Calling All Artists: 10 Days Left to Submit to “Dear Creatures, Big And Small” – ATH x Artsy Exhibition

Some connections are difficult to put into words. The comfort of a pet waiting for us at the end of a long day, the quiet presence of a bird outside our window, or the feeling of watching a wild animal move freely through its natural home can stay with us long after the moment has passed. Animals have a way of becoming part of our lives, our memories, and sometimes even the way we understand ourselves.

For artists, these connections can become something more. A familiar animal might inspire a portrait, a childhood memory might find its way onto a canvas, or a creature from mythology might become a way to explore something deeply personal. Sometimes, an animal is the subject of the artwork. Other times, it is the feeling, the story, or the meaning behind it.

If the animal world has found its way into your artistic practice, we would love for you to consider sharing your work with us. There are now just 10 days left to submit to “Dear Creatures, Big And Small,” an open call by Arts to Hearts Project in collaboration with Artsy. Artists from around the world are invited to submit their work for consideration in a curated online exhibition exploring animals in all their forms, from familiar companions and wildlife to mythical creatures and imagined beings.

The deadline is November 2, 2026, at 11:59 PM. If you have a work that belongs in this conversation, now is a lovely time to bring it forward.

When Animals Become Part Of An Artist’s Story

Art history is full of artists whose relationships with animals extended far beyond observation. For some, animals became companions and recurring figures in their work. For others, studying their movements, personalities, and place in the natural world became a lifelong artistic pursuit.

Consider Frida Kahlo, who frequently included her beloved animals in her self-portraits. Her spider monkey, Fulang-Chang, appears in Fulang-Chang and I (1937), where a delicate pink ribbon connects the artist and her companion. The painting offers a glimpse into a personal relationship, making the animal part of the emotional world Kahlo chose to share through her art. Her monkeys, birds, and other animals were not simply decorative additions. They belonged to the intimate world she painted. Explore the painting at MoMA.

Then there is Rosa Bonheur, the celebrated nineteenth-century French painter known for her remarkable depictions of animals. Bonheur spent years studying animals directly, observing their anatomy, movement, and individual character. Her home and studio at the Château de By became a place where animals, including horses, deer, and even lions, surrounded her. This close engagement with the animal world informed the sensitivity and detail of her paintings, including her celebrated The Horse Fair. For Bonheur, understanding an animal meant looking closely at the living creature rather than simply reproducing its appearance. Read more about her life and work at the Royal Collection Trust.

These artists approached animals in very different ways, yet both remind us that an artwork can hold more than what first meets the eye. It can carry affection, curiosity, memory, and a particular way of seeing the world.

And that is the beauty of this theme. Your interpretation does not need to resemble anyone else’s. It simply needs to come from your own artistic perspective.

A Meaningful Opportunity With Arts To Hearts Project And Artsy

At Arts to Hearts Project, our work has always centred on creating meaningful opportunities for artists to share their work, reach new audiences, and continue growing in their practices. Over the past six years, we have developed initiatives that have brought together artists from different backgrounds and stages of their careers, resulting in more than 35 curated art books and opportunities for over 10,000 artists worldwide.

Through our official presence on Artsy, we are continuing to create opportunities for artists to present their work in a professional online art environment. Artsy is an established platform for discovering and collecting contemporary art, connecting artworks with people who are interested in exploring artists and their practices. Being part of a curated exhibition on the platform offers selected artists an opportunity to introduce their work to an audience beyond their existing circles.

For artists, visibility can be an important part of building a practice. It allows your work to be encountered in new contexts and gives people an opportunity to engage with the ideas, stories, and choices behind it.

Dear Creatures, Big And Small brings these possibilities together around a theme that leaves plenty of room for individual expression. Whether your work is rooted in close observation, personal experience, imagination, or symbolism, we want to make space for different ways of seeing the animal world.

What Are We Looking For?

We are interested in artworks that explore animals in their many forms, appearances, and meanings. The theme is intentionally broad, giving artists the freedom to approach it through their own medium, style, and experiences.

You might consider submitting work featuring:

• Domestic animals and beloved companions: Pets, farm animals, and the relationships we develop with the creatures who share our everyday lives.
• Wildlife and the natural world: Mammals, birds, reptiles, insects, and marine life, explored through observation, environmental concerns, or an appreciation of nature.
• Ancient and extinct species: Prehistoric animals and creatures that invite us to think about evolution, time, and the changing natural world.
• Mythical and imagined beings: Creatures drawn from folklore, mythology, cultural traditions, fantasy, or your own imagination.
• Animals as symbols and storytellers: Works exploring identity, freedom, instinct, survival, memory, companionship, or other ideas through animal imagery.

