Last 5 Days To Submit To ‘Dear Creatures, Big And Small’ | ATH x Artsy Exhibition

Arts to Hearts Project’s Dear Creatures, Big and Small open call is welcoming submissions for just five more days, inviting artists to share their unique interpretations of the animal world in a curated online exhibition on Artsy. If animals have ever found their way into your paintings, photographs, illustrations, sculptures, or mixed-media experiments, this is your moment to bring that work forward.

The deadline is November 2, 2026, at 11:59 PM, and the final countdown has officially begun. With so many opportunities appearing throughout the year, it is easy to bookmark an open call, tell yourself you will return to it later, and eventually let the deadline pass. Perhaps you have already looked at this one and wondered which artwork to submit. Maybe you have a finished piece sitting in your portfolio that feels like the perfect fit, but you have not yet taken the time to complete your application.

Whatever the reason for waiting, there is still time to make your move. Dear Creatures, Big and Small invites artists from around the world to explore the animal kingdom through their own creative perspectives. From familiar companions and fascinating wildlife to mythical beings and creatures born entirely from imagination, the exhibition makes room for many different stories, styles, and artistic approaches.

And with the opportunity to present selected work through Arts to Hearts Project’s official presence on Artsy, this is an open call worth giving your attention to before the final five days slip away.

Why Virtual Exhibitions Matter For Artists Today

The way people discover and experience art has changed considerably. While physical galleries and exhibitions remain important, online platforms have created additional ways for artists to share their work, reach audiences beyond their immediate surroundings, and introduce their practices to people they might never meet in person.

For artists working outside major art centres, this can be particularly meaningful. You might have a wonderful body of work but limited access to galleries, art fairs, or professional networks in your city. You might be an emerging artist still finding your footing, or an established practitioner looking for fresh opportunities to bring your work to new audiences.

Virtual exhibitions offer another route into that wider art world.

They allow artworks to be encountered beyond the walls of a single venue. Someone can explore an exhibition from another country, spend time looking at individual pieces, and discover an artist whose work speaks to them. For artists and audiences alike, the geographical barriers that once shaped so many encounters with art can become a little less restrictive.

Of course, an online exhibition is not a replacement for every experience a physical gallery provides. Seeing a painting in person, noticing its scale, or observing the texture of a sculpture carries its own magic. But digital exhibitions offer something valuable in return: accessibility, reach, and another space where contemporary artists can be discovered.

The platform hosting an exhibition also matters. Artsy provides an established online environment for discovering and collecting art, making it a meaningful place for artists to present their work to audiences interested in contemporary art.

For artists hoping to expand their visibility, opportunities like these can be a useful part of building a broader professional presence. They offer a chance to put your work forward, participate in a curated exhibition, and make your practice available to people who may be encountering it for the first time.

That is what makes the final days of Dear Creatures, Big and Small especially worth paying attention to.

An Open Call Inspired By The Creatures Around Us

Animals have occupied a special place in art for centuries. They appear in ancient cave paintings, religious imagery, portraiture, folklore, scientific illustrations, contemporary photography, and experimental art practices. Sometimes they are depicted as they are, with careful attention to their anatomy, movement, and environment. At other times, they become symbols of something deeply personal or much larger than themselves.

A dog might represent the comfort of companionship. A bird might suggest freedom or the desire to escape. A wild animal might bring questions about survival, habitat, and humanity’s relationship with nature into focus. A mythical creature might offer a way to explore fears, dreams, or stories passed down through generations.

And sometimes, an animal is simply an animal that an artist cannot stop thinking about. Dear Creatures, Big and Small welcomes these different ways of seeing. The theme is intentionally broad, leaving room for artists to decide what the animal world means within their own practices.

You might be drawn to the everyday presence of cats and dogs, the extraordinary colours of birds, the quiet lives of insects, or the unfamiliar shapes of marine creatures. Perhaps your work explores endangered species, prehistoric animals, folklore, or imaginary beings that exist somewhere between reality and fantasy.

Your artwork does not need to tell a complicated story or communicate a grand message. It can begin with a personal memory, an observation, a fascination, or a simple creative question. What matters is how your work connects with the theme and what your particular perspective brings to it.

Five Days Left To Bring Your Interpretation To Life

One of the most exciting things about a themed exhibition is seeing how differently artists respond to the same starting point.

Give ten artists the subject of animals, and you could end up with ten entirely different worlds. One might create a detailed portrait of a beloved pet. Another might explore the movement of a herd across an open landscape. Someone else might use abstraction to suggest an animal’s presence without depicting it directly, while another artist might build an entire imagined universe around a mythical creature.

These differences are precisely what make a curated exhibition interesting. Individual artworks can sit alongside one another, creating connections and contrasts that would not necessarily emerge if each piece were viewed in isolation.

For Dear Creatures, Big and Small, artists are invited to submit work exploring themes such as companionship, instinct, survival, freedom, nature, memory, mythology, identity, symbolism, and storytelling.

The exhibition welcomes a wide range of mediums, including painting, drawing, photography, sculpture, ceramics, textiles, printmaking, collage, mixed media, digital art, illustration, installation, and interdisciplinary practices. Whether your work is realistic, abstract, conceptual, historical, narrative, or experimental, there is room to approach the subject in your own way.

