Please feel free to complete our quick and easy volunteer form before attending. (Helpful, but not required.)

Attend this volunteer info meeting and:

• Meet the Festival leadership
• Hear the exciting plans for 2012
• Learn about volunteer opportunities
• Get your questions answered
• Get involved!

If you can’t make the meeting, click here and fill out our quick volunteer form.

We have lots of different volunteer opportunities ranging from ongoing positions throughout the year, to pre-event set-up, to assistance during the event, to post-event / strike.

Whether you can help for just a few hours or have time to give every week, we have a position for you.

Join us on Sunday, February 19, 1-3pm
Center for Sex Positive Culture, Annex
1608 15th Ave W
18+ only
(Free)

The 10th anniversary Festival is June 16-24, 2012 at Fremont Studios.

Begin your application today!
Submissions can be edited until the final deadline: Saturday, March 10 at 11pm PST.

The Festival is seeking:

• Visual Art (of all media)
• Installation Art
• Literary Art
• Short Film/Video
• Performance
• DJs
• Pieces for the Festival Store

Artists may submit to as many Calls for Art as they wish. Each Call for Art has distinct requirements and may have submission fees.

Click here to submit your art!

Learn more about submission fees.

Learn about the rewards for applying.

Join us February 26 for a free info session.

Applications can be edited until the official deadline: Saturday, March 10.

The Festival is seeking:

• Visual Art (of all media)
• Installation Art
• Literary Art
• Short Film/Video
• Performance
• DJs
• Pieces for the Festival Store

Artists may submit to as many Calls for Art as they wish. Each Call for Art has distinct requirements and may have submission fees.

Click here to submit your art!

Learn more about submission fees.

Learn about the rewards for applying.

Join us February 26 for a free info session.

Please note that this information is all available on our website in various places.

Useful Links

Rewards for submitting your artwork
Submission fees and deadlines
Full Call for Art details
How the visual art jury process works
FAQs
Visual Art Details
Literary Art Details
Installation Art Details
Film/Video Details
Performance Details
Store Art Details
DJ Details

How is the Work Selected?

The jurors and curators look for originality, quality of execution, and thought provoking elements that instigate conversations.

2012 Visual Art Jury: Dan Savage, author, media pundit, sex advice columnist of “Savage Love”, and co-founder of the nationally recognized It Gets Better Project; Daniel McGlothlen, erotic art collector, bondage photographer, performance artist, and previous Festival artist; Ellen Forney, celebrated cartoonist and frequent Festival artist; Jim Duvall, award-winning photographer and founder of the Seattle Erotic Art Festival; Mistress Matisse, columnist, sexuality activist, and previously accepted Festival artist. Learn more about how the visual art selection process works.

2012 Literary Art Jury: David Jones, poet, performer with the Floating Mountain Poets, and frequent featured reader at the Festival; Evan Peterson, poet, fiction and nonfiction author, performer, editor, book reviewer, columnist and educator; Kyle Jones, published writer, educator and previous Festival literary artist; Priya Keefe, published writer, poetry and cross-genre editor, and previous Festival literary artist; and the fourth juror is to be confirmed.

Film Curated By: The Festival Director and a team of jurors from Three Dollar Bill Cinema, producers of The Seattle Lesbian and Gay Film Festival and The Seattle Transgender Film Festival.

Installations Curated By: The Festival Director and Installation Art Director.

Performance Curated By: The Performance Director, internationally acclaimed performer, writer and director David Crellin aka Armitage Shanks.

Store Art Curated By: The Retail Director.

Who Should Apply?

• Everyone 18 years old or older.
• Emerging artists. The jury does not take name or reputation into account when selecting the artwork, so emerging and established artists are given equal consideration.
• Established artists. On average, the Festival sells 25% of artwork in the exhibition and boasts even higher Store sales, with a competitive commission rate. In addition, your work will be seen by thousands: the Festival anticipates over 10,000 attendees in June. 
• If you were declined before. It is a new jury every year, so the same piece might be declined one year and accepted the next.
• If you create something completely different than what we’ve shown before. The Festival strives to be new and different each year.

What Art Should You Submit?

We encourage you to submit your best work; the pieces that you are most excited or passionate about. We also recommend that you diversify your submissions. For example, provide a range of your work rather than five similar shots from the same photoshoot, or various versions of the same literary art poem.

Note: there has been a change in policy regarding the date of creation: artwork does not need to be contemporary (created in the past few years). The artwork just needs to be new to our event.

