Open Call for Artists | 101 Art Book: Garden Edition Is Open For Submissions
The world around us is full of little things worth looking at twice. A flower growing through a crack in the pavement, the changing colors of leaves, a butterfly resting on a branch, or a garden that brings back memories of a place we once knew. Nature has always given artists something to return to, and every artist seems to find something different in it.
That is what makes a shared artistic theme so interesting. Bring 101 artists together around the idea of a garden, and you will discover 101 different ways of seeing the natural world.
Arts to Hearts Project is now opening submissions for the 101 Art Book: Garden Edition, the sixteenth edition of its growing international publishing series. This edition invites artists from around the world to explore the theme of Garden through their own creative practices, whether their inspiration comes from botanical details, flowers, plants, landscapes, organic forms, or entirely imagined interpretations of nature.
Since its launch in 2023, the 101 Art Book Series has brought together more than 1,300 artists across fifteen published editions, creating a growing collection of contemporary art around shared themes. With Garden Edition, we are continuing that journey and looking forward to discovering another 101 artists whose work deserves to be seen.
Whether you are an emerging artist finding your place in the art world or an established creative looking for another opportunity to share your work, we would love to see what the idea of a garden means to you.
About The 101 Art Book Series
The 101 Art Book is a global publishing project by Arts to Hearts Project, developed as a growing collection of books dedicated to contemporary artists and the many subjects, materials, and ideas they explore through their work.
The idea behind the series is quite simple. What happens when 101 artists from different parts of the world come together around a single theme, each interpreting it through their own creative language?
The result is much more than a collection of individual artworks. Each edition becomes a record of how a shared idea can be understood across cultures, disciplines, and artistic perspectives. One artist might find inspiration in the smallest details of a subject, while another approaches it through abstraction, personal memories, or an entirely unexpected direction. Together, these interpretations create a broader picture of contemporary artistic expression.
Since 2023, the series has explored fifteen different themes, including Photography, Food, Collage, Landscape, Abstract, Portrait, Animal, Floral, Nature, Dogs, Pattern, Colors, Faces, and Texture. Across these editions, more than 1,300 artists have found a place in this growing international collection.
And now, we are adding another chapter.
101 Art Book: Garden Edition is the sixteenth edition, bringing together 101 artists inspired by the natural world in its many forms. From flowers, butterflies, and blooming plants to trees, leaves, and the smallest details of nature, this edition celebrates the beauty, diversity, and endless possibilities of the world around us.
Each new volume adds something different to the collection. A book dedicated to color offers one landscape of ideas, while another exploring texture introduces an entirely different way of looking at art. Garden Edition will bring together the many ways artists observe, interpret, and express their relationship with nature.
Published as a premium hardcover book and distributed internationally through the Arts to Hearts Project Shop, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble, the series aims to make contemporary artists and their work accessible to collectors, curators, galleries, institutions, and art lovers around the world.
One theme, 101 artists, and 101 different ways of seeing the world. Garden Edition is the next chapter in this growing collection.
Our Vision: A Launchpad For Artists To Be Discovered
At Arts to Hearts Project, we believe artists deserve opportunities to have their work seen beyond the circles they already know. Finding an audience, reaching collectors, connecting with galleries, and building recognition around an artistic practice can take time. Having the right platform to introduce your work can make that journey a little easier.
This is the idea behind the 101 Art Book Series.
With every edition, we want to discover artists making compelling work today and create opportunities for their practices to reach people who may not have encountered them otherwise.
For Garden Edition, our goal is to bring together 101 artists whose work draws inspiration from the natural world and introduce their interpretations through a professionally produced international publication.
We want the book to reach people who are genuinely interested in discovering contemporary art. This includes art lovers, early collectors, curators, galleries, educators, creative professionals, and people who actively follow and support artists.
For an early collector, the book might become a place to discover an artist at an important point in their journey. For a curator or gallery, it might introduce a practice or perspective worth following. And for an art lover, it can open the door to artists they may never have come across otherwise.
For the selected artists, it means having their work included in a growing international publication and another platform from which to introduce their practice to a wider audience.
Our ambition is bigger than simply publishing 101 names. We want to put 101 artists on the radar.
As the series continues into future editions, more artists will have the opportunity to be discovered, more creative practices will reach new audiences, and the collection will continue growing as a place to explore contemporary art from around the world.
Garden Edition is our next step in building that launchpad.
Looking Into The Theme: Garden
A garden can be many things. It can be a quiet place filled with flowers, an overgrown patch of greenery, a landscape that changes with the seasons, or even a small collection of plants growing on a windowsill. Sometimes, it is found in the details we pass every day without noticing.
For this edition, we are opening the theme of Garden to each artist’s own interpretation. We want to see the different ways artists observe, experience, and imagine the natural world.
Your inspiration might come from flowers, plants, trees, leaves, grass, fruits, seeds, insects, butterflies, birds, or other living things. It might also extend to forests, botanical forms, wild gardens, changing landscapes, and the countless details that make up our surroundings.
Some artists may be drawn to the delicate structure of a flower or the patterns found in its petals. Others might explore the movement of leaves in the wind, the colors of a changing landscape, or the unexpected beauty of weeds, fallen leaves, and decaying flowers. There is just as much to explore in the smallest details of nature as there is in an entire garden.
We are also interested in interpretations that move beyond the literal.
