What Happens After You Get Selected: The Complete Exhibition Timeline

The biggest fear stopping artists from applying to open calls is not rejection. It is the unknown. What actually happens after the yes? What do I have to do? What if I get something wrong?

This is the full timeline of exhibiting with Streeters Gallery and The Holy Art, from the moment you are selected to the moment your work comes home. No mystery, no guesswork.

Step one: the confirmation

You applied through the open call, the team reviewed your work, and it fits the show. You receive a confirmation with everything in one place: the exhibition city and dates, your format (physical or digital), the fee, the delivery details and the deadlines.

At Streeters, current confirmations cover London (November 6 to 8), New York in Tribeca at 101 Reade St (November 20 to 23) and the Times Square and London billboard showcases. At The Holy Art, confirmations cover exhibitions across nine cities. Selected artists also receive an official confirmation letter, useful for portfolios and, for international artists attending in person, for travel documentation.

Step two: securing your spot

You pay the exhibition fee to confirm. At Streeters that is £120 for one physical work, £200 for two, or from £45 for digital. This covers the venue, installation, lighting, promotion and the opening event. There are no further charges, and commission on any sale is zero.

Because shows are capacity based, spots are confirmed in order. The September 2026 London show filled before its dates, which is why applying and confirming early matters.

Step three: preparing the work

Physical exhibitors. Make sure the work matches what you submitted, is ready to hang with fixings attached where required, and is labelled with your name and the title. If you are framing, keep it clean and simple; the work should do the talking.

Digital and screen exhibitors. Export the final file at the highest resolution to the specifications sent with your confirmation. Never a screenshot, never a photo of a screen. For the Times Square showcase and the London billboards in Kings Cross and Notting Hill, your file is the artwork, so its quality is everything.

Step four: getting the work to the show

Physical work is delivered in person on the stated drop off day or shipped to arrive by the deadline. If shipping, use rigid packaging, corner protectors and tracked delivery, and arrange return shipping at the same time so collection is already solved.

Digital work is simply uploaded. This is why artists anywhere in the world exhibit in London, Paris and New York without leaving home, and why digital spots remain open closest to each show.

Step five: installation

This part is not your job. The gallery team handles the hang, the spacing, the lighting and the labels. Your work is installed alongside the rest of the show by people who have done this across hundreds of exhibitions. The Holy Art network has produced over 400 shows since 2020; the process runs on that experience.

Step six: opening night

Friday evening at Streeters weekend shows. The room fills with collectors, curators, other exhibiting artists and their guests. If you can attend, attend. Stand near your work some of the time, walk the room the rest. When someone asks about your piece, answer in two honest sentences. This is where connections and first sales happen.

If you cannot attend, the show carries on and your work is presented, promoted and offered exactly the same.

Step seven: the public days

Saturday and Sunday the doors open to everyone, with the New York show running four days total. A different crowd from opening night: slower, quieter, often more intentional buyers. The gallery promotes throughout, across the network of over 245,000 followers and 180,000+ mailing list subscribers built by The Holy Art.

Step eight: sales

If a visitor wants to buy your work, the gallery connects them directly with you. You keep 100 percent. For enquiries that arrive after the show, the same applies, and artists with a studio on Mostra have a permanent zero commission place to send later buyers all year round.

Step nine: collection

At the stated time after the show closes, you collect in person or your prearranged return shipping takes the work home. Digital exhibitors have nothing to collect.

Step ten: what you leave with

An exhibition credit for your CV. Professional documentation of your work in a real show. Connections with artists, collectors and the gallery team. Content for your channels. And the thing artists mention most: the shift in how seriously they take their own work after seeing it on a wall in front of strangers.

Then most artists do the sensible thing and apply for the next one.

Frequently asked questions

What happens after I am accepted to an art exhibition? You receive a confirmation with dates, fees and deadlines, confirm your spot, deliver or upload your work, and the gallery handles installation, promotion and the event.

Do I have to attend my own exhibition? No. Attendance at the opening is recommended but optional, and international artists regularly exhibit without attending, especially through digital formats.

Who hangs the artwork at a group show? The gallery. At Streeters and The Holy Art, installation, lighting and labelling are handled by the team.

How do sales work at the exhibition? Interested buyers are connected directly with the artist. Commission at Streeters Gallery and The Holy Art is zero, so the artist keeps the full sale.

What if I cannot deliver my work in person? Ship it with tracked delivery to arrive by the stated deadline, or choose a digital exhibition format which requires only a file.

The unknown, removed

That is the whole process, start to finish. Nothing hidden, nothing to fear, nothing you cannot do.

Streeters Gallery: London, New York, Paris, Times Square, London billboards. Free to apply.

The Holy Art: nine cities worldwide, rolling open call, free to submit.

The only step left is the first one.