Online Submission Deadline: Saturday October 31, 2026, by midnight
Artwork Delivery Deadline: Saturday November 7, 2026, from 11:00am to 5:00pm
Exhibition Dates: Wednesday November 18 to Saturday January 30, 2026
Awards Reception Event: Saturday November 28, 2026, from 2:00pm to 4:00pm
Democracy thrives when all people can participate, contribute, and have their voices heard.
Throughout history, women have played a vital role in expanding rights, advocating for change, building communities, and shaping the democratic landscape.
Kawartha Art Gallery invites artists to explore the relationship between women, participation, and democracy through an exhibition that explores the power of civic engagement, collective action, representation, and social change.
From the fight for voting rights to contemporary movements for equality, justice, and inclusion, women have often been at the forefront of efforts to strengthen democratic values and expand opportunities for participation.
Kawartha Art Gallery welcomes works that challenge perspectives, commemorate achievements, inspire dialogue, or imagine a future where all people can participate fully in civic and community life.
Participation can be expressed in many ways…a raised hand, an open door, a gathering of voices, a bridge built between communities, a path forward, an act of courage, or a vision of change.
This theme offers powerful opportunities for metaphor and symbolism, and artists are encouraged to consider both tangible and symbolic representations of participation and democracy through the following themes:
• Democracy
• Advocacy
• Leadership
• Human Rights
• Identity
• Protest
• Belonging
• Representation
• Community Engagement
Artists are invited to interpret the theme through personal experiences, historical narratives, contemporary issues, or imagined futures. Whether reflective, celebratory, provocative, or aspirational, submissions should approach the subject with sensitivity, authenticity, and creative intention
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Open to all artists 18 years and older living within Ontario
• One entry per Artist
• Maximum size of artwork 48in wide x 72in tall
• Cost per entry for Gallery Member Artists is $35.00
• Cost per entry for non-Gallery Member Artist is $50.00
• All entry fees are non-refundable
• All works to have been completed with the past 24 months
• Each entry to include an Artist statement. This is an explanation of your overall vision and the issues/ideas that you have presented in your work (maximum 300-word count)
• Each entry to include two good quality images of the submitted piece of work with submitted images in a 300 dpi in JPG (or JPEG) format. With image files not exceeding 2.5MB
• Image files submitted with entry form are to be named using the following convention: FirstName, LastName, Title of Work, Date of Work, Format (i.e.: Jane Doe, Title,.jpg)
• Mediums welcomed are painting, drawing, printmaking, mixed media, sculpture, textile and fibre art, photography and digital art
• No AI generated works will be accepted
• Artists are responsible for the transportation of accepted artworks to and from the Gallery
• The Gallery assumes insurance responsibility only while works are onsite
• All works must be delivered ready to install, d-hooks and wire
• Works selected for the exhibition must remain on view for the full duration of the exhibit
• By submitting, artists agree to allow the Gallery to use images of selected works for promotional purposes
• The Gallery reserves the right to decline any artwork that does not meet the exhibition standards or eligibility criteria
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Your online entry is submitted without all required information and payment
Your online entry is submitted after the deadline
Your work was part of the Gallery’s 2025 Juried Exhibit
When delivered to the Gallery, your work is unfinished, wet, or not ready to hang
Your work is inappropriate or does not align with the exhibition's values and standards
The work uses Indigenous motifs or designs without appropriate authorization or proof of permission or is not culturally appropriate
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Jurying:
Notification of Acceptance: Thursday November 12, 2026, via email
The juror’s decision is final. Only work that has been accepted by the juror will be included in the exhibition. If you have won an award, notice will be sent by November 12, 2026 as well.
All works not accepted will be required to be picked up from the Gallery on Saturday November 14, 2026, between the hours of 11:00am to 5:00pm
Awards:
Highest Achievement - $1,000.00 (learn more)
Award of Merit - $500.00
Award of Distinction - $250.00
Award of Distinction - $250.00
HOW TO SUBMIT
Entries can only be submitted via the online submission form found here:
For additional information or questions, please contact the Gallery at art@kawarthagallery.com | 705-324-1780
María Coates is an Ontario-based curator. Her research interests encompass technology, feminism, and socially engaged art and education. She produced and led the ADA-DADA residency in collaboration with the South Asian Visual Arts Centre (SAVAC) in Toronto. Her curated exhibitions include Of Ties and Tethers, presented by Interaccess and the Vector Festival (Toronto); Terraforming, presented by SAVAC and Trinity Square Video (Toronto); Voz-a-Voz at YYZ Artists’ Outlet (Toronto); and Feelings, presented as part of the aluCine Latin Film and Media Arts Festival (Toronto). Coates received a bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts and Art History from the University of British Columbia and a master’s degree in Art History and Curatorial Studies from York University.
ABOUT KAWARTHA ART GALLERY
As a not-for-profit organization, Kawartha Art Gallery is a public art gallery dedicated to advancing a healthy rural creative economy through exceptional and engaging cultural programs, services, and exhibitions by local and regional artists.
The Gallery envisions the city of Kawartha Lakes as a creative hub and community network, connecting and engaging people with the multiplicity of our cultures, through diverse and accessible experiences that reimagine the narrative for the arts in rural Ontario.
