Legends of the Moon
A open call to artists for contemporary realist paintings presented by Era Contemporary Gallery
Accepted works included in the Lunar Codex!
Early bird deadline to submit art: May 1 (reduced entry fee)
Final deadline to submit art: July 15
Opening Reception: November, to be announced. This will be a physical exhibition in PA, USA and a digital exhibition on the moon!
Era Contemporary is proud to present Legends of the Moon open call to artists anywhere in the world. The works selected for inclusion in Legends of the Moon will be included in the Lunar Codex: Polaris mission. The moon has enchanted humanity for ages, and the myths, legends and literature that have grown out of its nightly beauty have lasted for thousands of years, told around campfires by our ancestors and now shared through art, books, and film. Artists may let their imagination run wild with possibilities the herald back to the dawn of civilization all the way up until the present day.
The selected works will be catalogued and included in the Lunar Codex, as well as exhibited in person at Era Contemporary. The U.S.’s National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has a plan, the Artemis Program, to land humans back on the Moon in 2025, for the first time in over 50 years.
In preparation, NASA will send scientific instruments to the Moon, over 2022 to 2024, via Commercial Lunar Payload Service (CLPS) partners, such as Astrobotic Technologies and Intuitive Machines. Their lunar landers will launch as payloads of commercial rocket platforms by the United Launch Alliance (ULA) or SpaceX.
Along with NASA instruments, these missions will carry commercial payloads, including the three time capsules that make up The Lunar Codex.
This will be the first significant placement of contemporary arts on the Moon in 50 years. While focused on visual art, the Lunar Codex also includes a substantial collection of contemporary books, stories, poetry, films, music, essays, and more.
“The Polaris Collection” is our payload associated with an Astrobotic Griffin/NASA VIPER mission, landing in the vicinity of the Lunar South Pole. Legends of the Moon will be on this mission.
As an arts and culture project, The Lunar Codex has been called the most expansive, international, and diverse collection of contemporary culture launched to the Moon. Significantly, it is the first project to launch the works of women artists to the lunar surface. It is also the first project, to our knowledge, to place film and music on the Moon.
The Lunar Codex represents creative work from Canada, the U.S., China, India, the E.U., Australia, the U.K., and indeed from 89 countries and territories from Europe, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, North America, Oceania and Asia — firsts on the Moon for many of these countries.
“Our hope is that future travelers who find these time capsules will discover some of the richness of our world today… It speaks to the idea that, despite wars and pandemics and climate upheaval, humankind found time to dream, time to create art.”
- Samuel Peralta, director of the Lunar Codex
Find out more about the Lunar Codex by clicking here.
How to submit your work for
Legends of the Moon
Legends of the Moon is a physical and digital exhibition held with Era Contemporary Gallery, with 10% of any sales of artwork donated to charity. We are watching the global situation closely and will choose a charity soon. Era Contemporary then divides the remaining 90% of the sale money between the gallery and the artist; 60% to the artist and 40% to the gallery. The artwork must be available for sale, and during the entire duration of the exhibition, September 10, 2022, to January 10, 2022. The artwork must be approximately 36” or smaller in size, and must be ready to hang on the wall. Artists may submit as many works as they like, $40 is the early bird submission fee with $20 per extra artwork.
Early bird deadline for submission: May 1, 2022. Submission fee is $40 for one work, extra entries are $20 per entry.
Final deadline: July 15, 2022. Submission fee after May 1 is $50 for one work, extra entries are $25 per entry.
Accepted artists notified on or before August 1, 2022.
Physical show will be up until December 2022. Virtual show may be extended during the winter months. In special situations If the artist wishes to withdrawal their work from the show to show in another opportunity during that time, we are happy to accommodate, simply email eracontemporary@gmail.com. Artists are responsible for shipping to and from the gallery. There will be a physical reception, date to be announced.
To apply, please follow these steps:
Copy and paste the following questions into the body of an email to Jessica Libor, director, at eracontemporary@gmail.com with email heading “Legends of the Moon (Your name)”.
What is your full name?
Where are you based out of in the world?
What medium do you work in?
Briefly, what is your educational background?
What inspired this piece and how does it relate to the theme?
Is the work framed or unframed? (please include picture of it hanging)
What is your Instagram or social media handles?
What is your art website?
Please pay the submission fee by clicking here and please attach this receipt to the email.
Please attach your Curriculum Vitae.
Please attach the image(s) of the work you are submitting. Please name the file: FIRSTNAME, LASTNAME, MEDIUM, SIZE, YEARMADE, PRICE.
Thank you and we look forward to seeing your submissions!!
Questions? Email eracontemporary@gmail.com .