How to Write an Exhibition Proposal Galleries Say Yes To

Writing an exhibition proposal tends to start with a buzz and end at 10 pm with a blinking cursor. The call-out looked perfect. You could already see the show. Then you opened the form, and it wanted a 300-word concept, ten images, a floor plan, a budget, and a bio, all due Friday. Funny how a show that's crystal clear in your head turns to mush the second you try to type it.

If that's you, you're in good company. Loads of artists find the writing harder than the making. But a strong proposal isn't about clever words. It's about being clear, being specific, and making it dead easy for a tired panel to picture your work on their walls. That part you can learn.

Key takeaways

• Most public galleries invite artists, but local government galleries and artist-run initiatives often run open call-outs for proposals.

• Read the brief and visit the space before you write a word, then answer exactly what they ask.

• Lead with your images. Panels often look at the work before they read a single word.

• Keep the concept plain, specific, and short. If a friend outside the art world can't follow it, rewrite it.

• Public galleries should pay artists a fee to show their work, and give you a written agreement and time to read it.

What an exhibition proposal actually is

Think of an exhibition proposal as your pitch. It tells a gallery what you want to show, why it matters, how it'll sit in their space, and what it'll take to pull it off.

How you get asked for one depends on the venue. The NAVA Code of Practice says Australia has more than 400 public galleries, and most of the time they approach artists with an invitation rather than the other way round. Some local government galleries and artist-run initiatives do run open call-outs, though, where you send in an expression of interest or an application. Firstdraft in Sydney, for one, has been taking proposals from artists, curators and writers for its 2026-27 program.

Still working out which kind of space is right for you? Our guide on how to get your art into a gallery breaks down commercial galleries, ARIs, public galleries and hire spaces.

Before you write a word

Two things will help more than any amount of polishing.

First, read the call-out. Properly. Twice, ideally. Jot down the word limits, image limits, file formats, the deadline and whatever the panel says it's after. A surprising number of proposals miss out simply because they answer a different question from the one asked.

Second, go and see the space if you possibly can. Walk it. Count the walls. Look at the light, how high the ceiling is, where people come in and where they tend to stop. A proposal that clearly belongs in that room beats one that could've been written for anywhere. Can't get there? Ask for a floor plan and a few photos.

What to put in an exhibition proposal

Every call-out has its own form, but most want some version of these:

• A title and a one-liner. The sentence a panel member would use to describe your show to whoever's sitting next to them.

• The concept. What the work's about and why you're making it now, usually in a few hundred words.

• Images. Your strongest recent work, labelled with title, medium, size and year. Drafts or mock-ups are fine if it isn't finished.

• How it'll sit in the space. A rough floor plan, or a list of works and where they'll go.

• Timeline. What's made, what still needs making, and when.

• Budget. Materials, freight, install, your fee, and any funding you've applied for.

• Bio and CV. Short and up to date.

• Technical and access needs. Power, projectors, plinths, hanging systems, anything out of the ordinary.

Writing the concept so it lands

Here's where most of us freeze. One trick ArtsHub suggests: explain the idea out loud to someone who isn't in the art world, then write it down the way you said it. If your mate at the pub, your aunty or your housemate gets it, a panel will too.

Get specific. "This body of work explores memory" could describe ten thousand shows. "Twelve stoneware vessels made from clay dug on my grandparents' old farm near Gundagai" is one someone can actually see. Start with what people will look at when they walk in, then tell them why it matters to you.

And ditch the jargon. Panels get through a pile of applications fast, and plain writing jumps out. Our guide on how to describe your artwork has more on writing about your practice without sounding like a thesis, and our older post on your artistic narrative digs into finding your own voice.

Images: the part the panel sees first

In plenty of selection meetings, your images are up on the screen before anyone's read a line of the concept. That makes them the most important part of your exhibition proposal, whether we like it or not.

Go for fewer, stronger images rather than a big pile of okay ones. Make sure they're sharp, evenly lit, and true to colour. Show one body of work that hangs together, not a greatest-hits reel. And label everything so nobody's left guessing the size. Already got a tight artist portfolio? You're halfway there.

Budgets, fees and agreements

Don't forget to put yourself in the budget. NAVA's code says artists should be paid a fee for the public presentation of their work, and that things like talks, workshops, and educational writing get paid on top. A lot of public and funded spaces already allow for this. Hire galleries are a different deal, because there you're the one paying for the room.

If the show needs money you haven't got, have a look at grants for artists at the same time. A confirmed exhibition can make a funding application a lot stronger.

Tip: Draft your proposal in a separate document, not straight into the online form. Forms time out, mangle formatting, and occasionally swallow your work whole. Write it, read it out loud, trim it to the word limit, then paste it in.

Common reasons proposals miss out

Sometimes a proposal just loses to a stronger one. That's life. But a lot of them trip over the same few things.

The concept's too vague to picture. The images are blurry, all over the place, or years old. The proposal ignores the brief, or the room, or both. The work obviously won't fit, or the numbers don't add up. Or it lands after the deadline, which happens more than anyone likes to admit. Sort those out, and you're already ahead of a fair chunk of the pile.

After you hit submit

Then comes the waiting, often for weeks. Galleries plan their programs well ahead, and panels take time. If the call-out says when you'll hear, hang tight till then. If it doesn't, one polite follow-up after a decent gap is fine.

If it's a yes, take a breath before you sign anything. NAVA says exhibition opportunities should come with a clear, plain-English loan agreement covering fees, costs, insurance, timelines, and what happens if the show's cancelled or pushed back, and that you should get a cooling-off period of at least seven days. If it's a no, ask whether they give feedback. Then tweak it and send it somewhere else.

Once the show's locked in, the practical side kicks off. Our older post on preparing work for an exhibition was written with ceramics in mind, but the checklist works for any medium.

Keep your proposal material ready to go.

The quickest proposals come from artists whose records are already sorted. When a call-out drops with a two-week deadline, you want your images, titles, sizes and descriptions ready to copy and paste, not spread across your phone, your laptop and three old hard drives in a drawer.

In ArtFlow, every artwork keeps its photos, details and history in one spot, and you can send proposals and delivery documents to connected galleries through the gallery portal. So when the next exhibition proposal is due, most of the grunt work's already done. The features page shows how it all fits together.

Questions about exhibition proposals

• How long should an exhibition proposal be? As long as the call-out asks, and not a word more. Many want a concept of a few hundred words plus images, a CV and a budget. Stick to their limits.

• What should an exhibition proposal include? Usually a title and one-liner, a concept statement, labelled images, a floor plan or list of works, a timeline, a budget, a short bio and CV, and any technical needs.

• Do galleries pay artists to exhibit? Public galleries should pay artists a fee for showing their work, according to the NAVA Code of Practice. Commercial galleries usually earn commission on sales instead, and hire galleries charge you for the space.

• Can I propose a show for work I haven't made yet? Often, yes. Include drafts, mock-ups or earlier related pieces, plus a realistic timeline showing how you'll get it done.

• What happens if my proposal is accepted? You should get a written agreement covering fees, costs, insurance and timelines. Read it properly before you sign.

The short version

A good exhibition proposal is clear, specific and written for one particular space. Read the brief, walk the room, lead with strong images and write the concept the way you'd explain it to a mate. Put your own fee in the budget, and read any agreement carefully before signing. And if you'd like your images and artwork details ready the minute the next call-out appears, start a free ArtFlow account and get your work catalogued now.