Open Call for Exhibitions

The 2026 Open Call will launch on October 15th, 2025.

The deadline is December 1st, 2025.

About The Call

Vulpes Bastille’s 100-year-old building houses two renovated galleries. We provide an exhibition platform in the heart of the Crossroads Art community artists of all disciplines, career levels and backgrounds. The annual open call determines our calendar of exhibitions in the Main and Sub Galleries each year. Anyone can submit a proposal, and we especially encourage proposals from students, emerging, and local artists.

This open call is for exhibition proposals, not individual works of art. Artists are responsible for installation and deinstallation.

Available Galleries

Two exhibition spaces are available: the large Main Gallery and the small Sub Gallery (see layouts below).

Proposals may be submitted by individual artists, groups of artists, or curators. Group shows are perfectly suited to our Main Gallery due to the massive scale of the exhibition space, while the Sub Gallery offers a more intimate environment geared towards solo and duo shows. Exhibitions typically run for three weeks with the opening date being on First Fridays.

Vulpes Bastille’s spacious galleries are an ideal venue for curatorial projects, solo exhibitions, group exhibitions, and installation/performance-based work. Proposals should be for full exhibitions, not for the submission of single pieces of art.

Exhibition Expectations

Upon acceptance of your proposal, you will be notified about our non-refundable payment for your exhibition reservation ($125 for the Main Gallery, $100 for the Sub Gallery) along with accompanying commission and gallery usage agreement. This covers the usage of the gallery space and will not be refunded if you cancel your reservation. Only one proposal fee/rental fee is required per proposal regardless of the number of artists participating in a group show.

Vulpes Bastille collects 25% commission on any works sold and paid events hosted to help support the space. However, you are not required to sell any work or host events.

How To Apply

Proposals should be submitted through an online form, which will be linked from this page starting October 15th.

Application REQUIREMENTS

To submit your exhibition idea, you will submit the following materials through an online form opening October 15th.

Enter details about your show and upload a single document (PDF, Doc, or Powerpoint) containing the following items. This is a space to express your ideas and artistic concept, while also communicating the nuts and bolts of your project.

If you have any questions or any accommodation needs, reach out to Caranne Camarena at vulpesbastille@gmail.com.

Proposals must include:

1. Your artist statement or letter of intent describing the concept of the curatorial project being proposed

2.  A proposal of 500-700 words describing your goals, timeline, installation logistics, and plan for events or programming.

This should include number of artworks to be shown, names of artists (for curatorial/group exhibitions), and any special presentation requirements. We would like to know why Vulpes Bastille is the right venue for your show and how you plan to make the most of the space.

3. CV/resume of your past work including contact information with link(s) to your website and/or social media (you can include multiple if applying as a group)

4. 1-10 images of artwork to be shown or artwork representative of the intended exhibition (if for a curatorial/group exhibit please include 1 image per artist)

EVALUATION Criteria

The criteria that go into the evaluation of exhibition proposals are listed below. Rather than hard-and-fast rules, they’re questions guided by our mission to provide gallery space for a diverse community of local and emerging artists in the Kansas City region. 

    • Artistic Excellence - Are the artworks and exhibition visually and conceptually well thought-out, crafted, and presented?

    • Logistics - Does this proposal have a timeline, installation mock-up, or other project specs? Do the artist’s goals seem realistic and attainable? How well-thought out is their plan? Will this exhibition take full advantage of Vulpes Bastille’s gallery space? 

    • Proposal -  How detailed is the proposal? Does it specifically reference Vulpes Bastille and how the space will be used? Does it follow submission guidelines?

    • Experimentation - Is this exhibition putting into practice a new idea or challenging a conventional one? Are there aspects that could not be shown in a more conventional gallery space?

    • Uniqueness - Is this exhibition original? Does it embody a distinct aesthetic idea? Is the subject matter authentic to the artist? 

    • Diversity & Inclusion - Is this artist a student, a local artist, or an emerging artist? Has this artist been historically denied opportunities/exhibition space? Could this exhibition be shown elsewhere?

    • Collaboration/Dialogue - Does this exhibition involve collaboration between multiple artists, another group, or the community at large? Will it create dialogue between people, ideas, or places?

    • Programming - Will this exhibition involve events or programming that will engage the community? Does the artist have a plan for opening and closing receptions? Will the exhibition involve elements of performance, sound/music, food, or other non-visual art forms?