FOUNDATIONS OF
PRACTICE
submission information

The theme Foundations of Practice draws its inspiration from the collaborative project Human Systems of a Structure by guest artists Madison Pomarico and Paola Pomarico. Originating as a study of the physical and conceptual interfaces between body, material, and built environment, the project investigated how human presence shapes — and is shaped by — the structures it inhabits.

Project Statement — Human Systems of a Structure

Human Systems of a Structure is a body of research which studies the physical interface between a designed environment, or structure, and the human interaction it facilitates. The work demonstrates how somatic movement instigates reactive material displacement of an architectural form; in turn, causing reactive behavior within the body. This recursive process results in exponential progression of both effort in physicality, and structural deterioration.

A mixture of fine aggregate stabilized with a clay binder, becomes unique in its ability to be compacted into structural form, while also being susceptible to indent, erode, and collapse under weight. When subjected to foot traffic, a simple form such as a cube becomes imbued with decay indexing the bodily motion the structure both facilitates and informs. Footprints, cracks, slides and collapse are embodiments of the material’s experience being walked on. In capturing the evidence of events, it communicates traces of human interaction left behind.

Foundations of Practice marks the inaugural exhibition in the Pictorial Foundation Art Space, inviting artists aged 18 and over to take part. This open call celebrates creativity in all its forms, offering artists the opportunity to showcase their work in a dynamic and inclusive setting.

• We accept artwork in 2D and 3D media that responds to the published theme.

• Art media used may be painting, photo media, video media, printmaking, mixed media, drawing, sculpture or installation.

• The project/artwork can consist of multiple parts.

Entries must be made using the online form before midnight on 10th January 2026.

• One project per artist may be submitted.

• Each artist must submit a short written statement (max 250 words) describing the project they intend to exhibit.

• Each artist may submit one of the following:

- 5 images *

- 1 short video (1.5 minutes max) *

*Images or video should document the project artists intend to exhibit but may also include documentation of artists’ studio practice in process.

• A $45 entry donation shall be paid for each submission. Payment is made during the online entry process.

• Entry receipts will be provided on payment. Please keep for taxation purposes.

• The entry donation is non-refundable and contributes to administration and curation of the exhibition.

• Submissions received without donation will not be considered.

• Judging will be conducted online in digital form.

• Entry details must be accurate as these cannot be changed once the entry is lodged.

• One project per artist will be exhibited.

Images of your project -

It is important that submitted project images are of sufficient size and resolution to be easily viewed by the judges. Artists may submit a maximum of 5 or fewer images. At least 1 image must document the project each artist intends to show, reflecting what is outlined by their written statement. The remaining 4 images may include additional documentation of the project, or studio practice in process. We encourage artists to share anything, even unfinished work, notes, or experiments.

Uploaded image(s) should be:

• a minimum of 750 pixels on the shortest side

• saved in .jpg or .png format only

• It is preferred that each image file does not exceed 2MB; however, files up to a maximum of 10MB will be accepted. Please note that larger files may significantly slow the upload process or result in submission failure.

• The file name must include the artist’s name and title of the work as listed on the entry form e.g.firstname_lastname_titleofwork.jpg

Project video -

Artists may choose to submit a short video (90 seconds max) instead of images. Videos must document the project each artist intends to show, reflecting what is outlined by their written statement. Artists may also use a portion of their video as an opportunity to share their studio practice in process, showing what goes into the making of their work.

Uploaded video should be:

• Videos must be a maximum of 90 seconds or shorter

• 1080p (1920x1080 pixels) max resolution

• Videos must be saved in H.264 or H.265(HEVC) format with a .mp4 file extension

• Video files may not exceed a maximum of 120mb in size.

The file name must include the artist’s name and title of the work as listed on the entry form e.g.firstname_lastname_titleofwork.mp4

Should your work be selected, your name and the photograph details you include in this submission form will be used to generate the exhibition - PLEASE ENSURE THEY ARE CORRECT and keep a record of your artwork details, as we may not be able to accommodate changes.

If there are any problems uploading your images/video, please email us - foundation@thepictorialist.org - and we can talk about different options.

Saturday 10th January 2026 @ midnight (EST)

By submitting and paying the submission donation, you are not guaranteed entry into the exhibition.

While we endeavor to be as inclusive as possible, space is limited and the projects/artworks will be selected at the curator's discretion. We are a not-for-profit organization, and your submission donation assists us to cover the costs of processing all entries and running the exhibition. There are no additional costs to participate in the exhibition unless courier or printing services are required. Please refer to the relevant sections for further details. By submitting your application, you accept that your submission donation is non-refundable regardless of the outcome of your submission.

Artworks will be selected for final judging and exhibition by the curators and guest curators of Pictorial Foundation. All entrants will be notified by personal email. If you do not receive an email, please check your spam before letting us know. The list of artists in the exhibition will be posted on social media and on the Pictorial Foundation website in conjunction with the live exhibition after the selected artists have been notified.

• Artworks must be delivered to Pictorial Foundation Art Space - 105A Ann St - between 10am - 2pm Wed 21 Jan 2026 – Fri 23 Jan 2026 or in accordance with the negotiated times. All costs relating to delivery and collection of artworks are the sole responsibility of the artist. Delivery and collection details will be confirmed with all artists.

• All work needs to arrive by 2pm Friday 23 January 2026.

• Work delivered after this date may not be accepted into the exhibition.

• Any works that will be delivered digitally we will be talking to each artist individually about the requirements to suit our screens.

Delivery via Courier - please read carefully:

• If the artist wishes to deliver the work via courier, freight costs and all other charges relating to delivery and collection of artworks are the sole responsibility of the artist. Artworks will not be accepted unless delivered and returned free of all freight and other charges.

