ELSEHERE Artist Open Call
EDITORIAL & PROFILE
ELSEHERE is opening a free Artist Open Call to invite artists, researchers, and cross-media makers into our curatorial and editorial field. We are building a long-running ecosystem that supports practices across bodies, image, sound, installation, performance, writing, and hybrid forms. If you are building a practice with a strong method and a clear aesthetic direction, we want to meet you.
DEADLINE
December 9, 2026
DEADLINE
December 9, 2026
OPEN TO
Performance, dance, moving image, photography, installation, sound, text, and interdisciplinary forms.
LOOKING FOR
Strong artistic language, clear conceptual thinking and unusual but precise responses to the prompt.
THE PROMPT
Works that can hold experiment, tension, humor, and thought at the same time.
THE CALL
ELSEHERE Artist Open Call
Free to Apply | Rolling Review | Global
Some practices do not fit existing categories yet.
They are still forming, still moving, still alive.
ELSEHERE is opening a free Artist Open Call to invite artists, researchers, and cross-media makers into our curatorial and editorial field. We are building a long-running ecosystem that supports practices across bodies, image, sound, installation, performance, writing, and hybrid forms.
If you are building a practice with a strong method and a clear aesthetic direction, we want to meet you.
Free to apply. No submission fee.
What this Open Call is for
This is an entry point into a longer pathway.
We review submissions with care, then route selected artists into the most fitting formats inside ELSEHERE: STRATUM journal publication, artist features, program opportunities, cross-border partner matching, and future commissioned work.
Pathways this Open Call may lead to
These are the real outcomes we build toward.
Depending on fit, timeline, and readiness, this open call may lead to:
1) Presentation and Visibility
Curated features and editorial publication across platforms
International interview and profile (Inside-Out artist conversation series)
Cross-platform release across Chinese and Western channels (site, social, video)
2) Development and Incubation
IP development and long-term project shaping
Artist digital identity and brand architecture (clear positioning, materials, structure)
Dedicated artist profile page hosted within our ecosystem
3) Projects, Activations, and Commissions
Project matching with institutions, festivals, and collaborators
Cross-border programs and exchange opportunities
Priority consideration for co-production and future commissions when aligned
4) Collaboration and Partner Pathways
Partner introductions and resource matching (when relevant)
Cross-disciplinary collaboration opportunities
Public programs, talks, and audience-facing formats
Who this is for
We welcome artists and researchers working across:
performance and dance, installation, moving image, photography
sound, music, composition, text-based practices
hybrid, interdisciplinary, research-driven work
practices in formation: unfinished, evolving, or long-term investigations are welcome
You do not need an institutional affiliation.
You do need a practice that is intentional, authored, and going somewhere.
What we look for
A distinct method and an evolving aesthetic language
Conceptual clarity and strong craft
A sense of authorship: the work feels specific to you
Work that holds up in close viewing and sustained attention
Surprise, rigor, and care
What to submit
Submit a concise package. Keep it clean and legible.
Artist name + location
Medium / discipline
Short description (5 to 10 sentences)
Links to work (unlisted or password-protected is fine)
Optional: press / portfolio / project deck / bio
If you are submitting a project proposal rather than a finished work, include:
logline, format, references, timeline, collaborators (if any)
Review process
Rolling review
If shortlisted, we will contact you for a short alignment conversation
We will be clear about next steps and placement options
Free to apply
This open call has no submission fee.
We want the entry point to stay accessible, while keeping the review standards high.
How to apply
Apply via the Artist Inquiry Form
Follow @elsehereglobal for updates, featured artists, and future calls.
WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR
Strong artistic language
A distinct voice, clear formal choices, and a practice with internal coherence.
Clear conceptual thinking
Ideas that are considered, grounded, and meaningfully articulated.
Unusual but precise responses
Unexpected approaches that remain intentional, focused, and well-resolved.
Holding complexity
Works that can sustain tension, ambiguity, contradiction, or layered meaning without collapsing into vagueness.
Openness to risk
Practices willing to test form, push inquiry further, and take the prompt somewhere alive and necessary.
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
Please prepare materials that help us understand your work, your practice, and how your submission engages the call.
Project information
Title, medium, year, duration or dimensions, and any key practical details.
Artist Statement
A concise description of the work or proposal and its relation to the prompt.
Work samples
Images, video links, audio, texts, or other materials that best represent the work.
Relevant context
Any additional information that helps us understand the submission more clearly.
Why This Context
ELSEHERE frames open calls as part of a wider artistic field. Selected works enter a public-facing context shaped by editorial attention, curatorial intent, and longer-term artistic dialogue.
Curatorial and editorial context
Your work is seen, read, and positioned within a considered artistic framework.
Public-facing visibility
Selected works may be featured across ELSEHERE’s platforms, releases, and publishing channels.
Longer-term dialogue
We remain attentive to works and practices that may continue into future programs, publications, or collaborations.
JOIN ELSEHERE Community
A global community for artists and researchers working across bodies, geographies, and media.
Join ELSEHERE to receive open calls, releases, and invitations.
Groups
