**NOW CLOSED**
Swim in Cold Seas
Curated by Ejecta Projects and on display January 24 – March 7, 2026
- NO SUBMISSION FEE -
Swim in Cold Seas, like the title of some of our previous open calls for Ejecta Projects, is based on a scribble jotted down in one of our notebooks. To be honest, we don’t remember the context that prompted this little snippet of advice. It’s not a high-minded aphorism, a pithy proverb, or even a common saying; instead, Swim in Cold Seas might at first seem to simply affirm the advantages of cold-water plunges, which are thought to improve metabolic, mental, and cardiovascular health. With this sense of physicality in mind, it also suggests a test of athleticism and the virtue of endurance amid danger or discomfort. Beyond serving as a self-help directive, this phrase speaks to lessons of adaptability, presentness, and vulnerability. More broadly, it alludes to the actions we take in a changing and uncertain climate (how much longer will the seas be cold in a warming world?) as well as the desire to find solutions to profound and prosaic distresses (how can we simply feel better?). We (middle-aged co-curators/co-parents/spouses) don’t claim to be self-care gurus or to hold sage nuggets of wisdom, but we’ve collected, questioned, and ascribed to a few “life lessons” along our professional and personal paths – as we are sure you have too.
This open-call exhibition invites visual artists to submit works of art that consider, enact, or offer a critique of “lessons learned.” Whether prudent or ill-advised, literal or allegorical, popularly known or uniquely personal, handed down by elders or experienced first-hand –what advice do you share through your work?
Open to broad interpretations of the call, the curators of Swim in Cold Seas seek a nuanced survey of contemporary artistic responses that seek to transmit or subvert advice and guidance not limited to realizations and insights, morals and parables, trials or lucky breaks, or axioms of virtue and/or vice.
This opportunity is open to artists 18 years old or older working in 2D, 3D, and video/transmedia.
Important Dates:
November 24: Call for entries announced
December 24: Deadline for entries, 11:59 PM ET
January 5: Notification email to artists selected for Swim in Cold Seas
January 13 - 17: Shipping window for artworks to be received
16-18: In-person delivery of artworks to Ejecta Projects
January 24: Opening reception of Swim in Cold Seas, 6-8pm
January 24 – March 7: Exhibition dates
March 7 - 14: Artwork can be picked up in person. Return shipping underway.
Submission Guidelines --- PLEASE READ CAREFULLY
Step 1) Artists may submit up to 10 images of artworks that are available for display in the exhibition. All submissions must be formatted as a single PDF not to exceed 11 pages and emailed as an attachment directly to ejectaprojects@gmail.com with the subject line of Swim in Cold Seas SUBMISSION. Your attached application MUST be labeled to include your name. Please follow this example: Bourgeois_Louise_Swim. Emailed submissions must arrive to our electronic inbox by no later than 11:59PM (EST) on Wednesday, December 24, 2025.
Your PDF packet should include no more than TEN individual images (one image per page) representing your art - and ONE (optional) page for you to respond briefly to this prompt (no more than 500 words):
How does your art or studio practice critically engage with the theme of this open call?
Each page/image should also include relevant image information: Title, date, materials and no more than a sentence or two if there are other relevant details important for us to know – and especially if those details pertain to our understanding of how the work engages specifically with the exhibition theme. Video, time-based, or performance works should be represented with a single still image. Please include a link to individual video materials under the image in your pdf. DO NOT include any $ales information, additional contextual information, bios, CVs, or an artist statement in your PDF packet. Materials that do not closely conform to the guidelines above may not get reviewed by the curators.
Step 2) The body of your email to Ejecta Projects must include your full name and contact information, including a phone number and current physical mailing/shipping address. You may include a brief note of introduction and a link to your website. No other links, images, statements, biographical information, or other supporting materials should be attached or included in your email.
BEFORE you apply, please note:
Ejecta Projects is a labor of love. We typically see few sales and anticipate little to no financial gain. However, all work curated into the exhibition must be for sale. To keep art at Ejecta Projects affordable for our community, we only take a low 35% commission on work sold.
Please note: Exhibitors are responsible for shipping or delivering artworks selected for inclusion in the exhibition.
If selected, A PREPAID return shipping label must be included in your box when you ship your work. Works delivered in person to Ejecta Projects must align with drop off hours (to be coordinated with Ejecta Projects). Similarly, works delivered in person must also be collected in person during designated times (TBA).
Ejecta Projects does not provide insurance coverage for artwork and is not responsible for any damage, breakage, replacement costs while the work is on display or with any damage or breakage that may have occur during transport or unpacking the work. Every precaution will be taken in handling the artwork, but Ejecta Projects assumes no liability for any loss or damage to any artist’s work while in our care, custody or control, before, during or after the exhibition. Artists, if they wish, are invited to provide their own insurance.
Recommend maximum size for physical work submitted: 72 X 60 X 30 in. – but larger works or installations are doable, in theory. Don’t over edit submissions based on size-alone.
This opportunity is open to artists 18 years old or older working in 2D, 3D, and video/transmedia.
Work selected for inclusion in Swim in Cold Seas cannot be withdrawn before the end of the exhibition. Work sold during the exhibition will be either collected in person by the purchaser or shipped directly from the gallery to the purchaser (at additional cost to the purchaser) after the exhibition closes.
All wall-based artwork must be suitably framed to a professional standard. All framed work should be fitted with Plexiglas. (Works with glass are acceptable if small and only if hand delivered. DO NOT ship work framed with glass.) Wall-mounted sculpture, stretched canvas, panels, or work conceptually dependent on not being framed do not require a frame. No clip frames or taped edges are permitted. Use of push pins or magnets for display is not encouraged. Work must be wired or otherwise be ready for hanging. All work must be labeled on the back by the artist indicating which end is the top and the following details: Artist Name, Title, Medium, Date Completed, and Price. Selected video works must arrive at the gallery “show ready” based on conversations with the staff at Ejecta Projects. If multiple video works are included in the exhibition, these may be ganged and displayed on a single monitor or shown on a single projector in turn and on a loop.
Once selected, no artwork may be substituted.
With the submission of artwork to Swim in Cold Seas, the artist agrees to all the terms and conditions set forth in this prospectus and to having photos if their artwork used to promote the exhibition and future published works or public posts that document or support the mission of Ejecta Projects.
Contact/Questions: Please direct all questions to ejectaprojects@gmail.com