Your artwork might be a realistic portrait of an animal you know, an abstract interpretation of its movements, a textile piece inspired by feathers or fur, or a fictional creature carrying a story of its own.

We welcome painting, drawing, photography, sculpture, ceramics, textiles, printmaking, collage, mixed media, digital art, illustration, installation, and experimental or interdisciplinary practices.

You do not need to follow a particular aesthetic or create work that looks traditionally representational. What matters is the quality and originality of the work, its connection to the theme, and the perspective you bring to it.

About The Exhibition

Dear Creatures, Big And Small will be presented as a curated online exhibition by Arts to Hearts Project on Artsy. The exhibition will bring together selected artworks that explore the animal world through different mediums, styles, stories, and interpretations.

Each selected artwork will be presented within a thoughtfully curated framework, allowing the works to sit together as part of a wider conversation while preserving each artist’s individual voice.

All selected artworks will be available for sale during the exhibition. Arts to Hearts Project will facilitate communication between interested collectors and artists in the event of artwork inquiries or sales.

Further information about the exhibition dates, artwork presentation, selected artists, and launch timeline will be shared with selected participants before the exhibition opens.

Who Can Apply?

This open call welcomes artists aged 18 and above from anywhere in the world.

Whether you are an emerging artist finding your footing, a mid-career artist continuing to develop your practice, or an established artist exploring a new direction, you are welcome to apply.

There are no restrictions on artistic medium or style, and artists from diverse backgrounds and creative disciplines are encouraged to submit.

You can submit up to three original artworks for consideration. Each artwork must be submitted individually, with its own details and images.

Submission Guidelines: What To Prepare

Before submitting, take a little time to review your work and make sure everything is ready. A clear, complete application helps the curatorial team understand your artwork and consider it in the context of the exhibition.

Here is what you need to know:

1. Submit original work. All artworks must be created by you and must not have been sold before submission. Submitted works must remain available for sale. Collaborative works are welcome where relevant, provided all contributing artists are clearly credited.

2. Upload high-quality images. Choose clear, well-lit images that represent your work accurately. Check that the artwork is easy to see and presented in a way that allows its details to be appreciated. Your work should also be suitable for presentation in an online exhibition.

3. Provide complete artwork information. For each submission, prepare:

• Artwork title
• Year of creation
• Medium
• Dimensions
• Price
• A brief artwork description or artist statement, where applicable

4. Make sure you hold the necessary rights. Artists must hold full rights to their submitted work. Any copyrighted references, materials, or collaborative elements must be properly credited or authorised.

5. Understand the selection process. Submissions will be reviewed based on quality, originality, presentation, relevance to the theme, and the overall curatorial direction of the exhibition. Selected artists will be notified by email and through their submission dashboard.

By applying, artists grant Arts to Hearts Project permission to use submitted artwork images for exhibition, promotional, editorial, curatorial, and marketing purposes related to the project, with appropriate credit to the artist.

Ten Days Left. We Would Love To See Your Work.

Sometimes, an artwork begins with something very small: a photograph you have kept for years, a creature you once encountered, the animal that has been part of your family, or an image that has stayed in your imagination. Over time, that small beginning can grow into a piece that holds an entire story.

Perhaps you have already created work around animals and have been waiting for the right opportunity to share it. Perhaps this theme brings an older piece to mind, or inspires you to look at your practice from a different angle. Wherever your work begins, we hope you will consider bringing it into this exhibition.

At Arts to Hearts Project, we believe that artists deserve opportunities to share their work in spaces where it can be discovered, appreciated, and encountered by new audiences. Through this collaboration with Artsy, we are excited to bring together artists whose perspectives on the animal world are as varied as the creatures themselves.

There are only 10 days left to apply. The deadline for Dear Creatures, Big And Small is November 2, 2026, at 11:59 PM. We encourage you to submit early, leaving yourself enough time to upload your images, review your artwork details, and complete the application.

If your work has something to say about the creatures we live alongside, the wildlife we share this world with, or the beings we carry in our memories and imaginations, we would love for you to be part of this conversation.

We look forward to seeing the world through your eyes.