Ontario Society of Artists 

 Call for Submissions: 

“RESONANCE”

2027 

153^rd OSA Annual Open Juried Exhibition 

         Resonance: An emotional connection a work of art creates evoking feelings and personal meaning 

A work can resonate differently depending on a person’s memories, experiences and cultural context

Newmarket OLD TOWN HALL 

460 Botsford Street, Newmarket ON, Canada 

Exhibition Dates: March 3rd – March 27th, 2027 

The Ontario Society of Artists (OSA) invites Canadian artists to apply for our 2027 Open Juried  Exhibition. This is an annual exhibit of the OSA with the purpose of promoting the Visual Arts in  Ontario. The OSA has a long history of excellence. 

This exhibition is open to all Artists residing in Canada. We welcome all manner of original 2D  and 3D visual art (drawing, printing, painting, photography, video, mixed media, sculpture) created in the last three years. 

Submission Details 

Submissions are limited to a maximum of TWO works from each artist.

All submissions must be digital. All images submitted must be in .jpg format, with a maximum  of 10 MB. More details are with the entry form. 

No in-person or physical submissions will be accepted. 

All submissions must be the original work of the submitting artist and completed after 2024. No  derivatives or copies are eligible. All works must be the sole conception of the artist. No use of  Ai generated images for reference may be used. Artists may be required to submit images of  work in progress should there be a question. Works previously exhibited in other OSA juried  shows are not eligible. 

Submission Deadline: Friday, February 5th, 2027 at 8pm. 

Notification Date: Wednesday, February 17th, 2027 

Delivery: Sunday, Feb.28th (10am – 4pm) 

Installation: Monday, March 1st & 2nd, 2027 (10am - 4pm) 

First Day of Exhibition & Sale open to the public: Wednesday March 3, 2027 

Opening Reception: Sunday March 6th, 2027 (1pm – 4pm) 

Artists Walk & Talk Event: TBD 

Last Day of Exhibition & Sale: Sunday March 27th, 2027 

Take-down Date: Saturday March 27th, 2027 (10am-4pm) 

Pick up Date & Time: Monday March 30th, 2027 (11am – 4pm) 

Awards: 

Juror’s Choice: $1,000 

Connie & Jim Macdougall Award of Excellence $1,000 

Eleanor Besen Award $1,000 

Life Member’s Award: $500 

Ethel Raicus Student Award: $200 

2-Honourable Mention: $200 each

Toller Cranston Award $500 

Our Jurors: 

Gillian Reddyhoff 

Gillian Reddyhoff is the former curator of the Government of Ontario Art Collection and a former curator at the City of Toronto. Before joining the province, she lived for two years in Nova Scotia where she taught courses in art history at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design. Today she’s an active member of the Arts and Letters Club where she currently serves as the co-chair of the Art Committee. 

Dale Barrett 

Dale Barrett is a curator, arts administrator, project manager, graphic designer,  and publisher with over four decades of experience in the visual arts. He has held numerous  full-time and contract positions as a curator and administrator with public art galleries,  museums, commercial galleries, and artist-run centres across Ontario. 

Alongside his work in arts administration, Dale has maintained a graphic design practice  specializing in the design and production of exhibition catalogues, art books, and art magazines. 

Since 2009, he has held the position of Art Director and Designer of Studio magazine, a biannual  craft and design periodical published by Craft Ontario. Dale also continues to design  publications and marketing materials for cultural organizations on a freelance basis. 

For the past four years, his primary focus has been the development of Canadian Art Map, a  web-based application designed to promote Canadian art via a national cultural way finding  system and visitor planning platform. 

Sara Petroff, OSA 

With degrees in both Visual Fine Arts and Interior Design, Sara has served as the curator and  artistic director of Toronto's prominent Petroff Gallery for over 20 years, coached countless  artists in their professional practice, juried art shows, taught art and sat on several boards and  advisory committees in the arts. 

Our Jurors will be looking for:

• Originality and Fresh Vision: Work that offers a unique perspective or pushes boundaries rather than copying current internet or market trends. 

• Consistency and Cohesion: A clear artistic signature or "throughline" that shows the artist knows who they are, rather than a random mix of unrelated experiments. 

• Clarity of Intent: A short statement that directly and simply explains why each work was made and how the medium supports that idea.

Selection Process: 

• All artworks will be juried as submitted

• The jurors’ decisions are final 

Entry Fees: 

• $40 for members 

• $50 for non-members 

• Entry fees are non-refundable 

Basic Criteria: 

• Entrants must be over the age of 18 years. .

• Entrants must be a Canadian resident living in Canada. 

• All work may be for sale or not (NFS). The OSA will take a 20%  commission on the sale of each artwork.

• The OSA does not collect HST please include this in your price if you remit 

• The OSA and Newmarket will not be responsible for artwork. Please obtain your  own insurance. 

       •  No entry may be removed from the exhibition until the final pick-up date.

Finishing specifications 

All works must be completely dry and ready to hang or display. Unframed work must be on a  minimum 1.5” Gallery depth surface with Finished edges. Regular depth surfaces must be  framed. All accepted two-dimensional works must be ready to hang with D-rings and multi strand picture wire. Work 36 inches wide and larger must have two large D rings attached to the back 4 inches from the top.  Three-dimensional works must be supplied with a suitable plinth for  display.  (Some plinths are available at the gallery)

The maximum width is 48 inches wide.  3D work must fit through a standard door.

Here are the specifics for hanging requirements of the gallery: Old Town Hall Gallery

Check further important information on OSA’s Criteria and Entry Instructions on our website  available here 

Submissions open November 20, 2026