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The Big Show is an ambitious open-call juried competition of artists practicing within a 100-mile radius of Houston's Lawndale Art Center that reflects the center's commitment to supporting local and regional artists at various stages in their career. Do you think you have what it takes to be a part of the Big Show 2021?

Eligibility Requirements for Participation in The Big Show

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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 2019 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 will be disqualified.
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.

Application Requirements

All works must be submitted online via submittable.com.
Applications will be accepted through Monday, March 1, 2021, until 11:59 PM (Central Standard Time).
There is no submission fee.
Artists must submit a recent exhibition history, including participation in previous iterations of The Big Show, in addition to an artist statement (up to 200 words) 
Submit only 1 image of each work, along with the image captions (title, medium, dimensions, and year). Artists may submit up to 3 works.
Images should be .jpeg format. Please limit each file size to 1 MB (minimum size of 4" x 6" at 300 dpi). 
Do not submit detail images of the work(s).
Video submissions will require a link to a hosting site. (e.g.: Vimeo or Youtube). All final work must be submitted to Lawndale in the .mp4 format.  
All files should be labeled as LastnameFirstname_Title_Year completed. Example: SmithJohn_Work1_2019.Jpg
Incomplete or late applications will not be considered.
Artists are strongly encouraged to apply early. If you are having trouble using the online application system, please don’t hesitate to call Lawndale Art Center at 713-528-5858 during office hours (Monday - Friday, 9AM - 5PM) or email bigshow@lawndaleartcenter.org with questions. 

Accepted Works

Artists will be notified May 2021 of their application status and will be given further details about artwork drop off at Lawndale.

 
The juror for The Big Show 2021 is Cecilia Fajardo-Hill, a British/Venezuelan art historian and curator in modern and contemporary art, currently based in Southern California. Fajardo-Hill has a PhD in Art History from the University of Essex, England, and an MA in 20th Century Art History from the Courtauld Institute of Art, London, England. Fajardo-Hill is the co-curator of the upcoming touring exhibition XicanXperimental, Phoenix Museum, 2021, and will be Fellowship Visiting Research Scholar in the Program in Latin American Studies (PLAS) and Visiting Lecturer, Princeton University, Princeton. Fajardo-Hill is the editor of Remains – Tomorrow: Themes in Contemporary Latin American Abstraction, on post 90s abstraction in Latin America, 2019.

The Big Show Exhibit will be on view from June 19 to August 14, 2021 at the John M. O'Quinn Gallery