• Pictorial Foundation accepts no responsibility for work that is lost, damaged or fails to arrive prior to the delivery deadline.

To send your artwork please follow these steps:​

You must address the delivery to our physical gallery address:

• 105A Ann St

Newburgh, New York, 12250.

• Email: foundation@thepictorialist.org

• Email us to let us know you are sending the work via courier and include the tracking number if known.

• Work delivered via courier must arrive by 2pm Friday 23 January 2026.

• Work delivered after this date may not be accepted into the exhibition.

Artwork delivered to Pictorial Foundation Art Space must be CLEARLY MARKED with the artist’s name, address, contact details, the title of the work, medium, size and the retail price (including 20% commission and GST if applicable) specified on their entry. We recommend that all artworks be securely packaged with adequate protective materials to ensure their safety during transport and handling.

• all 2D media work must be ready to hang with D-hooks attached or similar.

• works on paper either must be framed with D-hooks attached or give the Pictorial Foundation permission to pin artwork.

• To ensure accessibility and inclusivity, the Pictorial Foundation also offers the option for artists to have their work presented digitally. Selected works may be featured on our large-format screens within the Art Space, allowing artists globally to participate in the exhibition without the expense of shipping physical artworks. This initiative supports broader participation while maintaining professional presentation standards. When submitting your application, please indicate in the comments section if you would like your work to be displayed digitally. If your submission is selected, we will contact you to discuss the most suitable image specifications and formatting for optimal display on our widescreen monitors.

• Photographers who are unable to deliver their work may request information about our in-house print production services. The Pictorial Foundation can facilitate printing and provide a detailed cost estimate prior to production. Please note that any associated printing costs are additional to the standard entry fee. When submitting your application, kindly indicate in the comments section if you would like to use this service. Should your work be selected, we will contact you to discuss printing options, specifications and costs.

The theme Foundations of Practice draws its inspiration from the collaborative project Human Systems of a Structure by guest artists Madison Pomarico and Paola Pomarico. Originating as a study of the physical and conceptual interfaces between body, material, and built environment, the project investigated how human presence shapes — and is shaped by — the structures it inhabits.

Madison and Paola bring their research-based, cross-disciplinary practices to expand the dialogue between material process, performance, and spatial experience. They collaborate alongside curators Karen Ghostlaw Pomarico and Melanie Meggs of the Pictorial Foundation and The Pictorial List.

Together, the curatorial team bridges generations, disciplines, and geographies to shape an exhibition that reflects the Foundation’s commitment to collaboration, experimentation, and the ongoing evolution of creative practice.

About the Curational Team:

• Karen Ghostlaw — is a New York and international exhibiting artist and photographer whose practice is grounded in collaboration, connection, and engagement with people and place. She approaches photography as a relational process prioritizing authentic human interaction over staged representation. As co-founder of Pictorial Foundation, Karen develops artist-led initiatives that foster cross-cultural collaboration, social understanding, and community-based storytelling. Working globally, Karen continues to expand the reach of visual storytelling through exhibitions, publications, and educational programs that celebrate the shared language of art.

• Melanie Meggs — is an Australian multidisciplinary artist, international curator and writer. Her art practice engages with feminist epistemologies by positioning lived experience as a form of knowledge. Working across painting, photography, printmaking, and mixed-media installation, she explores how identity, memory, and emotion are constructed through visual culture. Her work examines the intimate negotiations between vulnerability and resilience, revealing how women build and reimagine themselves through creative process. As co-founder of Pictorial Foundation, Melanie also develops artist-focused initiatives that support equitable access to creative opportunity and foster transnational dialogue between artists.

GUESTS:

• Madison Pomarico — is an American born, Berlin-based multidisciplinary artist whose practice engages with the interface of performance, movement, and visual languages in combination with the use of technological elements that challenge the limits of the body, and various levels of performer autonomy. Her work is driven by a sense of experiment and artistic cross-pollination between visual arts and different genres of performance - expanding our perception of tangible experience and pushing the boundaries of expectation. She works with mediums such as light, video, and graphic programming environments in an attempt to dissolve established modes of working digitally and materially and invent new immersive methods in the process.

• Paola Pomarico — is a New York City based artist whose transdisciplinary practice explores the social agency and animacy of infrastructure. Paola is a mother of tools available for public use. Within the relational aesthetics of a community tool closet, Paola creates discourse advocating deeper recognition for her children’s lively character—tools whose aged condition expresses their shared performance of labor with herself and others. In site-specific interventions, she explores how high-visibility color can draw attention to civic surfaces, amplifying the affective potency of infrastructures' stressful servitude. Her colorful relief prints of floors reveal indexical impressions embodying their history of support. Restoring sidewalks with bright pink patchwork, she reciprocates the care of infrastructure’s laboring performance. Paola's calls for attention seek to foster empathy and regard for the vibrant ontologies of nonhuman things.

By submitting an entry, the artist grants the Pictorial Foundation and The Pictorial List Inc. a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide license to record, reproduce and publish images of their work, as well as in-situ installation views, for the purposes of promotion, publicity, documentation, and archival use related to the exhibition and associated activities.

This license includes, but is not limited to, use in printed publications, catalogues, brochures, posters, digital presentations, slideshows, websites, and social media platforms of the Pictorial Foundation and The Pictorial List Inc.

Copyright and all moral rights remain the sole property of the artist.

Artists consent to being added to the Pictorial Foundation/The Pictorial List Inc. electronic mailing list for updates and further information on this exhibition and subsequent open calls run by Pictorial Foundation/The Pictorial List Inc. Artists details will not be shared and an unsubscribe link is provided in each email.

If you have any questions regarding the exhibition or your entry, please get in touch with us via info@thepictorialist.org