submissions. Instead of having artists come in from different locations to present their work even when they are not sure if they will get accepted, you can go through their work using the form and only invite the selected artists for the exhibition. This saves the artists both time and money they would have spent on logistics for themselves and the art.
• Standardization: Another plus of art submission forms is that they allow you to compare submissions easily and pick the most relevant to your gallery or art event.
• Artist Visibility: As an artist, filling out an art submission form might just be the push you need to be discovered and enter the limelight. 

Who Uses Art Submission Forms?

• Galleries: Art submission forms allow you to effortlessly view artist work from around the globe and reach out to the ones that fit your theme to display their work in your gallery or for an event. If you are opting for a walk-in art showcase, you would be missing out on great talents that are not in your time zone.
• Art Competitions: There are so many artists trying to make their debut in art contests, having an online art submission form ensures all of them get a fair shot not just the ones close to your location or with flight money.
• Publications: If you are running digital or even print publications, you need illustrations to get readers engaged. So, having an art submission form allows you to collect relevant artwork for your magazines, journals, or featured articles.
• Public Art: You can also use art submission forms to enable artists to showcase their work in public spaces such as murals, sculptures, or other public art installations. You first look through their previous work and ensure it will be a good fit for the space before inviting the artists to create for the space.

Key Components of an Art Submission Form

• Artist Information: collect artists’ names, contacts, and portfolios (photos or links). This will help you know more about the artists and their work. It also helps you easily contact them if their work gets selected for your gallery or event.
• Artwork Details: Aside from photos, you want the story behind the art. You can ask artists about their inspiration for the work they submitted and the message they are putting out there with it. For example, the artwork title, medium used, dimensions, year, and artist statement.
• Image Upload/Link: This is simply a space for artists’ portfolios that allows them to upload images or links to their art. You can specify the size and file format you want in this field e.g. images only, links only, or video embed.
• Copyright Information: The last thing you want in your art exhibition is a lawsuit about copyright infringement. So ensure there’s a statement that warns artists to only submit work they own. Also, state how you will use the artworks submitted and collect artists’ informed consent.
• Submission Guidelines: for contests and publications, add a deadline for submissions that ensures you have everything you need for the event. You can also mention the event’s theme so artists can submit relevant pieces, increasing their chances of being selected and making your curation process easier.
• Agreement and Consent: before artists finalize their submission, ensure they consent to the terms and conditions of the submission process. For example, permission to showcase the artwork in your gallery, at an event, or even permission to use images of the artwork for promotional purposes.

Best Practices for Creating Art Submission Forms

These will help you get the best from your art submission form:

• Keep it simple: the goal of art submission forms is to streamline your art selection process and allow artists to showcase their work. There is no reason why you should have lengthy art submission forms, the shorter the better; collect only what you need to. 
• Submission Instructions: Specify exactly what you want from artists e.g. file format, size, and more.
• User-friendly Forms: Your submission process is only as good as the form you use. So, use simple forms that allow artists to submit their work easily. A good example of a user-friendly art submission form is the Formplus art submission template. It has everything you need to collect submissions easily, for example, it accepts offline submissions so artists don’t have to worry about losing their progress if they lose their connections.

Also, the formplus art submission form is compatible with multiple devices and browsers, so artists can easily submit their work. Also, the form is multilingual so artists know what you want from them and can submit their work without any language barrier.

Conclusion

Whether you are having an exhibition, art contests, or looking for new pieces to display in your gallery, an art submission form makes the process easier and faster. It helps you source art from around the globe and discover new talents without spending time and money physically scouting talents.

We hope this guide helps you to collect submissions for your events or gallery more easily. If you have an event coming up or just looking for fresh pieces to add to your collection, the Formplus art submission template will make the process easier.