SCA Open 2026

The Sausalito Center for the Arts invites artists to submit work for SCA Open, our annual juried exhibition celebrating the breadth, vitality, and creative excellence across the Northern California region. The exhibition will be on view from OCTOBER 30th to DECEMBER 6th 2026.

This Call for Entry welcomes work in all mediums and will be juried by three distinguished leaders representing a museum, gallery, and educational institution, bringing a range of perspectives to the selection process.

Nancy Lim- associate curator of painting and sculpture at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA)

Danielle Fox- curates collections for key private and corporate clients & oversees operations for SLATE Art LLC.

Chester Arnold - a Bay Area painter who has exhibited and taught in area colleges for more than three decades.

Sausalito Center for the Arts welcomes more than 30,000 visitors each year and was recently voted Best Gallery for Art in Marin County by the Independent Journal and Pacific Su...

SCA Open 2026

The Sausalito Center for the Arts invites artists throughout California to submit work for SCA Open, our annual juried exhibition celebrating the breadth, vitality, and creative excellence of artists across the region. The exhibition will be on view from OCTOBER 30th to DECEMBER 6th 2026 in the historic waterfront community of Sausalito.

This Call for Entry welcomes work in all mediums except video and AI-generated artwork, and will be juried by three distinguished leaders representing a museum, gallery, and educational institution, bringing a dynamic range of perspectives to the selection process.

Located in the heart of downtown Sausalito, Sausalito Center for the Arts welcomes more than 30,000 visitors each year and was recently voted Best Gallery for Art in Marin County by the Independent Journal and Pacific Sun.

        Jurors

Nancy Lim is associate curator of painting and sculpture at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA). She is currently preparing an exhibition on Northern California craft, 1945-1980, opening next year. Previous exhibitions include Creative Growth: The House That Art Built (2024), Chiura Obata (2023–24), Hung Liu: Witness (2023), New Work: Anna Sew Hoy (2023), and Joan Brown (2022–23). Prior to SFMOMA, Lim held curatorial positions at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and the Museum of Modern Art, both in New York.

Danielle Fox currently oversees operations for SLATE Art LLC, directs SLATE Contemporary Gallery, manages SLATE’s Public Art program, and curates collections for key private and corporate clients. She has also served as a Member of the Board of the San Francisco Art Dealers Association and Oakland Art Murmur, and is a member of Art Table. Danielle has over thirty years of experience in the art world as a teacher, writer, editor, and curator; as Deputy Director of Business Development at Sotheby’s in London; founder of SLATE Contemporary Gallery in Oakland since 2009; and Principal Partner of SLATE Art Consulting since 2014.

Chester Arnold is a Bay Area painter who has exhibited and taught in area colleges for more than three decades. His large narrative oil paintings deal with many contemporary issues and may be seen in collections the San Jose Museum of Art, SF MoMA, the Nevada Museum of Art and other institutions across the country.   A major show of his new work opens at the Catharine Clark Gallery, San Francisco, June of 2026, where he has been represented since 2003. www.chesterarnoldartist.com

ENTRY DEADLINE: Sunday, August 23rd - 11:59 PM 

NOTIFICATION TO ARTISTS: Week of September 14

ARTWORK DROP-OFF:  750 Bridgeway, Sausalito CA 94965
Wednesday 10/21 & Thursday 10/22 11-4

EXHIBITION: Friday, October 30th to Sunday,  December 6th 

OPENING RECEPTION: Sunday, November 1st 1:00 - 6:00pm 

ARTIST CLOSING RECEPTION: Sunday Dec 6th, 3-5 pm

ARTWORK PICK-UP: Sunday December 6th, following reception, 5-6pm or - Monday, December 7th 11-4

     $35- to submit first piece of art. 
 Additional pieces may be submitted for $10 per piece.          Artists can submit up to 3 pieces of original artwork.

Accepted Work:

• Painting, Drawing, Photography
• Sculpture, Mixed Media, Glass
• Textile Art, Printmaking

2D WALL ART

• Maximum width 50 inches including frame or canvas wrap.
• All artwork must be ready for installation with a hanging wire positioned approx. 1/3 down from the top of the frame. Unframed works on paper will be accepted if adequate hanging hardware is provided. No sawtooth hangers or metal strips requiring screws.

3D SCULPTURE, CERAMIC & WOOD ART

• Must have a flat base to fit on a pedestal base or be stable as free standing.  Fragile and unstable pieces will not be accepted.
• 3D pieces are limited to 30” x 30” wide and 60” tall.

Artwork must be original. No AI-generated art will be accepted at this time.     All pieces must be for sale.

If accepted, each piece must be marked with the artist’s name, title, medium, size, and retail price. 

Images submitted must be in digital, JPEG format 300dpi. Crop out all frames and mats and do not include identifying information (like a signature) directly on the image. SCA discourages the placement of watermarks on image submissions.

Title all images : artist name, title, medium, size, retail price (example: John Jonson_Far Off Land_oil_24x18_$1,500). 

Make sure that the image quality reflects the original piece as this will be the only image considered during the jury selection. The juror and SCA staff reserve the right of refusal if the quality of the delivered work differs from the image submitted to the juror.

The artist receives 60% of the purchased, retail price. The Sausalito Center for the Arts manages all sales and receives a 40% commission on the purchased, retail price. Sales proceeds are paid within 30 days of show closing date.
 

The Exhibition is open to all artists 18 years and older, residing in California.

New submissions to SCA only. Artwork previously submitted and/or exhibited at SCA are not eligible.

Accepted entries must remain in the gallery for the duration of the exhibition.

Selected works must be hand-delivered to SCA in Sausalito by Wednesday 10/21 & Thursday 10/22 11-4 and picked up on Sunday December 6th following reception, 5-6pm or - Monday December 7th 11-4pm        

 Shipping and Storage is not available

SCA reserves the right to reject work if it differs from the work presented in the original application, violates any conditions set forth in this prospectus, or is unsafe to display for any reason.

Entries must not be copies or derivatives based in any way on other copyrighted or published paintings, photographs or other artistic work.