CALL DESCRIPTION
Exhibition name: Searching for Serenity
Location: Sturt Haaga Gallery at Descanso Gardens
Exhibition Dates: November 1, 2025 – January 4, 2026
Application deadline: August 1, 2025, at 11:59pm
Descanso Gardens invites you to submit your masterpiece to Searching for Serenity, an open juried competition and exhibition that will be on display at the Sturt Haaga Gallery on November 1, 2025 – January 3, 2026.
Searching for Serenity is an exhibition of artwork made by community and professional artists exploring how art and nature can harness the healing power and help bring us into community with one another. We are looking for unique artworks that convey the role of art and nature in healing, wellness, connectedness, and recovery as a response to 2025 wildfire disasters in Los Angeles County. The exhibition aims to bridge creativity with personal storytelling - we invite you to share how a deep connection to nature can serve as a tool for individual transformation and community healing.
What nature experience helps you feel centered or grounded? What plant or place symbolizes healing or offers hope? What landscape sparks the feeling of compassion, resilience or strength?
All artwork styles, media, and sizes are welcome. Works can include other elements, but the subject of the work should focus on botanical or landscape components. The entries are judged using specific criteria including originality, technical competence, and how well the art and their statement reflected the theme.
ABOUT DESCANSO GARDENS
Descanso Gardens is an urban retreat of year-round natural beauty, internationally renowned botanical collections, and spectacular seasonal horticultural displays. Accredited by the American Alliance of Museums, Descanso Gardens welcomes hundreds of thousands of visitors annually, from local members to international travelers. Sturt Haaga Gallery at Descanso Gardens’ exhibitions are intended to broaden its education programs by presenting curated exhibits of art, science, and relevant historical material to support the mission of Descanso Gardens, “connecting people with nature and one another.” Descanso Gardens is particularly interested in how gardens, nature, and plants are part of people’s lives today; artwork that reveals surprising connections to the garden; and topics that connect to Descanso’s botanic collections (present, future, or historic). The Sturt Haaga Gallery consists of about 1,500 square feet of floor space and over 300 linear feet of wall space, arranged in three complementary gallery spaces.
Gallery admission is free with Gardens admission. Hours: Daily, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Learn more about Descanso Gardens: http://www.descansogardens.org/. Learn more about the Sturt Haaga Gallery: Descanso's Sturt Haaga Gallery.
Application Tutorial
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Each artist is incited to submit one artwork for jury's consideration. All work must be original, designed, and created by the artist applicant and must be ready for exhibition. All 2D, 3D, and digital media will be considered. Most artworks selected will need to be wall mounted, although there is limited space for 3D pedestal-mounted works. All artworks must remain on display for the duration of the exhibition. Artists are responsible for the transportation of artwork to and from the Gallery. All art made with specific reference to Searching for Serenity will receive priority in the judges’ consideration. Video or digital work must be accompanied by a suitable wall-mountable monitor, which can play DVDs or computer files from a USB drive. Video should be appropriate for a roving gallery audience, rather than a theater screening. Sound may be experienced only with headphones. Submissions that do not comply with rules of entry will not be presented to the jurors. Artwork selected for the exhibition that is not accurately depicted by images at submission will not be considered. Entry fees will not be refunded for artwork that is rejected due to non-compliance. Work must be available for deliveries, installation and exhibition from October 13, 2025 – January 31, 2026.
ENTRY FEE
● A non-refundable entry fee of $50 must accompany each entry.
● A discounted entry fee of $35 is available for Descanso Gardens’ members with a discount code obtained from membership@descansogardens.org.
● Entry fee is non-refundable.
● Fee is payable by credit card through artcall.org.
ELIGIBILITY AND ARTWORK SPECIFICATIONS
● Searching for Serenity is an open call for artists, 18 years of age and older, and art made with specific reference to nature. Work specifically regarding the call's theme will receive priority in the judges' consideration. All work must be original in concept, should have been completed within the last 5 years and not previously exhibited at Descanso Gardens. Descanso Gardens reserves the right to refuse any work that differs from the work sample submitted for judging. All entries must include a brief statement discussing how the work of art relates to the theme.
● The call is limited to 1 artwork per applicant.
