Apply to Exhibit

GUM Gallery operates through two parallel curatorial streams:

Main Gallery Artist Invitation – proposed solo or featured exhibitions
Digital Image Gallery Artist Invitation – responses to featured exhibitions for publication and digital display

Both are grounded in dialogue, experimentation, and conceptual practice.

1. Main Gallery Artist Invitation

GUM Gallery is seeking artists working in conceptual, experimental, and research-driven practices for upcoming exhibitions.

We are not a rental gallery. Our program is developed through conversation, curiosity, and curatorial exchange. We are interested in work that is unresolved, experimental, difficult to define, or not oriented toward commercial resolution.

If your practice aligns with this approach, we invite you to submit a proposal for consideration.

Selected artists are invited into an ongoing curatorial and educational system that extends beyond exhibition-making into public dialogue, publication, and response.

What we offer:

A dedicated exhibition space outside the urban circuit
Curatorial development and dialogue throughout the process
Public programming, including artist talks and critical discussion
Support for site-responsive and experimental projects
Documentation that prioritizes reflection and longevity over immediacy
Inclusion in exhibition publications and related materials (where applicable)

What we are looking for:

We welcome proposals that:

Are conceptual, experimental, or research-driven
Engage with context, audience, or space in unexpected ways
Embrace risk, ambiguity, and open-ended outcomes
May include unfinished ideas or works-in-progress
Are suitable for exhibition in a contemporary gallery context
We are open to all media and practices.

We are not a fit for:

Purely commercial, literal, or decorative work
Consignment-style submissions without curatorial intent
Drop-in, walk-in, or in-person portfolio reviews

Participation includes:

If selected, artists will participate in:

A curated exhibition presentation
A public artist talk or recorded conversation
Inclusion in a printed or digital exhibition publication (where applicable)
Archival documentation of the project

If your work questions, unsettles, or resists easy categorization, this is a space for exploration.

Application Requirements:

Please send:

Name, email and contact information
Short exhibition proposal – the main exhibit space is 30′ long and 8.5′ tall. There are 4 additional 16:9 landscape format monitors for supplementary videos/images.
Artist CV or biography
5–10 images of recent work (JPG or PNG, or link)
Optional: website, Instagram, or portfolio link
Maximum file size: 10 MB if sending attachments

Submit applications via the submission link below:

Main Gallery: Apply by Clicking Here

Additional Requirements:

We are especially interested in:

Conceptual, experimental, or research-led practices
Site-responsive or idea-led proposals
Emerging and established artists across all media

Review time is approximately 2–6 weeks. We do not respond to every submission; only selected artists whose work aligns with the curatorial direction of the gallery will be contacted.

For inquiries, please email: info@gumgallery.ca

Commission on Sales: Sales are not our primary concern for the work that we show. Should a work sell during an exhibition, GUM requests a 25% commission to support gallery operations. Artists may also choose to donate a work to the gallery collection in lieu of commission.

Transportation to Meaford: Meaford is a 2.5-hour drive north of Toronto along the shores of Georgian Bay and is serviced by The Flix bus offering daily return trips. The gallery is located at 46 Sykes Street North.

N.B. We will not be responding to every inquiry. We will contact you directly if we feel your work is a good fit for the gallery.

Thank you for thinking of GUM Gallery. If your work is driven by ideas, questions, experimentation, or forms that do not fit comfortably elsewhere, we encourage you to get in touch. We are always interested in conversations that might lead to unexpected exhibitions.

2. Digital Image Gallery Artist Invitation

Gallery invites artists, sculptors, painters, photographers, and video makers to contribute photographs or videos of their works to an evolving curatorial project responding to the featured exhibition and artist.

This stream is not a traditional juried exhibition. Submissions are considered as part of an ongoing curatorial conversation rather than as standalone entries.

Selected works may be presented across multiple formats:

A continuous digital display within the gallery space
A printed publication accompanying the exhibition
Exhibition-related digital and promotional materials
Archival documentation of the project

All selected artists will be credited.

What we are looking for:

We welcome submissions that respond to:

The ideas, forms, or methods of the featured artist
Conceptual or process-based thinking
Site-specific or place-aware approaches
Experimental image, video, or hybrid media
Works that can exist in dialogue rather than explanation

Both finished works and ongoing fragments are welcome.

Accepted formats:

Images (stills, photography, digital work, scans)
Video (short-form or loopable works preferred for monitor display)
Time-based media excerpts

Please ensure video files can be looped if needed for installation.

Submission requirements:

Please send:

Up to 3 images or 2 short video files (or links)
Title, medium, year
Short description (max 150 words)
Artist name and contact info

Submit applications via the submission link below (for a short while the cost is free):

Digital Image Gallery: Apply by Clicking Here

Use of submitted work:

Gallery monitor display during the exhibition period
Printed exhibition publication (GUM Gallery artist book)
Archival documentation of the project

We may edit or excerpt video works to fit installation constraints. Artists retain full credit in all contexts.

By submitting, artists grant permission for exhibition and publication use.