A Woman's Place: Framing the Future

The Ebell of Los Angeles invites Southern California artists to submit work for A Woman’s Place: Framing the Future—an exhibition celebrating womanhood as an evolving landscape of agency, identity, and possibility.

“A Woman’s Place: Framing the Future”

What is a woman's place? That question has been asked for centuries- usually as a means of limitation. This exhibition reframes the question as a declaration of possibility.

“A Woman’s Place: Framing the Future” envisions a woman’s place as an ever-expanding horizon—one that redefines the trajectory of our collective future. Informed by memory, story, and lived experience, this exhibition explores how shifting perspectives on womanhood are documented, questioned, and celebrated through art.

The artists showcased in this exhibition will engage in a vital dialogue between past aspirations and present possibilities, forging new pathways for art and society alike. Their works both challenge traditional boundaries and honor the complexity of women's experiences across generations and cultures.

The Ebell of Los Angeles invites Southern California artists to submit their work for this open call exhibition. Please review the guidelines for eligibility, important dates and exhibition information. All 2D fine arts visual media addressing this theme and meeting size requirements will be considered. All submitted works must be available for sale. 

IMPORTANT NOTE: Because of the historical nature of the building / Art Salon, we are only accepting 2D work submissions at a maximum size of 24” x 36” including frame. No exceptions will be made. Submitted work must be install-ready, with D-rings or wired. The exhibition will be hung in the main Art Salon and adjacent hallway with rail-wire system. Lighting may be limited in some areas.

Alternative display methods may be used only with the prior approval of The Ebell of Los Angeles, and the artist must supply any special hardware. Please see Application Requirements below for more details.

Prizes:

·         1st - $200 and a 1-year membership to The Ebell

·         2nd - $150 BLICK Art Materials gift certificate and a 1-year membership to The Ebell

·         3rd - $100 Pizzeria Mozza gift certificate and a 1-year membership to The Ebell

Sales

All exhibited works must be offered for sale. Proceeds will be split 65/35 with 65% to the artist. All sales will be handled by the artist. Works will remain on view until the conclusion of the exhibition. Upon completion of the sale, the artist will send the 35% commission to The Ebell of Los Angeles. 

Important Dates

• Deadline for submission: February 24, 2026 at 11:59 pm PST
• Announcement of accepted artists and works: by 10PM PST, March 7, 2026
• Deadline to confirm participation and label information: March 12, 2026
• Drop off: Artwork must be hand-delivered. Sat & Mon, March 14 & 16, 2026 from 9:30 am to 12:30 pm. Email artshow@ebellofla.org to make arrangements.
• Opening Reception: March 19, 2026 from 6:00 to 8:00 pm
• Art Talk with the Jurors: April 4, 2026: Time TBD
• Exhibition closes: April 22, 2026
• Artists / buyers pick up art: April 23 & 24, 2026 from 9:30 am to 1:30 pm

Juried by: 

Dominique Clayton is an arts consultant, writer, and gallerist born and raised in Los Angeles. Clayton is the founder of Dominique Gallery, a storefront turned pop-up exhibition and online program which showcases and advises emerging artists with a focus on marginalized artists and artists raising families. In addition to the gallery, Clayton also serves on the curatorial and programming committee of Destination Crenshaw, a forthcoming outdoor art museum and arts program based in the historic Crenshaw community of Los Angeles. Clayton previously worked as Manager of the Founding Director’s office at The Broad and later as an interim director at Jeffrey Deitch Gallery. Her arts writing has been featured in publications including Cultured Magazine, LALA Magazine, Artsy, Sugarcane Magazine, Blavity, and her own forthcoming Black Arts Diary.

Heidi Johnson is the founder of HIJINX Arts in Los Angeles and one of the art world’s most dynamic publicists. She has represented cultural icons including Mister Cartoon, Robbie Conal, Camille Rose Garcia, Tristan Eaton, Estevan Oriol, and Chloe Sherman, and led publicity for major art events like BLINK Cincinnati, The LA Art Show, and DesignerCon. Beyond client work, she is a national advocate for social justice through public art, producing mural projects and civic activations that bring art into everyday life. She also co-publishes 13ThingsLA, the city’s independent weekly art calendar.

Shana Nys Dambrot is an art critic, curator, and author based in DTLA. She is the writer & co-founder of 13ThingsLA—a weekly Substack of curated exhibition reviews & recommendations. Formerly the Arts Editor at LA Weekly, her work appears in the Village Voice, Flaunt, WhiteHot, Alta Journal, and other culture publications. She studied Art History at Vassar College, curates & juries exhibitions, writes prolifically for catalogs & monographic publications, and speaks at galleries, schools & cultural institutions nationally. She is the recipient of the Rabkin Art Writers Prize and the LA Press Club Critic of the Year award. Her oneiric novella Zen Psychosis (Griffith Moon) published in 2020

About The Ebell of Los Angeles

The Ebell of Los Angeles is a nonprofit organization founded in 1894 by women for women. It is focused on providing a vibrant and inclusive arts and culture hub that fosters the educational, cultural and social growth of women. At The Ebell, women convene to learn, create, collaborate, innovate and champion one another to transform the lives of women. The organization's philanthropic efforts include the RCA endowment which awards annual grants totaling more than $100,000 per year to various nonprofits that assist women and children in need, and the 104-year-old Ebell/Flint Scholarship that has awarded more than 5,000 scholarships to local college and university students. The group’s historic campus located in the Hancock Park/Windsor Square area is an iconic landmark listed on the US National Register of Historic Places. 

About The Ebell’s Historic Campus

The historic Ebell structure and theatre were built in 1927 and designed by renowned architect Sumner Hunt. The campus originally served as a central hub for learning and arts lectures in support of the education of women. The Art Salon was one of the first art galleries in Los Angeles to showcase the work of female artists. The renaissance-inspired building is a noted architectural treasure listed on the National Register of Historic Places and a designated Los Angeles Cultural Monument.

• Artists may submit up to 3 images of 2D artwork for a non-refundable fee of $25. Detail shots count toward the image total and should include "detail" in the title and image description.
• All artwork must be available for sale during this exhibition. Please include the selling price (including the 35% Ebell commission) in your CaFE account portfolio>artwork image details.
• Artists must submit a brief artist bio and résumé formatted as one document. Your total combined text should not exceed 5,000 characters (including spaces).It’s easiest to write your responses in your own word-processing program first, then copy and paste the finished text into the submission field.
• Please include your name and website with your preferred pronouns and your social media handle(s) in the heading of the document.

Payment of fees is required to complete the submission process. Artists with self-assessed financial need may request a fee waiver by emailing artshow@ebellofla.org.

Questions regarding your CaFE account, adding images, technical difficulties or payments should be addressed to CaFE. https://www.callforentry.org/artist-help-cafe/who-to-contact-for-help/ 

Fees must be paid at time of submission via cafe.org.
Open to Artists residing in the following Southern California counties: Los Angeles, Orange, Ventura, Santa Barbara, San Bernadino, Riverside, San Luis Obispo, Kern, San Diego, Imperial; age 18 and older.