Lawndale, a Houston-based multidisciplinary contemporary art center, has announced the open call for its annual juried exhibition, The Big Show. The call is open to artists living and working within a 100-mile radius of the organization (4912 Main Street Houston, Texas 77002).
Dr. Kanitra Fletcher
Traditionally, The Big Show is juried by a curator based outside of Houston. Past jurors include Daisy Nam (2022), Cecilia Fajardo-Hill (2021), and Evelyn C. Hankins (2018). In 2019, Lawndale took a break from the annual show, and in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the show also did not take place.
This year’s exhibition will be juried by Dr. Kanitra Fletcher, the former Museum of Fine Arts, Houston Associate Curator who joined the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. in 2021 as Associate Curator of African American and Afro-Diasporic Art. During her time in Houston, Dr. Fletcher oversaw the presentation of significant traveling exhibitions, including Soul of a Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power and Odyssey: Jack Whitten Sculpture. Recently, she organized the U.S. tour of Afro-Atlantic Histories, which debuted at the National Gallery of Art last year and was recently on view at the MFAH.
Lawndale’s Submittable page lists the following eligibility criteria:
– The Big Show is open to artists living within a 100-mile radius of Lawndale.
– Each artist may submit up to 3 original artworks completed between January 2021 to present.
– Work must fit through the 6′ 9″ x 4′ 11″ entryway and cannot exceed 200 pounds in weight.
– Works previously exhibited in Houston are not eligible.
– All works must be exhibition ready and include proper hanging hardware. Works that are not stable enough to endure the exhibition may not be eligible.
– All works must be available for the duration of the exhibition.
There is no submission fee to apply to the exhibition and applications are due by Monday, March 6, 2023 at 11:59 pm CST. For more information and to apply, visit Lawndale’s Submittable webpage.