Tip: do not cater to the jury or select your art based on what was in previous Festivals. The jury is new each year, so they may select completely different pieces than were shown before.

What to Avoid (Common Mistakes)

• Submitting art that is not yours. You must own the copyright.
• Leaving watermarks or recognizable signatures on images of your visual art submissions, or your name on your literary pieces.
• Registering and submitting on more than one account. Each Call for Art has a limit to how many submissions you can make, and we disqualify artists who try creating a second account to submit more art.
• Contacting a juror or curator about what work to submit.
• Submitting work that has already been accepted and shown at the Festival. (It’s ok if it has been featured at other events.)

Pricing Your Exhibition Art

All visual art must be available for sale, for a minimum of $200.

To price your work:

• Add up materials, framing costs, and your time
• Consider your past art sales
• Add on 40% for the Festival’s commission.

Here are a few links to helpful websites about pricing:
Studio Notes
VS Arts
Studio Chalkboard

Any questions that are not addressed here or elsewhere on the Festival website can be directed to info@seattleerotic.org.

The Seattle Erotic Art Festival is proud to curate a “Best of the Northwest” collection in Detroit’s thirteenth annual Dirty Show, February 10-18, 2012.

This elite collection has been hand-selected by the curators of the Festival.

These eight featured artists represent a taste of the finest contemporary erotic artists working in the Pacific Northwest.

Andrew Adam Caldwell
Crystal Barbre
Javier Ortega
Jim Duvall
La Figa
Patrick Andraste
Richard Bulman
Stasia Burrington

You can preview some of the pieces in the slideshow above. If you’re in Detroit, attend the Dirty Show to see them all in person and add them to your private collection.

The Festival is seeking: Visual art of all kinds, short film/video, literary art, installation art, performance art, DJ proposals, pieces for the popular Festival Store

• Visual art of all kinds
• Short film/video
• Literary Art
• Installation Art
• Performance Art
• DJ proposals
• Pieces for the popular Festival Store

All artists 18 years old or older are encouraged to submit art for consideration. We accept submissions and feature art from artists across the nation and world, and there are no submission fees to apply if you live outside of North America.

Click here to apply now!

Deadlines (and Discounts!)

Take advantage of early-bird (discounted) submission fees up until 11pm PST on Wednesday, February 15. (Note that some Calls for Art are free to apply for, and all artists outside of North America apply for free.)

Call for Art closes at 11pm PST on Saturday, March 10.

Submissions may be edited up until the deadline.

More Information

Learn more about the Call for Art.

Attend a free information session on February 26.

Sign up for our free newsletter.

The Call for Art

Every year we announce our Call for Visual Art and all artists 18+ are encouraged to submit up to five (5) works of erotic art of any medium through our website. Sculptors, multimedia artists and painters are particularly encouraged to apply. This art is considered for our juried exhibition.

All artists 18+ are encouraged to submit erotic art of any medium.

The Jury

A different and new visual art selection jury is appointed every year, with careful consideration. Jury members are selected by the Festival Director and Visual Art Director. To increase diversity of the selected art, the jury consists of five individuals: an erotic artist, an art professional, an art collector, a sex positive activist, and a Festival committee member. Each year the jury members change, except under special circumstances or on the basis of expertise in the realm of erotic art.

Selection Process

• Art is selected by a blind jury; jurors never know whose work they are reviewing during the process.
• Unknown and famous artists alike are given equal consideration and opportunity.
• Jurors preview all submitted art before officially meeting. The jury then meets on two different days to view the submissions. All five jury members must be able attend both meetings; exceptions are permissible in cases of emergency. A jury member may be replaced in the case of a scheduling conflict, or conflict of interest.
• The jury will select pieces based on: quality of execution, depth of emotion, originality of subject, and thought provoking elements that instigate conversations about sexuality, erotica, art, and/or societal mores.
• The jury votes on which pieces to accept. Each piece of art is voted on, with one possible vote per jury member. Art that garners the majority of votes becomes an accepted piece. Consensus, while preferable, is not required for art to be accepted. The number of pieces selected is dependent on available wall space and varies from year to year.

Invited and Curated Art

• In order to show the work of successful and international artists who no longer choose to submit their work to juried shows, the Festival includes curated and invited artist sections. However, the juried work has always represented the majority of art showcased at the Festival.
• The Visual Art Director is responsible for inviting artists and/or appointing a Guest Curator. The Visual Art Director may ask the jury to give input on the invited art. Art submitted to the jury may become invited art at the Visual Art Director’s discretion.

