CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS:
INTRODUCTIONS 2025

Root Division invites artists working in all genres to submit work for Introductions 2025, the 19th iteration of our annual juried exhibition.

Established in 2007, Introductions is one of Root Division’s signature exhibitions, showcasing the talents of twelve emerging Bay Area artists without gallery representation. Artists are selected through a rigorous review process by a panel of three prominent arts professionals based on the conceptual and formal strength of their work. The resulting exhibition provides a snapshot of the Bay Area’s artistic landscape featuring a diverse range of media and subject matter, including but not limited to video, installation, sculpture, photography, textiles, and painting.  

A key pillar of Root Division’s gallery program, Introductions offers artists an opportunity to share their art to the Bay Area community and beyond through an exhibition, reception, and publication.

2025 JURORS

Makeda Best, Deputy Director of Curatorial Affairs, Oakland Museum of California
Cecilia Chia, Founder and Director, Glass Rice Gallery
Alison Guh, Assistant Curator, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art

Eligibility requirements:

▪ Artists must be living in one of 9 counties of the San Francisco Bay Area (Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, or Sonoma counties). Note that finalists may be asked to schedule a studio visit and/or present their work in- person at Root Division’s studios as part of the review process.

▪ Artwork submitted for review (or work very similar in nature to that submitted) must be available for listed exhibition dates. 

▪ Artists cannot have existing gallery representation in the Bay Area.

Deadline: Monday, May 5 at 11:59 pm

Exhibition dates: August 9 – September 20, 2025
2nd Saturday Opening Reception: August 9, 2025

** Artists selected for the exhibition will be notified by early July —- via email about the inclusion of their work in the show. Representatives from Root Division will conduct studio visits as necessary, but good documentation of work for submission is strongly suggested. **

HOW TO APPLY

Please apply via submittable, including the materials listed below:

  • Artist Resume: (2 pg. max)
  • Artist Statement: Please tell us about your art practice and how the works submitted relate. (up to 500 words)
  • Portfolio: Submit up to three images representative of your work.

Deadline to submit: Monday, May 5 at 11:59 pm 

submit an APPLICATION

ABOUT ROOT DIVISION

Root Division is a visual arts non-profit located in San Francisco’s Mid-Market/SoMA District. Root Division’s mission is to empower artists, promote community service, inspire youth, and enrich the Bay Area through engagement in the visual arts.

Root Division’s 2nd Saturday Exhibition Series showcases high caliber work with an emphasis on Bay Area emerging artists reflecting contemporary artistic ideas and current social concerns, in a variety of artistic disciplines, aesthetic sensibilities, and forms of cultural expression. Exhibiting over 350 artists and hosting over 6,000 visitors to the gallery yearly through receptions, gallery hours, artist panels, online exhibitions, and digital programming, this dynamic program continues to grow in its relevance and importance in the careers of Bay Area artists and curators.

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