Open Call for Exhibition Proposals

The advisory committee of Mesa Community College Art Gallery is accepting exhibition proposals to be reviewed in April 2026 for planning the 2026-2027 academic year. Proposals are sought from independent curators, artist-curators, curatorial teams, and not-for-profit arts and culture organizations. The gallery strives to bring innovative and high-quality programming that represents a broad variety of media and subject matter, with cross-disciplinary curatorial projects welcome. Selected proposals should tie in pedagogically to the gallery's educational goals and consider spatial constraints, context, and audiences. Group exhibitions will be given scoring preference and are more likely to be accepted than solo exhibitions, as they help the gallery engage diverse audiences and provide more cross-curriculum learning opportunities for students. Solo artists can still apply but may be considered as part of other exhibitions as well as individually.

The gallery also seeks to schedule extracurricular exhibition-related opportunities that directly engage professional artists with current students in fine art, graphic design, photography, digital illustration, animation, and fashion programs, such as artist talks, workshops, or demonstrations. Works may be for sale or not for sale, or a combination of both. MCC Gallery does not charge admission or broker sales. Works must be delivered or shipped to the gallery at the artists'/curator's expense. Return shipping and handling in provided packaging will be paid for by the college and sent via UPS. The gallery offers a modest stipend for scheduled guest speakers, workshop presenters, and classroom visitors, but travel expenses cannot be reimbursed.

Submissions are accepted January through March 2026. The committee will review proposals April 1-15, with decisions emailed to applicants on April 17. Invited proposals will be scheduled from late August through mid-October 2026 or mid-January through March 2027. Proposals not invited may be considered for future scheduling. Local or regional submissions are preferred.