Open call

To all artists, 

My name is Jeff Neely and I am the owner of The FaFa Gallery in Midland, TX. I am working with Liz Culp, President of The Midland Arts Association, and we are pleased to announce the following call for submissions to a contest. 

Midland Charms is a new business in the building in downtown Midland at 401 W. Texas street. It is a business hub meant to spur economic growth and take advantage of the recent labeling of the area as the arts district by bringing art and entertainment venues to the downtown area. Some goals stated by the management team are to attract food, performance, and artistic creativity spaces for arts and artists of all types. 

As such, they are seeking two large paintings to be on permanent display in the opening entryway to the building. This will be a high traffic area and this artwork will be seen by many for years to come.  

Specifics: 

Participation: This opportunity is open to anyone who creates visual art.  

Subject: The subject can be anything the artist chooses and should reflect the history of Midland in some manner. The Tall City is an oilfield and cattle town, a football town, a president-producing town, and a boom-and-bust town with plenty of colorful and eccentric history so the artist will have plenty of room for playful creativity.  

Size: There are two large walls in the entryway to the building and each is 9 ft. wide and 8 ft. tall. Entries must be between 6 ft. x 6 ft. and that size as your creativity suits you.  

Notes: 

There are electrical outlets on the top of the wall that can be covered or used. 

The entries do not need to be a singular 6 x 6 work. For example, four works that are 3 ft. x 3 ft. and cohesive would be considered with equal weight so long as the works take full use of presenting the requested amount of wall space.  

The walls needn’t match and be entirely cohesive, but entries meant to occupy both sides will also be considered and, if a pair is chosen, it will be both prizes to the winner.  

Any medium is acceptable but something that does not require glass is preferred as the size of the work will be quite expensive to frame. 

Art that is a little more than 2D is ok and there is roughly 1 ft. of safe space for the third dimension as people walk by. 

All interested artists are welcome to reach out to Jeff at 432-689-3004 to discuss ideas.  

Judges: Liz and Jeff will narrow down the field based on what guidelines they have been given but final decision of the winners will be given solely to the management team of Midland Charms as they choose from the narrowed field. It is also within their right and privilege to award any additional commissions as they see fit.  

Entries for judging: The awards will be presented to the winning design for production of the final art to be on display. To be considered, an artist must present a fully realized sketch or drawing with color and all so that the judges can clearly see within their mind the finished product. A description of a concept of a drawing of an idea (blah blah blah) will not be considered. A full size finished product is not required, but a fully finished work of art is. For questions and clarification, feel free to call Jeff. 

Awards: A total of 2 awards for $2500.00 each will be given, one for each wall’s winning entry. Further awards may be given at the discretion of the Midland Charms management team. 

Deadline to drop off works for consideration is 30 June, 2022.