How to Run a Juried Art Show: Step-by-Step for Galleries

What Makes a Juried Show Different

A juried exhibition uses an independent panel of experts — jurors — to evaluate and select artwork from submitted entries. Unlike curated shows where a single curator handpicks artists, juried shows are open to anyone who meets the eligibility criteria. This democratic process gives emerging artists access to exhibition opportunities while maintaining quality standards.

Juried shows are the backbone of the nonprofit art center model. The American Alliance of Museums estimates that over 3,000 juried exhibitions take place annually in the US, generating significant revenue through entry fees while providing artists with career-building exhibition credits.

Planning Timeline

A well-organized juried show follows a 4-6 month timeline:

6 months before opening: Define the show theme, select jurors, set dates and budget 4-5 months before: Publish the call for artists, begin marketing 2-3 months before: Close submissions, begin jury review 6-8 weeks before: Notify artists of decisions, coordinate logistics 2-4 weeks before: Receive artwork, install the exhibition Opening: Reception, press, public viewing

Publishing the Call

Your call for artists is the public face of your exhibition. A clear, detailed call attracts more qualified submissions and reduces administrative questions.

Essential call components:

• Title and theme — Be specific. "Annual Juried Exhibition" tells artists nothing; "Material Tensions: Work Exploring Craft and Fine Art Boundaries" attracts targeted submissions
• Eligibility — Geographic restrictions, career stage, medium limitations
• Submission requirements — Number of images, image specs, required fields (statement, dimensions, etc.)
• Entry fee and tiers — Early bird, regular, and late deadlines with corresponding fees
• Important dates — Submission open/close, notification date, delivery window, exhibition dates
• Prizes and awards — Purchase awards, cash prizes, solo show opportunities
• Jury panel — Name your jurors. Established jurors attract more submissions

On Crafted Call, you can create calls with custom submission forms, multiple fee tiers, coupon codes, and templates from previous shows. The platform handles payment processing, image collection, and artist communication.

Setting Up the Jury

The jury configuration directly affects the fairness and quality of your selection process.

Choosing Jurors

Select 2-5 jurors with relevant expertise. Diversity in the panel — medium specialties, geographic perspectives, institutional vs. independent voices — produces more balanced selections. Compensate jurors fairly; $200-500 per juror is standard for mid-size shows.

Blind vs. Open Review

Blind (anonymous) review hides the artist's name, profile, and identifying information from jurors. Only the artwork images and required fields (title, medium, dimensions, statement) are visible. This eliminates unconscious bias based on name recognition, gender, ethnicity, or institutional affiliation. Studies from the music industry show that blind auditions increase diversity in selection by 25-46%.

Open review shows the complete artist profile. This is appropriate when the artist's body of work, career trajectory, or reputation is relevant to the selection criteria (e.g., a mid-career retrospective call).

Recommendation: Default to blind review unless you have a specific reason to use open review. Most artists prefer blind review, and it strengthens the credibility of your selection.

Scoring Rubrics

Define clear scoring criteria before jurors begin. Common rubric categories:

• Technical execution — Craftsmanship, skill, and finish quality
• Originality — Uniqueness of concept, approach, or medium use
• Thematic relevance — How well the work connects to the call's theme
• Visual impact — Composition, color, and overall aesthetic strength
• Presentation — Image quality and professionalism of the submission

Use a consistent scale (1-5, 1-10, or 1-100) across all categories. Provide written descriptions for each score level so jurors calibrate consistently.

Running the Jury Review

Multi-Round Process

For large shows (200+ submissions), a two-round process improves efficiency:

Round 1 — Triage: Jurors quickly sort submissions into Yes, No, and Maybe categories. This eliminates clearly unqualified work and focuses detailed review on competitive entries. A triage round can reduce the pool by 40-60%.

Round 2 — Scoring: Jurors score the surviving submissions on your rubric. Detailed scoring on a smaller pool produces better differentiation than scoring everything.

Score Normalization

Different jurors have different scoring tendencies. A generous juror might average 8.5/10 while a strict juror averages 5.5/10. Without normalization, the generous juror's preferences dominate the results.

Score normalization adjusts each juror's scores relative to their own average, ensuring that a "strong yes" from a strict juror counts the same as a "strong yes" from a generous one. This is a standard statistical technique used in academic grading and figure skating judging.

Side-by-Side Comparison

When jurors are torn between similar submissions, side-by-side comparison lets them view two works adjacent for direct comparison. This feature — available on Crafted Call — reduces scoring inconsistency by making relative judgments explicit.

Post-Acceptance Logistics

Artist Notification

Send personalized acceptance and rejection emails on the stated notification date. Include:

For accepted artists:

• Congratulations and exhibition details
• Delivery/shipping instructions and deadline
• Insurance and liability information
• Commission split terms (if artwork will be for sale)
• Installation preferences (hanging hardware, pedestal needs)

For rejected artists:

• Brief, respectful notification
• Encouragement to apply to future calls
• Number of submissions received and accepted (context helps)

Artwork Delivery and Installation

Set clear delivery windows with specific dates, times, and location. For shipped work, require tracking numbers and insurance. For local drop-off, schedule appointment windows to manage receiving capacity.

Create an inventory system tracking each piece from arrival through installation to return. Label every artwork with a unique identifier that links to your digital records.

Exhibition Sales

If artwork is for sale, configure commission splits before the show opens. Standard gallery commissions range from 30-50%, with artist-favorable splits for juried shows (often 60% artist / 40% gallery or 70/30). Process sales through a platform that handles payment splitting automatically — manual commission calculations across dozens of artists create accounting headaches.

Measuring Success

Track these metrics to improve future shows:

• Submission count — Are you attracting enough entries?
• Geographic diversity — Where are submissions coming from?
• Jury completion rate — Did all jurors finish their reviews?
• Score distribution — Were scores well-differentiated or clustered?
• Attendance — Opening reception and total exhibition visitors
• Sales — Total revenue, number of pieces sold, average price point
• Artist satisfaction — Post-show survey for accepted and rejected artists