A garden might represent growth, freedom, belonging, renewal, change, or the passage of time. It could be an imagined landscape, a memory of a childhood garden, an abstract arrangement of organic shapes, or a personal reflection on what nature means to you.
Perhaps your garden exists in a place you remember. Perhaps it is somewhere you have never visited but have imagined through your work. It could be the flowers growing along a roadside, a tree you have known for years, or a butterfly that caught your attention during an ordinary afternoon.
We welcome all these possibilities.
Artists may approach the theme through careful observation, personal storytelling, abstraction, experimentation, symbolism, or imagination. We would love to see detailed botanical illustrations, vibrant paintings, photographic studies, sculptural forms, mixed-media compositions, and works that use nature as a starting point for something entirely unexpected.
There is no prescribed subject, style, medium, or color palette for this edition. We are not looking for one particular kind of garden or simply a collection of conventional floral images. We want to see how artists interpret the theme through their individual practices.
The theme is open to your interpretation. Show us what a garden means to you, whether you find it in a single flower, a forest, a fleeting moment in nature, or a world entirely of your own imagination.
What’s In It For Artists?
More Than A Publication. A Place To Be Discovered.
We want this edition to do more than document the work of 101 artists. We want it to become a place where people can discover artists they might want to follow, collect, exhibit, and support.
Imagine a collector coming across your work for the first time, a curator discovering a new perspective on nature, or an art lover finding an artist whose practice they would like to follow. These connections are part of what makes being included in an international publication meaningful.
To support this vision, 101 Art Book: Garden Edition will be produced as a premium hardcover publication with a strong editorial identity. Alongside the 101 selected artists, the book will also feature exclusive interviews with our guest curator, art collectors, galleries, industry experts, and the cover artist, bringing different voices from the art world into the publication.
From the 101 selected artists, three will receive additional recognition for their work, including a cash award, expanded publication features, and promotional opportunities through Arts to Hearts Project.
Winner
- $500 Cash Award
- 4-Page Feature in the Publication
- Glass Trophy
- Certificate of Recognition
- Arts to Hearts Promotional Feature
- Artsy Artist Listing through Arts to Hearts Project
First Runner-Up
- 2-Page Feature in the Publication
- Glass Trophy
- Certificate of Recognition
- Arts to Hearts Promotional Feature
- Artsy Artist Listing through Arts to Hearts Project
Second Runner-Up
- 2-Page Feature in the Publication
- Glass Trophy
- Certificate of Recognition
- Arts to Hearts Promotional Feature
- Artsy Artist Listing through Arts to Hearts Project
These additional awards are another way we want to celebrate the artists whose work makes this edition special.
Who Can Apply?
101 Art Book: Garden Edition is open to artists whose work explores the natural world in its many forms. Whether your inspiration comes from flowers, plants, trees, butterflies, landscapes, botanical details, or an entirely imagined interpretation of nature, we would love to see how you approach the theme.
We are interested in bringing together artists with different experiences, backgrounds, and creative practices. You do not need to have an established exhibition history, gallery representation, or formal art education to apply. What matters is your work, your individual perspective, and the way you connect with the theme.
Who Can Participate?
- Artists aged 18 and above
- Artists from anywhere in the world
- Emerging, mid-career, and established artists
- Professional, independent, and self-taught artists
- Individual artists only
There is no requirement for a formal art qualification or an established professional art career. We welcome artists at different stages of their journeys.
What Kind Of Work Can Be Submitted?
We welcome original artwork that explores Garden through nature, botanical elements, organic forms, and personal interpretations of the natural world.
This may include:
Flowers · Plants · Trees · Leaves · Butterflies · Insects · Birds · Fruits · Seeds · Gardens · Landscapes · Forests · Botanical Illustrations · Nature Photography · Organic Patterns · Abstract Nature · Imaginary Landscapes · Mixed Media
Artists may explore the theme through observation, imagination, memory, symbolism, abstraction, or experimentation. Both traditional and digital approaches are welcome, and we encourage experimental and interdisciplinary practices.
Your work can be figurative, abstract, conceptual, narrative, decorative, illustrative, or something that does not fit neatly into any one category. There is no requirement to follow a particular visual style or color palette.
Your Work Should:
- Be your original artwork.
- Represent your own artistic practice.
- Connect with the theme of Garden through your individual interpretation.
- Be submitted as a high-resolution digital image.
Please note: AI-generated artwork is not eligible for this edition.
Previously exhibited, published, or sold work may be submitted, provided you hold the necessary rights to the artwork.
We Are Waiting For Your Submissions!
Submission Deadline: 13th December 2026
If you have been thinking about sharing your work with a wider audience, this could be a lovely opportunity to take that next step.
Applications for 101 Art Book: Garden Edition will remain open until 13th December 2026. We encourage artists to submit their work well before the deadline so there is enough time to complete the application without worrying about last-minute technical issues or delays.
Once submissions close, all eligible entries will be forwarded to the jury for review. We aim to announce the results within 10 days, although the review process may take longer depending on the number of submissions received. All results will be announced within three weeks of the submission deadline.
If Garden is a theme that speaks to your practice, we would love to see your work. Submit your artwork to 101 Art Book: Garden Edition by 13th December 2026 and become one of the 101 artists featured in this growing international collection. One theme. 101 artists. A hundred and one different ways of seeing a garden. We cannot wait to discover yours.
