Come Together
online encaustic exhibition & catalogue
INTERNATIONAL OPEN CALL FOR SUBMISSION
Exhibition: May 1 – 31, 2026
Submission Deadline: April 26, 2026
Zoom Event: May 23, 3 PM Eastern Time
Exhibition Catalogue: Works will be published on our website and in a downloadable PDF publication
The featured image is a close up of Embrace Your Soul by Andrea Bird.
OPEN CALL for encaustic artworks:
An exhibition about connection—between people, materials, ideas, histories, and places. Come Together asks how we gather, collaborate, support, and coexist, even when we are different or divided.
The Canadian Encaustic Conference invites artists working in encaustic to submit work for this online exhibition. Artists may interpret the connection in multiple ways:
- as an act, through stitching, layering, binding, joining, mending, or repairing; or
- as a visual language, through overlapping forms, clusters, grids, networks, rhythm, repetition, or the removal of barriers.
Works may approach the theme literally or metaphorically, quietly or boldly, and may reflect harmony, tension, or complexity.
This is an online-only exhibition. There are no size limits, and works will not be shipped. All submitted works must be created using encaustic. Come Together will be presented online by the organizers of the Canadian Encaustic Conference.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Can I participate if I’m not attending the Canadian Encaustic Conference?
Absolutely! We welcome submissions from all artists, regardless of whether you plan to attend the Conference.
2. Do I need to ship my work for the online exhibition?
No, since the exhibition is entirely online, there’s no need to ship your work. This also means there are no size restrictions for submitted pieces.
3. Does the work need to be available for sale?
No, you can choose to list your work for sale or mark it as NFS (not for sale).
4. Does the exhibition take a commission on sold works?
No, we are not taking any commission on sold works. Artists retain 100% of the sale proceeds.
5. How are sales made?
Buyers will contact you directly. We do not process sales for online exhibitions.
6. Can I submit work that has been shown in previous exhibitions?
Submitted work must not have been featured in any of our previous exhibitions but may have been shown elsewhere.
7. If my work is rejected, can I get a refund?
No, submission fees will not be refunded. Collected fees will be used for pre-conference expenses such as venue and catering deposits, as well as awards.
8. What criteria is used to accept/reject artwork?
- All works must be encaustic
- Works and Artist Statements must relate to the exhibition theme
- We reserve the right to reject submissions that do not meet the call requirements and the professional standards of the Canadian Encaustic Conference.
- Please ensure that your images are properly cropped and of good quality, otherwise your entry may not be accepted.
By submitting this form, you grant the Canadian Encaustic Conference permission to use your submission material, without compensation, in any social media posting and catalogue publication of this exhibition.
* IMPORTANT Please read *
Your care filling in this form will save us countless hours fixing formatting issues and typos. Thank you!
Before you begin filling out this form, have your prepared artist statement, dimensions of your artwork (unframed and framed), and cropped images ready.
- Include a concise artist statement specific to the artwork, speaking to the exhibition theme. Do not submit an artist bio or general artist statement. Artist statements should be written in first-person (I, me, my) and will be available to read online with the artwork.
- You may upload 2 images of each artwork. The first image should be tightly cropped showing the artwork only. Please name image files lastname_title.jpg
- The second image would show how the artwork appears framed or hung on a wall. Please name image files lastname_title_install.jpg. Nothing fancy you don’t need to use an app.
- TIP: you can use the free Snapseed app to straighten and crop your images.
Please use proper capitalization. Do not turn on cap locks. Do not use ” symbols in fields.
If you encounter any problems submitting or need to make an edit to your entry please email Ruth Maude at admin@encausticconference.ca
Submission Deadline Sunday, April, 26
This form is currently closed for submissions.