For Organisers

Call for entries – the process

Get submissions from artists
Payment for entries is set up through your own Stripe account so you receive the submission fee directly from the artist
Artists can return during the open call to edit their entries

Grow your reach – Enhance the reputation of your organisation by holding open calls
Focus on what matters – Save time on admin and apply it to marketing strategy
No limits – There is no limit to the number of calls you can run. Multiple calls can be run concurrently
Engage your public – Raise greater awareness of your exhibition by inviting public votes. Artists share the link, growing your audience with every call

No additional fees for support – We make sure everyone has the best possible experience with one-on-one support
Stay top of mind – we send out a 7 day and a 48 hour reminder to all artists who’ve signed up for our OLIST alerts
Run by artists for artists – All members of the OESS team are artists who regularly submit work for calls and manage calls. We have first hand experience of administering, selecting and submitting work for open calls so we understand the needs of all users

Stay in control – Secure payment process integrated with your own Stripe account. Funds go directly into your account so you are always in control of the finances
Robust infrastructure to handle the high volume of last minute surges of artist submissions
Permission-based access – Access to the OESS system is limited to the functions and data required for each role, whether artist, selector or administrator
Compliant – Data management is compliant with GDPR and EU regulations

Draft your call – Open calls can be prepared and kept in draft mode until you are ready to launch them
Nothing is carved in stone – Call information can be edited at any stage – even after opening
Suit your needs – Add custom questions to gather information that is uniquely relevant to your call
Editable messages – All messaging to artists is fully editable at any stage in the process
Take a break – Selectors can come back into the system to pick up where they left off, or review their choices up to the selection deadline
Application – Can be used for organisers of creative exhibitions, festivals, awards, competitions

Only pay for what you use – No monthly subscription fees. No hidden extra costs. All of our features are available to every client
Free, directed publicity – Free inclusion of your call in the monthly OLIST artist opportunities email
Free reminders – Free email reminders to OLIST subscribers
Free support – Free support to all users
Free online gallery – Free optional online exhibition

Reports at every stage of the process – All artist data can be downloaded in .csv format directly from the OESS system
A home away from home – Every client gets a dedicated URL for their dashboard and calls
No explaining – All the information for selection is already online and available to selectors as soon as they log in
No chasing money – All applicants pay at the point of submission, directly into your Stripe account

For administrators – No more paper submission to deal with when your submission process goes online
For selectors – Online selection increases convenience and saves on travel for selectors. Selection can be done anywhere at a convenient time
For artists – Online selection means that artists only need to arrange transport for their artwork if it is selected
For visitors – the online exhibition option allows for visitors from anywhere in the world

Free online gallery – currently available at no extra cost
Flexible viewing options – View by artwork, thumbnail, or artist
Artist pages include social media links, biographies, artist statements and artwork details
Curating tools to group artworks into ‘Rooms’