The St. Johns Cultural Council presents an opportunity for resident artists to exhibit in a group exhibition at the St. Johns County Administration Building, April 16 – May 30, 2024

The St. Johns Cultural Council will present an Art in Public Spaces group exhibition at the Rotunda Gallery of the St. Johns County Administration Building, St. Augustine, Florida, celebrating the 250th Anniversary of American botanist and ornithologist William Bartram’s travels in St. Johns County.

We invite artists of all ages – who reside in St. Johns County – to submit their work for consideration. Artists may submit two- and three-dimensional works of original design in any style, genre, and media inspired by the flora and fauna of St. Johns County’s natural landscape, especially along the St. Johns River where Bartram explored extensively.

Submissions must be made online by 5 PM on February 23, 2024. A panel of judges will select work to be included in the exhibition and notify artists on or before March 8, 2024.

 

CONTEXT

William Bartram, considered the first American-born naturalist, first visited British East Florida in 1765 on an expedition organized by his father. He fell in love with the flora and fauna he observed along the St. Johns River, and returned to East Florida in the Spring of 1774 to record the region’s plants, animals, and indigenous people.

Bartram’s account of his adventures, Bartram’s Travels, is considered one of the most important scientific books of the time and is still in print today. Here, Bartram describes Florida’s vast biodiversity with scientific observations and illustrations of hundreds of plants and animals. The book mentions acres of citrus on plantations in Fruit Cove and Switzerland, assumed to be located near present-day Alpine Groves Park.

BENEFITS

  • Participating artists and their selected work will be featured in an exhibition catalog published by the Cultural Council.
  • The Cultural Council will prepare exhibition labels and signage, and promote the exhibition.
  • An opening reception for the exhibition will be hosted by the Cultural Council.

FOR DISPLAY

The Rotunda Gallery utilizes a cable and hook system and all hanging works should be prepared with wire. Framed works may not exceed 40” in width and height, and must be ready to hang with secure gallery wire.

Sculpture must have maximum dimensions not exceeding 20” in length, width, and height, or be capable of display on an appropriate stand provided by the artist.

EXHIBITION TIMELINE

Please note that delivery and installation dates are subject to change

  • February 23, 2024: Deadline for submissions
  • March 8, 2024: Selections made; artists notified
  • April 11, 2024: Work delivered for installation
  • April 16, 2024: Exhibition opening with a morning reception
  • April 17, 2024: Evening reception
  • May 30, 2024: Exhibition closes
  • May 31, 2024: Artists remove work from Rotunda Gallery

GUIDELINES

Artists may submit up to five (5) individual works as high-quality digital images, on or before 5 PM on Friday, February 23, 2024 following the requirements below:

Entries must be submitted via email to [email protected] with the subject line “Bartram Exhibition: [Your Name]”. The body of the email must include the following:

  • Artist name
  • Telephone number
  • Residential address
  • A link to the online storage file (Google Drive, DropBox, WeTransfer, etc.) that contains the complete entry and includes the following items:
    • Word document titled “[Last Name] Bartram Entries” that contains information about the submitted work:
      • Full title of each piece with the corresponding file name
      • Materials and techniques employed
      • Dimensions in inches
        • 2D: width x height
        • 3D: length x width x height
      • Artist statement about each piece
    • Images of submitted work:
      • JPG, JPEG, or PNG formats
      • 1200px or more on the longest side, up to 5 MB in size
      • 300 dpi
      • Image file must be labeled with the artist’s last name and title of work with no spaces; titles may be shortened
        • Smith_MyArtwork.jpg

To ensure we receive all submitted images and that they maintain their highest quality, please DO NOT attach images in an email message or Word document.

 

Artists must be residents of St. Johns County, Florida. Both professional and student artists are encouraged to submit their work. A parent or guardian of artists under the age of 18 must consent to the artist’s participation in the exhibition.

This call for entries is competitive; entrants are not guaranteed exhibition or online acknowledgment by submitting an entry. The selection of the curators is final.

 

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 will be required to sign an authorization of exhibition and a waiver of liability agreement for the works to be displayed.

In case of a sale inquiry the artist will be promptly contacted.

The St. Johns Cultural Council will archive all exhibitions electronically, allowing us to promote exhibiting artists to curators and collectors as well as the viewing public.