INSIDE / OUTSIDE

Second Street Gallery invites you to apply to INSIDE / OUTSIDE, a juried exhibition for Virginia artists exploring the relationship between interior and exterior worlds through interpretations of landscape, home, history, memory, and place.

INSIDE / OUTSIDE
Juried Regional Exhibition at Second Street Gallery

Second Street Gallery invites artists living and working in the Commonwealth of Virginia to apply for INSIDE / OUTSIDE, a juried group exhibition exploring Virginia’s unique landscape, domestic settings, and history.

This exhibition seeks work that considers the relationship between interior and exterior worlds; between home and environment, personal space and public life, private memory and shared history. Artists are encouraged to interpret the theme broadly. Submissions might reflect the natural landscape of Virginia, the built environment, domestic interiors, social and cultural histories, or the psychological and emotional boundaries between inside and outside.

Through painting, photography, sculpture, and works on paper, INSIDE / OUTSIDE aims to highlight the richness, complexity, and diversity of artistic responses to place, space, and lived experience in Virginia.

Timeline:

• Open Call for Entries: August 15, 2026
• Deadline for Entries: November 15, 2026
• Artist Notification: January 15, 2027
• Artwork Drop-Off Dates: May 2027
• First Friday Opening Reception: Friday, June 4, 2027
• Exhibition on View: June 4–July 16, 2027

Prizes:

• 1st Place: $300, plus a solo exhibition in the Dové Gallery space at Second Street Gallery June 2–July 21, 2028.
• 2nd Place: $200
• 3rd Place $100

At the discretion of the juror, up to three honorable mentions may be awarded.

About Second Street Gallery

Founded in 1973, Second Street Gallery is the oldest nonprofit 501(c)3 contemporary art space in Central Virginia. Our primary mission is to enliven Virginia through access to the best in contemporary art and artists and to inspire new ways of thinking, seeing, and doing through the presentation of 10–14 separate exhibitions each year, with a full calendar of related programming. 

Second Street Gallery is committed to presenting contemporary art and supporting artists through exhibitions, public programs, and professional development opportunities. INSIDE / OUTSIDE offers a platform for Virginia-based artists to share work that reflects on the spaces, histories, and environments that shape our lives.

About the Juror

Kristen Chiacchia is a curator, art historian, and arts administrator currently based in Charlottesville, Virginia. Her research and curatorial practice focuses on the consequences of gender bias in the contemporary art market, the consumption of artworks produced by women and gender-nonconforming identifying artists, issues of gender and sexuality in contemporary art, and uncovering new approaches to critically examining toxic masculinity within the fine art industry. She has curated multiple exhibitions exploring artists' connections to subcultural movements and expressions—including punk, metal, and gothic rock; death; self-mythology; and the occult—and the impact these subcultural engagements have on artists’ work. 

Chiacchia currently serves as the Executive Director & Chief Curator of Second Street Gallery, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit artspace located in Charlottesville, Virginia, where she has curated more than 67 single-artist exhibitions, including a solo show with Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery’s 2022 Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition prizewinning finalist Stuart Robertson. Chiacchia’s efforts at Second Street Gallery also include the curation of 34 group exhibitions and the publication of nine exhibition catalogs, as well as the creation of new programs and formation of new community partnerships for the gallery. 

In addition to her work at Second Street Gallery, Chiacchia curated a two-person exhibition with Sharon Shapiro and Lou Haney for SPRING/BREAK New York in 2022. She was selected to serve as the curator for Radius 250 in 2026, Artspace Richmond’s annual juried exhibition of regional artists. Chiacchia also served as a juror for the pilot Artist Residency program at 1708 Gallery in Richmond, Virginia, offering recommendations for the 2026–27 residency cycle.

Member Entry Fee: Please select the member entry fee only if you are a current member of Second Street Gallery. Submissions using the discounted member rate without an active membership will not be considered for the exhibition.

If you are not currently a member but would like to join and take advantage of the discounted entry fee, you may become a member through our website [HERE] before submitting your application.

Applicants are invited to submit up to three original works for consideration. 

Applicants must submit the following materials:

• One image of each artwork submitted
• Artist statement
• Artist bio
• Website URL (if applicable)
• Instagram handle (if applicable)

• Open to artists who currently reside in the Commonwealth of Virginia
• Submitted artwork must have been created within the last three years
• Submitted artwork may not have been exhibited in Charlottesville within the year leading up to this exhibition
• Open to artists working in:
  painting
  works on paper
  sculpture
  photography
  mixed media

No video, installation, performance, sound, or AI-generated work will be considered.