● No artworks can be installed from the ceiling.
● 2D artwork will be hung in the Gallery salon-style.
● 2D works must be mounted. Works on canvas may be gallery-wrapped, strip-framed or framed. No unstretched canvas or unmounted paper.
● Size limits: 2D and low relief media works no larger than 36” x 36” x 6” (depth), including frame. 3D work 36” x 36” x 36” (height).
● 2D works must arrive with traditional hanging hardware (D-rings, wire or French cleats) in place. The Sturt Haaga Gallery uses hooks and nails to hang artwork. We will not nail or tack an artwork directly to a wall, nor use Velcro, glue, or any other substance to apply the artwork directly to the wall. No loose Plexiglas that is clipped or nailed to the wall. No sawtooth hangers or keyhole mounts will be accepted.
● The Gallery owns a limited number of pedestals and will provide them for display of 3D work until the inventory is exhausted.
● If the 3D artwork is odd-sized, heavy, or requires a specifically sized pedestal, the Artist must plan on providing that pedestal. The provided pedestal must be at least 18 inches tall.
● 3D work that does not sit flat/level on a pedestal will not be accepted.
JURORS
Works will be juried by a panel of three independent jurors from the greater Los Angeles area with specific expertise in the visual arts and representative of a variety of tastes. They will not be employees of Descanso Gardens. Jurying is accomplished from digital files. The jurors’ decisions about the inclusion or exclusion of individual artworks for the exhibition will be final.
AWARDS
Best in Show $500.00
2nd Place $300.00
3rd Place $150.00
People’s Choice $300.00
Entrants are eligible for one award only.
CALENDAR
Aug 1 Entry deadline, jury process begins
Sept1 Jury process concludes
Sept 15 Artist notification of results
Oct 15 & 18 Artwork dropped off by artists at Descanso Gardens, 12:00pm to 4:00pm
Oct 17 Deadline for receiving works if shipped
Nov 1 Opening reception and awards presentation (time TBD), exhibition opens to the public
Jan 4, 2026 Exhibition closes
Jan 7 & 10, 2026 Art pick-up, 12:00pm to 4:00pm
Shipping/delivery address: Descanso Gardens, 1418 Descanso Drive, La Cañada Flintridge, CA 91011 (attention of Marina Erfle)
ART PICK-UP OR RETURN SHIPPING
Artworks mut be delivered to Descanso Gardens on October 15th or October 18th at 12:00pm-4:00pm. In-person delivery instructions will be provided to participating artists on September 15. Artists who wish to ship their work to Descanso must do so at their own expense, deliveries must take place between October 12-October 18. Descanso Gardens is unable to receive deliveries before October 12.
At the conclusion of the show, artwork may be picked up on January 7th or January 10th at 12:00pm - 4:00pm. Artists who wish to have their artwork shipped back to them must provide prepaid return shipping labels, including any desired insurance. Artists must arrange return shipping with their local UPS/FedEx/USPS or another shipping office at the close of the exhibition. Shipping insurance each way is the responsibility of the artist. The Gallery will not accept monies for shipping and is not responsible for works lost, stolen, or damaged once picked up by the shipper.
Due to the lack of available storage, Descanso Gardens cannot guarantee safe storage of artworks not picked up by the deadline. We appreciate your understanding of the need for timely pickup of artworks.
SALES and INSURANCE
● All works submitted for this exhibition must be available for the exhibition dates.
● All artwork must have a sale price or be marked NSF (not for sale). If NSF, please provide an insurance value. If no insurance value is provided, the artwork will NOT be insured while at Descanso Gardens.
● No works marked “price on request” will be accepted.
● Artwork prices may not be changed once submitted.
● The Sturt Haaga Gallery does not broker a sale of exhibition artwork. If interest is expressed, the Gallery will provide the artist’s email to the prospective buyer. The artist is responsible for delivering the artwork to the buyer after the conclusion of the exhibition.
● Every reasonable precaution will be taken to ensure protection and careful handling of artwork. Sturt Haaga Gallery will insure loaned objects for the stated value while on Descanso Gardens’ property. The artist is responsible for insurance during transit.
CONTACT
For questions, please contact Marina Erfle merfle@descansogardens.org
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