Jury and Audience Selections

Each year, the audience and jury vote on the visual art during the Festival. Following the event, we announce the jury and audience winners. First place winners in both categories are invited to exhibit in the following year’s Festival.

• View the 2010 visual art winners.
• View the 2011 visual art winners.

If you have any questions, please contact us.

From planning the Festival, to mounting the party and making it run smoothly, to basking in the afterglow when it’s all over, this is a group effort—and a great time.

Join the fun of putting on the 10th anniversary Festival!

Attend this volunteer info meeting and:

• Meet the Festival leadership
• Hear the exciting plans for 2012
• Learn about volunteer opportunities
• Get your questions answered
• Get involved!

We have lots of different volunteer opportunities ranging from ongoing positions throughout the year, to pre-event set-up, to assistance during the event, to post-event / strike.

Whether you can help for just a few hours or have time to give every week, we have a position for you.

Please feel free to complete our quick and easy volunteer form before attending. (Helpful, but not required.)

Join us on Sunday, February 19, 1-3pm
Center for Sex Positive Culture, Annex
1608 15th Ave W
18+ only
(Free)

If you can’t make the meeting, click here and fill out our quick volunteer form.

The 10th anniversary Festival is June 16-24, 2012 at Fremont Studios.

If you are not able to attend, here are useful links and highlights from these sessions.

Join us:
Sunday, January 22, 1-3pm
Sunday, February 26, 1-3pm

Come talk to Festival organizers, ask questions and learn useful tips on how to apply to any of the Calls for Art.

These Information Sessions Include

• Demonstration of the online submission process — we will walk you through how the website works and answer questions along the way
• Tips on how to price your art — our Visual Art Director will show examples of previous Festival art and give useful tips on how to value and price your work
• Best advice on what to submit — we will discuss what the juries and curators look for
• Common mistakes and how to avoid them — learn what not to do, in order to increase your chances of being accepted
• Q&A — there will be plenty of time throughout the meeting for you to ask your questions

Note that these information sessions have a limited capacity. We encourage you to arrive on time to get a seat, and cannot guarantee entrance if the venue is at capacity.

Location and Directions

Sunday, February 26, 1-3pm

NOTE: For accessibility reasons, this has been moved from its original location. It will be hosted at Center for Sex Positive Culture.

Center for Sex Positive Culture
1602 15th Ave. W.
Seattle, WA 98119

Located on the corner of 15th Avenue West and West Garfield Street, next to the Magnolia Bridge in the Interbay neighborhood of Seattle.  The Main Space is a one-story light brown building and an entrance on 15th Avenue West.  The connected brown building houses the Annex, Raw Dungeon and the Library, and the entrance is on the north side.  Both buildings are wheel-chair accessible.

Map on Google Maps

Additional directions on the Center’s page

The Festival is calling for visual art of all media, short film, installation art, literary art, performance art, and items for the popular Festival Store.

All artists 18 years old or older are encouraged to submit art for consideration online at SeattleErotic.org.

The Festival will accept submissions starting February 1, 2012, until 11pm PST on Saturday, March 10. Submissions may be edited up until the deadline.

Artists may submit for as many Calls for Art as they wish, but note that each Call for Art has distinct requirements and may have additional submission fees. (See below for details about submission fees and rewards.)

• Visual Art: up to five (5) pieces may be submitted of any medium. Sculptors, multimedia artists and painters are particularly encouraged to apply.
• Film: up to the three (3) short films or videos may be submitted. Each submission may be up to 30 minutes in length.
• Installation Art: up to three (3) interactive installation proposals may be submitted. Proposals are introductory descriptions of your piece in as much detail as possible. Installations can be submitted as ideas, and need not be completed work at the time of submission. Some grant funding is available for installation ideas.
• Literary Art: up to five (5) literary pieces may be submitted — poems (up to 2 pages single-spaced), short stories (up to 1500 words, 7 pages double-spaced) and one-act plays or scripts (up to 15 pages including scene setup).
• Performance Art: all performers 18 years old or older may submit for consideration for both ambient performances and the main stage production.
• Store Art: all artists 18 years old or older may submit items such as books, jewelry, cards, collectibles, etc. for consideration by the Festival Store.

Spread the word, and sign up for the Festival’s free newsletter for updates.

Interested in how art selection works?

Read about our jury process and art curation.

Why Apply to the Call for Art?