You do not need to start from scratch, either. If you already have an original artwork that fits the theme, this could be the right opportunity to give it a new audience. Take another look at your portfolio, revisit pieces you have been meaning to share, and consider which work best represents your creative perspective.

Just remember that submitted artworks must be original, unsold, and available for sale. With only five days remaining, now is the time to stop wondering whether you should apply and start preparing your submission.

What Makes This Opportunity Worth Considering?

Arts to Hearts Project has spent the past six years creating opportunities for artists to share their work and connect with a wider creative community. Its initiatives have included more than 35 curated art books and featured over 10,000 artists from around the world.

Through its official presence on Artsy, the project is continuing to create opportunities for artists to present their work through curated online exhibitions.

Dear Creatures, Big and Small will bring selected artworks together in a professionally curated exhibition on the platform. Rather than presenting each piece as an isolated submission, the exhibition will create a shared viewing experience in which different interpretations of the animal world can come together while allowing each artist’s individual voice to remain central.

Selected artworks will be available for sale during the exhibition. Arts to Hearts Project will also facilitate communication between interested collectors and artists when enquiries or potential sales arise.

For artists, this offers more than simply submitting an image to an open call. It is an opportunity to have work considered for a curated exhibition within an established online art environment, with the possibility of reaching people interested in discovering and collecting contemporary art.

Selection is not guaranteed, of course, and submitting work does not automatically lead to a sale. However, if your practice connects with the theme, applying gives your work a chance to be considered for this particular opportunity.

Sometimes, moving forward in your artistic career means recognising the opportunities that align with your work and giving yourself the chance to participate.

Who Can Apply?

The open call is open to artists aged 18 and above from anywhere in the world. Whether you are just beginning your artistic journey, developing a growing portfolio, or have years of professional experience behind you, you are welcome to apply. The exhibition is open to emerging, mid-career, and established artists working across a variety of creative disciplines.

Artists may submit up to three artworks for consideration. Each artwork must be submitted individually, with complete and accurate information. Before applying, make sure your work meets the submission requirements:

• Your artwork must be original and created by you.
• The work must be unsold and available for sale.
• You must hold the rights to the artwork and have permission for any copyrighted or collaborative elements included.
• You should upload a clear, high-quality image of each artwork.
• Each submission must include the artwork’s title, year of creation, medium, dimensions, price, and a brief description or artist statement where applicable.

Take a little time to review your photographs and artwork details before submitting. A clear image allows the selection team to appreciate your work as accurately as possible, while complete information helps ensure that your application is ready for consideration.

If you are submitting more than one piece, consider how each work relates to the theme. You might choose three artworks that explore the animal world from different perspectives, or select a smaller group of pieces that share a particularly strong connection.

There is no need to submit the maximum number simply because you can. Choose the work you feel best represents your artistic voice and offers a thoughtful interpretation of the theme.

Your Final Submission Checklist

With just five days left, a little organisation can make the process much easier. Instead of leaving everything until the final hours, set aside some time to prepare your application now.

First, revisit your portfolio. Look for work featuring animals, wildlife, pets, birds, insects, marine life, mythical creatures, or related ideas. Think beyond literal animal portraits, too. A piece exploring memory, nature, or symbolism might connect with the theme in a way you have not previously considered.

Next, choose your strongest work. Consider originality, presentation, and the connection between your artwork and the exhibition’s theme. You can submit up to three pieces, so select thoughtfully.

Then, prepare your images and artwork details. Make sure your photographs are clear and well-lit. Double-check your title, year, medium, dimensions, price, and description before uploading everything.

Finally, complete your application before the deadline. Do not wait until the last minute to discover that you need to photograph a piece again or locate missing information. Give yourself enough time to review the submission and make sure everything is in order.

You can find the full open call details and application form here:

The submission deadline is November 2, 2026, at 11:59 PM. Please review the official open call page for the complete requirements before submitting.

Five Days Can Make A Difference

Artists spend so much time creating, experimenting, revising, and questioning their work that it can sometimes feel difficult to know when to share it. There is always another detail to refine, another piece to finish, or another opportunity that might seem like a better fit.

But not every opportunity requires you to create something new. Sometimes, it simply asks you to look at what you have already made and consider where it might belong.

Perhaps you have painted an animal that has been part of your life for years. Perhaps your work draws on the natural world, the stories you grew up with, or creatures that exist only in your imagination. Or perhaps you have been waiting for an open call that leaves enough room for your own interpretation rather than asking you to follow a narrow brief.

Dear Creatures, Big and Small offers that space.

With five days remaining, this is your reminder to revisit the opportunity, select your work, and submit before the deadline passes. You do not need to have your entire artistic future figured out to apply for an exhibition. You simply need work that speaks to the theme, a thoughtful application, and the willingness to put your practice forward.

The animal world holds countless stories, from the smallest creatures we might overlook to the magnificent animals that have fascinated artists for generations. Each artist sees those stories differently, and that is what makes bringing them together so worthwhile.

If you have work that belongs in this conversation, do not let the final five days pass you by. Submit your artwork by November 2, 2026, at 11:59 PM, and give your interpretation of Dear Creatures, Big and Small the chance to be seen.