Artist Resources: Where I Search for "Calls for Entry"

For my artist friends ❤️

My art career aspirations became real when I learned the term calls for entry five years ago. I braced myself for countless rejections and started applying.

As defined by EntryThingy: call for entry (also called an open call or call for submissions) is a public announcement or invitation from an organization, museum, or gallery asking creators to submit their work for consideration in an exhibition, contest, grant, or publication.

There are galleries and curators looking to put together themed art shows all year around, and it’s up to the artists to figure out where to submit. There are some sites that require paid memberships but I’ve had enough luck with free listings and don’t see a need to get paid subscriptions.

As you browse through the opportunities, you will find that you’ll need visual images of your artwork in certain formats, an artist statement, website, social media handle, etc. and submission fees. As my poetry teacher has said about getting a poem published, count your rejections and aim high :)

Below is a list of sites/resources I use regularly to scan for opportunities:

1) NYFA (New York Foundation for the Arts)

2) EntryThingy

3) CaFE

4) C4E - leans heavy towards photography

5) Gallery mailing list

Dear Diary

Pleasantly surprised to find this gem I wrote back in 2017. The 20-something me wasn’t so clueless about the future after all :)

The future seems like an empty page that looks so daunting, especially when I think about the next 10 years, already softly edging onto the dreaded patch of middle-age. However, the 20-something me had the audacity to write very boldly in ink, words that came from the heart with some scribbles from a Fashion History class for decoration.

I still believe in my dream: to live as an artist, to experience the glory, pain, and the kitchen sink of unexpected blessings I know will continue to come our way. I hope you haven’t given up on your dream yet :)

I LOVE NY

<3 to all those who’ve made New York such a special place for the last 21 years

Excited for the unknown

Let the universe unfold <3

The People Around Us

Things started to change noticeably a year ago after a health scare, when I decided to show up differently in the world. Instead of waiting for others to show me kindness, I started being the first to show interest and curiosity in others, despite my fear of rejection.

The past month has taught me that the people around us are what makes each day an extraordinary experience.

Thank you to all the beautiful souls who make this place a beautiful place.

Once Upon A Time

Others stood on the same ground

Decades and centuries and forever ago

Staring out at the same trees that have witnessed history

To make tomorrow a better day

With love, patience, and commitment

For others who will come after.

I Left My Heart in Florida | Oil on Panel | 9”x12” | 2026

On the Edge of Something New | Oil on Panel | 9”x12” | 2026

Inching Forward

I think there’s so much to learn from plants—they’re often extremely fragile, yet so resilient. They inch forward and upward, filling vast spaces with vivacious colors.

My mom has about a dozen pot of plants in a small apartment in Seoul. She told me this winter that the grandfather I’d never known had a green thumb. He’s a man I know only from photographs as he had passed away early from cancer. She remembers him fondly, as a caring father who had shown her how to tend to a family of potted plants.

I wonder if a part of him lives through me.

We are two generations apart and have never met in this world, yet I feel connected by an invisible string.