Accepted artists receive

• Featured at the 10th annual Seattle Erotic Art Festival across two weekends to up to 10,000 attendees
• High art sales and competitive commission rate of 40% (on average, the Festival sells 25% of the artwork featured)
• Full pass to both weekends of the Festival for self (artist)
• Invitation to an exclusive Artist Reception for artist and a plus one (space is limited; RSVP will be required)
• Featured in professionally designed Festival catalog, both in print and PDF
• Promoted on Festival website gallery
• Discounted printing and framing at partnering frame shops
• Free workshops to support accepted artists
• Additional benefits may apply based on your type of art
• Note that some benefits do not apply to artists who are featured only in the Festival Store.

Declined artists (who paid a submission fee) receive

• Weekend pass to the first weekend of the Festival (Saturday and Sunday) for self (artist) – $30 value.
• $10, $20 or $30 discount (depends on what submission fee you paid) to the second weekend of the Festival, either for a Friday ticket or a full weekend pass (Friday, Saturday and Sunday) for self (artist)

Submission Fees to Apply

It is free to apply to some of the Calls for Art, and all artists outside of North America can apply for free.

• Most of the Calls for Art do have a submission fee, ranging from $10 to $30.
• Submission fees are low, and you receive special benefits in exchange, even if you only pay $10 to apply.
• We offer special early-bird (discounted) submission fees until Wednesday, February 15 at 11pm PST.
• All artists who pay a submission fee receive free access to the first weekend of the Festival for self (artist) – $30 value.
• The submission fee can be applied to the second weekend, for either a discounted Friday pass or a full weekend pass for self (artist). For example, if you pay a $10 submission fee, you get a $10 discount; if you pay a $30 fee, you get a $30 discount.
• Discount Codes: You will receive your discount code when Festival tickets are available for purchase. Each discount code can only be used once. Each artist will receive only one discount code (if you apply to multiple Calls for Art and pay multiple fees, you would receive one discount code worth the amount of the highest fee you paid.)

Early-Bird (Discounted) Submission Fees

Pay your fee by Wednesday, February 15 at 11pm PST to get these special rates:

• No fee to submit film
• No fee to submit performance art
• No fee to apply if you are an artist living outside of North America
• $20 fee to submit visual art
• $20 fee to submit literary art
• $20 fee to submit installation art
• If you have paid a fee to submit visual, literary, and/or installation art, then you can submit work to the Festival Store for free. If you have not paid a fee, you will need to pay a $20 fee to apply to the Store.
• Apply by February 15 at 11pm PST to take advantage of our early-bird (discounted) submission fees.

Standard Submission Fees

If you apply after 11pm PST on Wednesday, February 15, the following fees apply:

• No fee to submit performance art
• No fee to apply if you are an artist living outside of North America
• $10 fee to submit film
• $30 fee to submit visual art
• $30 fee to submit literary art
• $30 fee to submit installation art
• If you have paid a fee to submit visual, literary, and/or installation art, then you can submit work to the Festival Store for free. If you have not paid a fee (or only paid for a $10 film fee), you will need to pay a $30 fee to apply to the Store.

General Guidelines for Submission

• All artists and models must be 18 years old or older
• Submission fees are non-refundable
• Tickets are non-transferable
• If accepted, the art submitted must be exactly the same as the delivered art
• Unfinished art or “works in progress” will not be considered by the jury (with the exception of installation art proposals)
• Incomplete or incorrect entries will not be considered after the deadline (Saturday, March 10 at 11pm PST)
• Artists do not need to attend the Festival to be accepted
• The Festival reserves the right to refuse entry to anyone

About the Seattle Erotic Art Festival

The Seattle Erotic Art Festival supports a vibrant creative community, promotes freedom of expression, and fosters sex positive culture through public celebration of the arts.

The Festival is a jury-selected, erotic fine art exhibition and curated arts festival. Selected art will be showcased over two weekends in June, to up to 10,000 patrons. Our curators and juries select work that is based on quality of execution, originality of subject, and depth of emotion. We strive to be a place that showcases the diversity of human sexual expression and explores the vast creativity that artists use to approach their subjects, a place where art that is rarely seen in mainstream galleries and museums can be celebrated, discussed and supported.

For the second year, the Festival will be held at Fremont Studios. The venue is well-equipped to professionally showcase all art forms, featuring ample space and high-quality lighting for an impressive visual art gallery and large Festival Store, a modern 50-seat movie theater for film, a built-in stage for performance art, and more.

The 10th annual Festival will held across two weekends in June 2012 (June 16-24).