juried competition and exhibition at descanso gardens
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 REQUIREMENTS
Each artist is invited to submit one artwork for jury's consideration. Artwork submissions are done digitally - please provide one good quality photo of your artwork during the application process via his portal. 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.
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.
APPLICATION LINK
The application deadline is August 1, 2025. To learn more about the call and to apply, please visit website: