Opportunities
OPPORTUNITIES FOR ARTISTS
Opportunities at the SBMA for artists include a regular rotation of juried exhibitions. For further details and to submit material for any of the opportunities below, see southbendart.submittable.com/submit
The SBMA’s Midwest Biennial exhibition occurs in odd years (2025, 2027, etc.).
Around the Bend, our local juried exhibition, occurs in even years (2024, 2026, etc.).
We love artists and would love to hear from you if you have any questions, comments and/or ideas! info@southbendart.org
CURRENT OPPORTUNITIES
Ekphrastic: Poetry at SBMA
Submissions Deadline: March 22, 2026
Ceremony and Poetry Reading: April 30, 2026
How to Apply: Please leave poems at the front desk or email them to poetry@southbendart.org.
Cost: Free
An ekphrastic poem imagines, interprets, and expands the meaning of a work of art. By engaging with visual art through language, poets create new layers of understanding and connection between text, image, and viewer. SBMA’s annual Ekphrastic program invites visitors of all ages to respond to works in the museum’s permanent collection. Selected poets publish their poems in an annual catalog and present at a public reading at the museum. To celebrate the program’s eleventh year, we invite you to immerse yourself in the eleven works of art most frequently selected by past poets. These works have served as enduring sources of inspiration over the past decade.
- George Ames Aldrich, Untitled, ca. 1923
- George Ames Aldrich, Woman by Streamside, ca. 1925
- Clarence Ball, Untitled, undated
- Kim Hoffman, Bride, 1991
- Douglas Kinsey, Flight, 2003
- Robert Kuntz, Standing Figure, 2006
- Alex McKibbin, Configural #81, 1981
- Ron Monsma, Days of Future Past, undated
- Ed Paschke, Heddy, 1973
- Jake Webster, Lord When I’m Old, Carol, 1995
- Harold Zisla, The Dying King, undated
View works here. All works are on view in the Wiekamp and Carmichael Galleries and are marked with an Ekphrastic label.
SUBMISSION INFORMATION: We invite visitors of all ages to submit up to two poems in response to the above artworks. Please leave poems at the front desk or email them to poetry@southbendart.org. All submissions will be reviewed by a panel of judges. Selected poems will be published in this year’s Ekphrastic catalog. Selected poets will be invited to read their work at the museum on the evening of Thursday, April 30.
Around the Bend 2026
Submission Deadline: March 27, 2026 at 11:59 pm EST.
Selected Entries Announced: April 8, 2026
How to Apply: See details and apply at southbendart.submittable.com/submit
Cost: $10 (reduced fee option available)
Exhibition Dates: May 23–August 23, 2026
We invite artists of all levels to participate in Around the Bend 2026, the South Bend Museum of Art’s celebration of the diverse and vibrant visual arts community in our region. Our goal is to include as many of our region’s artists as possible!
The exhibition is open to artists 18 years of age or older residing in the following Indiana counties: Berrien, Cass, Elkhart, LaPorte, Marshall, Portage, Starke, and St. Joseph.
SUBMISSION INFORMATION: Each artist can submit up to three (3) artworks for consideration. Members of museum staff will select up to one (1) artwork by each artist. Artworks will be displayed salon style (floor to ceiling) in the Warner Gallery at SBMA. Selected artworks will be eligible for Community Choice Awards. For complete details and to apply, see southbendart.submittable.com/submit
Festival of Banners 2026: Our Ecosystem
Submissions Deadline: May 15, 2026
Selected Entries Announced: June 8, 2026
How to Apply: See details and apply at southbendart.submittable.com/submit
Cost: Free
Festival of Banners is an annual community-based program and exhibition that invites local artists and creatives to design original banner artwork inspired by an annual theme. Selected designs are reproduced as large-scale banners and displayed throughout Downtown South Bend, bringing art into public spaces and celebrating local creativity. The call for designs is open to the public and welcomes artists of all ages. Submissions are categorized as Youth, Teen, or Adult for judging purposes.
The 2026 theme, Our Ecosystem, invites artists of all ages to explore and reflect on the rich natural environment of Northern Indiana. From plants and animals to rivers, landforms, and landscapes, artists are encouraged to consider how the local ecosystem shapes daily life and how we, in turn, interact with and influence it. Participants are invited to ask: What is an ecosystem? How are we connected to our ecosystem? What elements of nature inspire and inform my work? Through this exhibition, the Museum celebrates creative responses that highlight our shared relationship with the environment and the interconnected systems that sustain our community.
SUBMISSION INFORMATION: All submissions must be made digitally via southbendart.submittable.com/submit.
Artists must use the provided banner template when designing their work. Download the template here. The design must be 4.25 inches wide by 10 inches high. Please make the design vertical. Submissions must be a digital image of your own original drawing or painting. Your design should be considered finished artwork and colored in the manner you intend the larger design to be colored. Simple designs using bold, solid colors are the most effective. Remember, the finished accepted designs will be printed on a banner and hung on a street light downtown. You want viewers to be able to see the details from 9 to 14 feet away.
Juror: Shirley Heinz Land Trust
Since 1981, Shirley Heinze Land Trust has been dedicated to the preservation and restoration of significant natural areas throughout northwestern Indiana. Today, approximately 4,000 acres across Lake, Porter, LaPorte, St. Joseph, Marshall, and Starke counties are permanently protected, and most of our nature preserves are open to the public to explore and enjoy. Through connecting individuals and communities to nature and building understanding and support for conservation, we are committed to preserving nature for the benefit of future generations.
General Submissions
Submission Deadline: Rolling
How to Submit: southbendart.submittable.com/submit
Cost: Free
The South Bend Museum of Art accepts submission materials from artists, art organizations, community organizations, and curators. Submissions are reviewed by the museum’s Curatorial Staff quarterly in March, July, September, and January and are considered for all available opportunities. There are 3 galleries at the SBMA available for temporary exhibitions, each with its own focus. You will be asked which space is the most suitable for your work
SUBMISSION INFORMATION: See full details here: southbendart.submittable.com/submit
Frequently Asked Questions
Most of our opportunities are free. For the regional Biennial and Around the Bend, there is a nominal entry fee to cover costs of portfolio administration by Submittable.
All artwork coming into the South Bend Museum of Art will be chosen by a jury process or curatorial selection. Any exception to this must be approved by Curatorial Staff. In no case will any entrant to any exhibition be guaranteed acceptance of one or more pieces. All juried shows will have a juror who is a non-member and non-affiliate of the exhibiting group.
Unless otherwise specified in the call, notification emails will come from Submittable and will be sent to the email you used to register. Information on how to “safelist” their email address and add it to your contact list can be found here. The “Messages” tab on the right hand side of your account will also show any messages sent to you through Submittable.
We offer stipends for exhibitions in the Art League and Project Room Galleries. Stipend amounts are dependent upon the exhibition, the space, distance the work needs to travel, and other factors. Other assistance is provided to artists, curators, and groups on a case by case basis.
If you have any technical issues with Submittable, please see: https://www.submittable.com/help/submitter/
For other questions, please write to info@southbendart.org.
