Online art exhibitions are becoming more prevalent in the art world today. This is due to many factors, including the advancement of technology, increased online engagement since the COVID-19 pandemic, and higher operating costs. While most can agree online art shows are not the same as in-person exhibitions, the digital world provides many benefits to both art organizations and artists. In this blog post, we dive into these benefits and take a look at two organizations that make the most of online exhibitions. Online Recognition at the International Society of Experimental Artists ..read more

With the art world evolving rapidly, it’s essential to understand the needs and preferences of artists to create compelling calls that stand out. In this blog post, we are sharing our insider strategies for how to make your call stand out to artists.  Watch our webinar, How to Make Your Call Stand Out to Artists, to learn these tips from a member of our team. Understanding Artist Needs & Preferences Artists today have a plethora of opportunities to choose from when applying for calls on CaFÉ. For your call to stand out, it’s crucial to understand what artists are looking for. Yo ..read more

Our latest call for entry, CaFÉ All Over the Place, invited artists to submit artworks that explore the relationship to or the personal experiences of a particular place, community, or its impact on their identity. The goal of this open call was to showcase the talent of CaFÉ artists across a variety of mediums, locations, and identities. Artwork submitted to this call is being continuously shared on our Instagram page and is featured throughout our website. In this blog post, we are highlighting five talented artists from different backgrounds, disciplines, and places. Get to know how each ..read more

CaFÉ’s parent organization, WESTAF, spotlights the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation and its innovative use of WESTAF’s web services to streamline certain aspects of the annual Jazz & Heritage Festival. The feature includes an intriguing story about how the Foundation leverages CaFÉ to engage volunteer photographers who document the festival for their digital archive.  Read the Blog Post The post WESTAF Spotlights the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation: Learn How CaFÉ™ Had a Hand in Capturing History appeared first on CaF ..read more

Public art can transform the way we experience and interact with our surroundings. It can beautify and enhance public spaces, inspire others and spark meaningful conversations. With the Public Art Archive — a comprehensive online database of public art in the United States — discovering and exploring public art has never been easier. As a fellow WESTAF program, the CaFÉ team has had the privilege of working with public art organizations and artists across the country and seeing the Public Art Archive (PAA) grow every year. We’ve had the chance to see some truly incredible pieces, from scul ..read more

Public art can transform the way we experience and interact with our surroundings. It can beautify and enhance public spaces, inspire others and spark meaningful conversations. With the Public Art Archive — a comprehensive online database of public art in the United States — discovering and exploring public art has never been easier. As a fellow WESTAF program, the CaFÉ team has had the privilege of working with public art organizations and artists across the country and seeing the Public Art Archive (PAA) grow every year. We’ve had the chance to see some truly incredible pieces, from scul ..read more

The summer months bring a lot of exciting events and activities for everyone—especially artists! From getting outside to see what inspiration nature has to offer, to supporting fellow artists by attending events, there’s so much out there to spark inspiration and create art. To give you some ideas about how to have an art-filled summer, take a look at our list of five summer activities for artists! 1. Attend an art fair or festival. Art fairs and festivals are in full swing during the summer, and what better way to be inspired to create art than by looking at a whole bunch of it! Art f ..read more

10 years ago, CaFÉ’s fellow WESTAF program, the Public Art Archive (PAA), commissioned the first edition of the Have You Seen My Public Art? Map, illustrated by Kenny Be, to bring visibility to the program and its mission to make public art more public. In celebration of a decade of archiving almost 20,000 public artworks around the U.S. and abroad, PAA recently commissioned a second edition of the map, illustrated by Boulder-based artist Kara Fellows, which launched in early September. The second edition of the map includes 144 artworks across all 50 states created by over 176 unique artis ..read more

In addition to providing arts organizations an affordable submission platform and artists an easy way to apply to hundreds of opportunities, CaFÉ supplies its users with loads of information to help them succeed. From sharing tips for how to write application questions, to showing the best way to photograph artwork, the CaFÉ Corner blog is a go-to resource for any artist or administrator. Browse our top blog posts and learn something new!  Most Viewed Blog Posts Meet Five Artists who are Recharging the Arts Photographing Artwork: Your Essential Guide for Jury-Ready Images ..read more

The CaFÉ team is thrilled to announce the launch of two highly-requested features! Artists can now link to audio or video work samples if they already exist online, and administrators can now build application questions with conditional logic. Read on to find out more! Link to Audio or Video Work Samples Online Artists now have two options for adding audio or video work samples to their portfolio! They can upload the file directly, or they can enter the URL of the work sample if available online. This will save artists from having to upload a file that’s already online and from having ..read more