Current Calls
Cultivate invites submissions from artists engaged in intentional image-making through film and alternative photographic processes. In an age of constant digital practices, we are particularly interested in work exploring analog photography's technical and conceptual underpinnings.
​
"Analog Realities" is an upcoming exhibition that aims to explore the complexities surrounding the nature of image-making through the lens of analog photography and alternative-style photography.
We are especially interested in how the intentionality of this slower, analog process affects the relationship to the work itself. This complex interplay invites viewers to consider not just what the image shows, but also what it is, thereby enriching our understanding of what an image can be.
We are seeking work that is based in film or alternative-style photography only. These techniques may include, but is not limited to the following techniques -
​
-
Cyanotype on paper or a variety of surfaces
-
Wet Plate Collodion
-
Salt Printing
-
Anthotype
-
Chemigram
-
Gum Bichromate
-
Lumen Printing
-
Polaroid Lifts
-
Liquid Emulsion
-
Van Dyke Brown
-
Bromoil Printing
-
Ziatype
-
Photopolymer Gravure
-
Carbon Transfer
-
Kallitype
-
Mordancage
-
Platinum/Palladium Printing
-
Oil Printing
-
Tintype (Ferrotype)
-
Daguerreotype
​
While 2D works are a focus, we also encourage interdisciplinary practices that may employ floor or ceiling installations, windows, or leverage the light conditions of our gallery space.
​
Submission Guidelines
​
Eligibility:
Artists 18 years and older are eligible to submit.
Submissions must be original artwork created within the last two years.
Artwork must not have been previously exhibited at Cultivate Gallery.
Media:
We are particularly interested in 2D works and work that may be displayed or installed on the floor, hung from the ceiling, or utilize natural light.
The focus is on alternative and film photography techniques. Interdisciplinary practices are welcome.
Number of Works:
Artists may submit up to 5 works for consideration.
Submission Materials:
High-resolution digital images (JPEGs preferred) of each piece of work.
Image list including title, dimensions, medium, and year.
Artist statement (300-500 words) that articulates your engagement with the medium.
Current CV or resume.
Submission Method:
Submissions are submitted through our Airtable link below.
Timeline:
October 22 - Call Opens
November 19 - Call Closes
December 9 - Artists are Notified
January 19 - 26 - Artwork is Received at the Gallery
February 9 - March 29 - 'Analog Realities' Exhibition
February 9 - Opening Reception
Optional Zoom Panel Discussion with artists sometime during exhibition
March 29 - Exhibition Closes
April 1 - April 12 - Artwork pickup or Shipments out
​
Cultivate, an artist-run space, is committed to supporting artists. If you are interested learning how we support artists, please visit here.
Past Calls
Local Artist Holiday Guide November 2023
​
The Cultivate Exhibitions Team invites makers, writers, artists of all mediums and experience levels to apply for our 2023 Local Artist Gift Guide. Any artist working within 100 miles of Grand Rapids is eligible for this work.
​
This free gift guide will be an annual guide to local artists' work in an effort to connect audiences directly to the artists. This guide will be printed like a magazine and distributed in hotels, tourism agencies, artist markets, restaurants, and more. It will also be available online, and all artist websites will be available.
The mission of this work is to support small businesses and to connect audiences to local artists. Think of it as an art catalog that you can reference during the holiday season, but also year-round. We want to share artists from every zip code and area to share the breadth of work and art that is in our city.
​
Image featured here is Son Visual
​
Timeline:
​
August 2, 2023: Call Opens
September 8, 2023: Call Closes
September 29, 2023: Artists will be notified
October 1-30: Full Design of Holiday Guide
Mid-November: Guide is Available for Public
Featured Artist Program June-Dec 2023 Call
The Featured Artist Program at Cultivate serves to elevate and amplify the artist's work and process with the community, inviting them to understand how and why an artist creates the work they do, to market and promote artists, and to connect artists to each other and to our network of curators, artists, and gallery owners.
The feature includes a web publication, Instagram posts and stories, as well as additional social media coverage. We will select 12 artists to share in this series. The artists and work selected will be a representation of the work exhibited in our gallery.
Benefits of being a Cultivate Featured artist include:
Connection to our vast network of artists, curators, gallery owners, and collectors
Heavy promotion in our newsletter, web publication, and social media
Exhibition Catalog made of these selected artists ​
​
Artists are selected in every January and June, and scheduled out for the six-month period with each month featuring a different artist.
​
Selected artists for this cohort will be notified by June 9.
