Sticking Together: Approaches to Collage & Assemblage

Artlink is excited to offer this call-for-entry to artists who are creating work through means of bringing multiple pieces together into one collective whole. Collage, photomontage, assemblage, quilting, installation, or other means of mixed materials are eligible. We are interested in seeing work which is stepping into fragmentation and bringing together new ways of seeing and thinking through these creative strategies. We encourage artists to think broadly about the various ways in which processes of combination are evidenced in their work.

Following the success of last year’s exhibition by the same title, Artlink is excited to bring back this call-for-entry to artists who are stepping into the division of our times by creating work that uses both fragmentation and combination as crucial strategies for new ways of seeing and thinking. While it is true that the world has always been divided, today those divisions are accelerated through technology and entrenched through algorithms. Meanwhile, artists continue to find unique ways to respond to this, often through analog acts of cutting and pasting, this+that, ad hoc creativity. These strategies may include collage, assemblage, photomontage, quilting, installation, and other surprising applications of mixed media. These approaches are inherently suited to addressing paradox, multiple viewpoints, and plurality, serving up aesthetic harmony to help us make sense of the world. For Sticking Together, artists art encouraged to think broadly about the various ways collage, assemblage, and other processes of combination are evidenced in their work.

This exhibition will be juried by Tim Parsley. Tim Parsley is Program Director for Studio Art and Associate Professor of Studio Art (Painting and Drawing) at the University of Saint Francis, Division of Creative Arts in Fort Wayne, IN. Tim earned his BFA from the University of Cincinnati and his MFA from Miami University (Oxford, OH). He also works as a public artist and public art educator, creating numerous, large-scale, publicly-supported mural projects throughout the Midwest, New York, and Nairobi, Kenya. Tim previously served as Assistant Director of Manifest Creative Research Gallery in Cincinnati, OH and currently serves as Interim Executive Director for Artlink Contemporary Gallery. 

Submission Requirements
Entry fee: $12 per entry. Up to 10 entries allowed.
Size limit: None.
Eligibility: United States

Important Dates
Entry deadline: Jan 6, 2026 at 11:59pm 
Jury notifications: After Jan 11, 2026
Artwork drop-off/delivery deadline (if accepted): Feb 8, 2026
Exhibition timeframe: Feb 19 - Mar 15, 2026

IF ACCEPTED:

Presentation
All works must be ready for installation upon delivery and professionally presented (i.e not damaged or differing from what was accepted.) Any works not presented professionally may not be accepted for exhibition. Works do not need to be framed, but must come with the required hardware (magnets, clips, etc..) Traditional framed artwork must be ready to hang with wire. No saw-tooth hangers. If your work requires special installation instructions, please contact ellen@artlinkfw.org prior to the submission deadline. Identification labels with artist name and title should be attached to the back of the work.

Sales
All artwork sales are subject to a 35% sales fee. Artists will be mailed a check for sold work following the close of the exhibition. 

Liability
Artwork will be insured during exhibition at Artlink. Artlink is not liable for damage or loss in transit to the gallery. Any damage caused by improper preparations by the artist will not be covered by Artlink. 

Hand-Delivery
Hand-delivered artwork is accepted during gallery hours, Thursday 10am - 8pm, Friday/Saturday 10am - 6pm, and Sunday 12 - 5pm.

Shipping
Artwork that is shipped must be sent through UPS, FedEx or USPS and must include a return shipping label. Artwork must arrive at Artlink by Feb 8, 2026. Shipped work must be framed with plexiglass, no glass permitted. Any damages that occur during shipping must be covered by the artist. In such an occurrence, the Gallery Coordinator will contact the artist for a credit card number to facilitate repairs. Please, no crates or Styrofoam peanuts. Ship your work in reusable packaging to: Artlink Contemporary Gallery, 300 E Main Street, Fort Wayne, IN 46802

Entry fee: $12 per entry. Up to 10 entries allowed.

Artists must be 18+ years of age and reside in the United States.