The Festival is proud to be a place where art that is rarely seen in mainstream galleries and museums can be celebrated, discussed and supported. An event that showcasing intriguing explorations of eroticism. Most of the visual art on our walls each year is part of our juried exhibition, though we also feature invited and curated art. Curious about how it works?

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.