Timeline of Work:
April 17, 2023 - Open Call for Artists
May 19, 2023 - Call Ends
June 2 - June 9, 2023 - Artists are notified
Between June 2-June 16, selected artists answer interview questions
Between June 16-December 29, 2023, two artists a month will be shared in the web publication and also in the exhibition catalog for this cohort.
​Questions and media should be directed to hello@cultivategrandrapids.org
​
Meet our Juror: Nicky Ni
​
A Chinese expat living in Chicago, Nicky Ni writes and curates exhibitions and screenings. She is currently Curatorial Resident at Chicago Artists Coalition, Editor at Sixty Inches From Center, and Programmer for Onion City Experimental Film Festival (a production of Chicago Filmmakers). She is co-founder of LITHIUM (2017-19), a gallery dedicated to time-based art in the Pilsen neighborhood. LITHIUM then became TNL (aka. The Neu Lithium), an online editorial and curatorial platform for time-based and media art. Additionally, she has curated exhibitions or screenings at Conversations at the Edge, Mana Contemporary, Museum of Contemporary Photography, SITE Galleries, 062, and other venues. Her writing has appeared on Chicago Reader, Sixty Inches from Center, Newcity, Call for Curators, Chicago Artist Writers. Nicky’s past residencies include Full Spectrum Curatorship Programme at IMPAKT Centre for Media Culture (Online/Utrecht, NL); and Momus Emerging Art Critics Residency (Online/CA). Nicky received her M.A. degree in Art History and Arts Administration from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago and a B.S. degree in Industrial Engineering and French from Northwestern University. When not working, Nicky enjoys geeking out on coffee, exploring vegan cooking and listening to electronic music.
​
We ARE Here: More Than Just a Number
​
The Cultivate Exhibitions Team invites artists over the age of 55 to participate in our upcoming group exhibition, We ARE Here: More Than Just a Number. The exhibit will focus on ageism and how older artists are often overlooked and pushed aside in lieu of of their younger counterparts. It was on view from April 7-May 26, 2023.
Featured Artist Winter January 2023
​
The Featured Artist Program at Cultivate serves to elevate and amplify the artist's work and process with the community, inviting them to understand how and why an artist creates the work they do, to market and promote artists, and to connect artists to each other and to our network of curators, artists, and gallery owners.
​
The feature includes a web publication, Instagram posts and stories, as well as additional social media coverage. We will select 12 artists to share in this series. The artists and work selected will be a representation of the work exhibited in our gallery.
Local Artist Holiday Guide November 2022
​
The Cultivate Exhibitions Team invites makers, writers, artists of all mediums and experience levels to apply for our Inaugural Local Artist Gift Guide.
​​
This gift guide will be an annual guide to local artists' work in an effort to connect audiences directly to the artists. This guide will be printed like a magazine and distributed in hotels, tourism agencies, artist markets, restaurants, and more. It will also be available online, and all artist websites will be available. The mission of this work is to support small businesses and to connect audiences to local artists. Any artist working within 100 miles of Grand Rapids, including the West Michigan area. We want to share artists from every zip code and area to share the breadth of work and art that is in our city.
Featured Artist Winter June 2022
​
The Featured Artist Program at Cultivate serves to elevate and amplify the artist's work and process with the community, inviting them to understand how and why an artist creates the work they do, to market and promote artists, and to connect artists to each other and to our network of curators, artists, and gallery owners.
​
The feature includes a web publication, Instagram posts and stories, as well as additional social media coverage. We will select 12 artists to share in this series. The artists and work selected will be a representation of the work exhibited in our gallery.
It Takes a Village March 2022
​
It Takes a Village is a site-specific public art installation featuring the work of three artists or groups. Partnering with community organizations and centers around Grand Rapids, this project intentionally showcases the community and people of Grand Rapids. It Takes a Village to support a person. It Takes a Village to support a community. It Takes a Village to grow together.
​
This project envisions a world and a community where all people understand and embrace the contemporary meaning and significance of community support and care, and feel empowered to take positive action to care for themselves and others. We are constructing these spaces for artists to share their histories, experiences, and hopes for the future, engaging visitors with a window onto different perspectives to find common ground with one another.
​
The site-specific installations will be inside fabricated, single-room greenhouse-like spaces that create an immersive space of understanding community, empathy, and care. Ideal work will serve to start conversations and connect community. The work may serve to answer the following questions: "What does it mean to care for a community?" "What are the histories of the various people who live or lived there?" "What are the stories of the various people who live or lived there?" "What does 'It Take a Village' mean to you as an artist or person?" The mission of this work is to connect community through art - honoring many areas of Grand Rapids and the histories/stories of the people who live there.