After Dark 2025

About the Open Call

Introducing After Dark 2025: After Dark is a captivating art exhibition that delves into the quiet, mysterious, and evocative world that emerges when the sun goes down. Through a curated collection of paintings, photographs, installations, and mixed media works, After Dark invites viewers into a realm where light fades, shadows stretch, and the ordinary becomes infused with mood, ambiguity, and atmosphere. Drawing inspiration from the tradition of nocturne painting, the exhibition explores the nuanced beauty of nighttime, from city streets bathed in artificial glow to remote landscapes under the hush of moonlight. Each piece captures the emotional resonance of night: its solitude, its secrets, and the heightened sense of presence that darkness often brings. The artists in After Dark use limited palettes, subtle contrasts, and softened forms to express the stillness and introspection that twilight and night inspire. Whether it’s the gentle flicker of a single lamp in an open window or the vast, starlit silence of a rural field, After Dark reveals how night transforms the way we see, feel, and imagine. The exhibition invites visitors to slow down and attune to the subtleties of light and shadow, of sound and silence the work seeks offer a sensory experience that is both immersive and deeply reflective. This exhibition is a meditation on the nocturnal, a celebration of the unseen, and a tribute to the artistry that arises when the world grows quiet and the light begins to fade. Maryland Federation of Art (MFA) invites all artists internationally to enter our After Dark Show 2025. Any original 2D or 3D work will be considered. Works selected by the juror will be exhibited in MFA's Virtual Gallery from October 15 – November 30, 2025. Juror: John Hrehov: Professor and Head of the Department of Art and Design at Purdue University Fort Wayne. John Hrehov holds an MFA from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a BFA from the Cleveland Institute of Art. He is a Professor and Head of the Department of Art and Design at Purdue University Fort Wayne (PFW). Hrehov has had numerous solo and group exhibitions throughout the country. Exhibition Schedule: Jun 24 Online Entry Opens for Submissions, Aug 27 Entry Deadline @ 11:59 PM, Sept 25 Notification @ 5 PM, Oct 15 Exhibition Opens, Nov 3 Awards Announced @ 5 PM, Nov 30 Last Day of the Exhibition. NOTE: Should Circle Gallery or any other exhibition space be closed for reasons beyond our control, MFA reserves the right to move a planned physical exhibit to our online gallery. Terms of Entry: Artist Conditions: Entry is open to all artists internationally. Entry Requirements: All work must be uploaded through artcall.org. File size may be no more than 10 MB. For video submissions: you must put the link to the video in the Linked Web Resource field, and then upload a still frame from the video. To enter online, you will need an artcall.org account that includes an email address and a password. Work: All entries must be original and completed solely by the artist’s hand. A maximum of 6 original works created within the past 3 years may be entered. Work previously exhibited at MFA In our Virtual Gallery with the last three years is not eligible for re-entry. Sales: Artists will retain 80% from sales (85% for MFA Members). MFA will retain 20% commission (15% for MFA Members at the time of the sale) on and work sold through MFA. Work must be for sale.

What is Offered

Works selected by the juror will be exhibited in MFA's Virtual Gallery. Awards will be announced. Artists will retain 80% from sales.

Requirements

Entry is open to all artists internationally. Any original 2D or 3D work will be considered. Work previously exhibited at MFA in our Virtual Gallery within the last three years is not eligible for re-entry. A maximum of 6 original works created within the past 3 years may be entered. Work must meet exhibition guidelines, including MFA’s approved Statement of Equity and Diversity and General Guidelines. Images submitted must correspond with the actual work.

How to Apply

All work must be uploaded through artcall.org. To enter online, you will need an artcall.org account that includes an email address and a password. Watch the video tutorial 'How to Upload' for guidance on submitting your entries.