Open Call for Artists--Art Auction 2021--Crocker Art Museum

The Crocker Art Museum’s 43rd annual Art Auction season is upon us! Building on the success of last year’s virtual auction, the upcoming 2021 Art Auction season will feature the same lively events – Art Auction and Big Names, Small Art (BNSA) – in a new hybrid virtual and in-person format.

Silent Art Auction and BNSA will be held virtually on the Bidsquare platform, with bidding scheduled to open in mid-May and auctions set to close the weekend of June 5–6. In addition, a small selection of artworks will also be featured in a socially distanced Live Art Auction event in the Museum’s courtyard on the evening of Saturday, June 5.

All Silent and Live Art Auction works will be included in a special exhibition at the Crocker, on view from May 23 – June 6, 2021.

Last year’s virtual auctions drew an incredible audience of more than 3 million viewers and 1,000 bidders from around the world. The success of these events can be attributed to the high-quality art contributed by regionally and nationally recognized artists and the Museum’s increased efforts to promote artists and artworks across all platforms in new and innovative ways. We hope you will consider submitting artworks to the Art Auction and BNSA for consideration.

Art Auction Submissions

To ensure a dynamic and well-rounded auction, we are asking you to please submit images of three pieces for consideration. We accept submissions of various sizes and price points, but due to space limitations works must be no more than 40 inches in width and 80 inches in height. A minimum bid of 35 percent, based on the fair-market value you set, will be required to open bidding.

Selected artists’ work will be prominently featured in the Art Auction catalogue, which will be distributed to over 10,000 households, and bidding will be open to a national and international audience on Bidsquare.

As always, the Museum offers selected artists the opportunity to keep 50 percent of the proceeds from the sale of their work. If, however, you choose to donate 100 percent of the sale proceeds to the Museum, you will receive recognition in the Art Auction catalogue and a complimentary Crocker Art Museum Family-level membership.

Submission Requirements

• Please complete the Art Auction online submission no later than February 28, 2021.
• Submit images of three finished works for consideration.
• We encourage submissions in different sizes and price points. Due to space limitations, objects submitted for consideration must be no more than 40 inches in width. Height of work may not exceed 80 inches.
• All artwork must be display ready. 2-D work must be framed with hanging hardware installed.
• Work may not weigh more than 200 pounds.
• Based on the fair-market value that you set, a minimum bid of 35 percent will be required to open bidding.
• Submissions that do not meet the requirements may be disqualified.
• Selected works must be delivered or received by Tuesday, May 4, 2021. If artwork is shipped, it will be at the artist's expense. 
• Artist payments are in USD. 

Online Submission Instructions

• All Art Auction entries must be submitted online via this link: https://crockerart.typeform.com/to/SCQ3XQQA
• All fields in the submission form must be completed (unless stated as “optional”).
• An image of each work must be uploaded via the online submission form.
• The accepted digital format is a JPEG of at least 300 dpi and less than 5 MB.

If you have questions or need assistance with your submission, please contact Melissa Foote, Art Auction Coordinator, at (916) 808-1860 or artauction@crockerart.org.

Submission deadline is February 28, 2021