Submissions

21 Grand cheerfully accepts and solicits submissions for visual art exhibitions and live events. We do not require a formal proposal, nor do we have a required form to fill out. However, in order to schedule an event or exhibition at our venue, you need to describe to us what it is you wish to present.Please peruse the specific information for the area (Live Events or Visual Art) in which you are submitting work before doing so.

If you are looking for information about music booking, go here.

Contact Info: Please e-mail or call before sending work samples or demos. Please allow two weeks for someone to respond. If you've waited longer than two weeks for a response or this is an emergency show, feel free to call or e-mail to remind us of your proposal. If you want to speak to someone in person, attending an event or stopping by 21 Grand before a show is the best way to accomplish this.

Guidelines: We occasionally program events at the "last-minute," but we generally request event submissions at least one month in advance of the intended date of the event. Please give us a brief (or not so brief) description of your group or event, as well as something that documents what you do, such as a CD, video, links to audio or images or text available online.

We focus mainly on presenting local artists who are interdisciplinary, innovative, experimental, or doing things rarely presented elsewhere, and events/combinations of artists and groups that meet some or all of those criteria.

We do feature visiting and touring performers, but usually only when invited or recommended by someone local, and mostly in conjunction with an event organized by that someone.

Please consider other venues for your wedding, commitment ceremony, spiritual, religious or sexual gathering, rave, or birthday party. There are a number of great spaces available for these kinds of events. Were you to ask, we would gladly recommend some.

Contact Info: Please mail or hand deliver a proposal/artist packet to 21 Grand. If you want to arrange to meet with the Exhibition Director, please call the gallery. Unsolicited proposals and materials sent via e-mail are rarely considered.

Guidelines: Please provide a written description of the body of work you propose to exhibit, slides or photos of the work, an artist statement and bio or C.V. If it is easier for you, you may submit a CD of digital images documenting your work, rather than slides or photos. Please do not bring your entire portfolio with you to show us.

Our visual art exhibitions customarily are up for four weeks, quickly followed by another four week solo or group exhibition. Opportunites for short-term exhibitions or installations are few and usually occur in August, December, and January. 21 Grand's visual art shows are scheduled close to year in advance.

Our exhibition program aims to create a platform for under-recognized visual artists in the Bay Area working in new genres and innovative ways. This is open to diverse interpretations, so consideration is also given to the artists’ intent within their work and the quality of the work itself.