James Gallery 2025 Call for Submissions
Deadline: September 1, 2025 at 11:59pm EST.
Hamilton Artists Inc. is seeking dynamic proposals from artists and curators at all stages of their careers and from across disciplines. As an artist-run centre, the Inc. is interested in works that push boundaries and engage with critical, conceptual and/or experimental thinking from diverse perspectives.
James Gallery is the Inc.’s dedicated members’ gallery. You must be a member in good standing to exhibit in this space. The Inc. always welcomes new and returning members, who will then be eligible to exhibit in this space.
We are seeking applicants for two themed calls, as well as a self-directed, self-curated call.
Application Requirements:
- Applicant contact information (including full name, address, city, email, phone number)
- Brief description of your proposed project (350 words max.)
- Describe what you are planning on doing. What will this work look like? Where will it take place? If your project is participatory, how will people engage with it? What resources do you need to successfully realize this project?
- Artist biography (150 words max.)
- Artist’s CV (Optional. 3 pages max.)
- Please title the file as 'FIRSTNAME_LASTNAME_CV'.
- Up to 10 images contextualizing the work (may submit doodles, sketches or renderings); and/or up to 5 minutes of audio or video (please send Youtube, Vimeo, or SoundCloud links included in your single PDF or Word document)
- Please title each file 'FIRSTNAME_LASTNAME_number' to coincide with your documentation support list.
- Documentation support list
Alternative Ways to Apply:
Hamilton Artists Inc. is committed to equity and inclusion in all aspects of its operations, and will accept alternative submission formats.
- Audio submission: 15 minutes max. and no larger than 200 MB, or sent as a soundcloud link.
- Video submission: 15 minutes max. and no larger than 200 MB, or sent as a youtube/vimeo link.
- Hard-copy paper submission: Do not include original artworks. Artwork examples may be submitted as photocopies, or on a USB or CD.
Please advise us of any accommodations needed to ensure you can access and complete the submissions process.
Please submit your application(s) to the calls through the forms below!
We thank all applicants for their interest, but due to the high volume of submissions we receive, only successful applicants will be notified. Successful applicants will be notified in mid-October 2025.
For questions or help with your application, please contact our Artistic Director, Sanaa Humayun at programming@theinc.ca.
Themed Call #1: Dreams to get you through the night
Exhibition Dates: January 30 - March 14, 2026
You’re laying in bed, covers drawn over your face with the glow of your phone hurting your eyes as you watch one last video, hear one more shortform thinkpiece about the state of the world. Shut off your phone, close your eyes, pull one foot out of the blanket to keep cool. Push all of it out of your head - think about the fantasies you hold close to your heart, your curated imaginings that carry you until you sleep, until consciousness rests and real dreams can take over. What tender hopes and wishes for the future carry you to sleep? Uncertainty that mars your footsteps as you move through a hard world. No game plan, no safety net. But that is for tomorrow. Right now your bed is soft, and your dreams are sweet. What do you dream about?
Apply to Dreams to get you through the night here.
Themed Call #2: have you eaten?
Exhibition Dates: June 12 - August 1, 2026
'have you eaten?' is a question synonymous with love, asked often across many cultures and diasporas. Maybe your grandmother questioned you upon entering her home, later heaping your plate with dal and rice. The artists in this exhibition will reflect on how art can be of service, an expression of care. Investigating the gendered question of who does the cooking, and who does the eating, and who does the washing. Challenging the myth of scarcity perpetuated by capitalism, this exhibition boldly declares: yes, there is enough food to feed us all.. How does food nourish beyond being fuel for our bodies? What stories do we tell ourselves and each other through food? And can we challenge diet culture by engaging in the simple life affirming act of eating? Have you eaten?
Apply to have you eaten? here.
Self-Curated Call
Exhibition Dates: April 3 - May 15, 2026 & September 4 - October 10, 2026
Members may act as an independent curator in an exhibition featuring up to 3 artists, or include themselves in an exhibition featuring up to 4 artists. Exhibitions should have a strong theme connecting the artworks on display. The committee is interested in works that are creative, push boundaries and engage with critical, conceptual or experimental thinking from a range of perspectives, prioritizing the voices of Hamilton region artists.
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