Being Scene is open to Workman Arts members and individuals who have accessed CAMH services at any point in their lives. If you have not received services from CAMH and are not a member but are interested in becoming one, you can find out more information on how to here.

November: Call for submissions opens 

February: Jury results 

End of March: Artwork drop-off//installation

Early April: The exhibition opens

Important Note: Things like installation and exhibition opening dates change each year,  this is a high level and approximate timeline. Specific deadlines will be shared with accepted artists.

The art you submit can be about anything and does not have to relate to mental health. Additionally, you can submit any type of visual art. For example, painting, drawing, photography, printmaking, sculpture, video, digital media, etc. ​​Artwork must be original and created by the artist submitting. They must also have not been displayed previously in Being Scene (Juried or Curated exhibitions). We encourage submitting recently produced artworks, however, exceptions can be made to accommodate artists who witnessed a period of inactivity in their artistic practice.

The cost to submit is free. If selected by the jury you will be paid a small artist fee for letting us show your work. The amount will be in line with the CARFAC recommended fee schedule.

The jury changes each year but does consist of people who are active in the local art scene. That can be local artists and arts professionals with experience in exhibiting and curating visual arts.

Up to 5 individual artworks. If you want to submit one larger series of artworks, submit at least one image that shows them all together. Works that must be exhibited together (ie. a triptych) counts as 1 artwork. It is up to the jury to decide how many artworks will be selected for the exhibition. Submitting all 5 artworks doesn’t guarantee that all of them will be selected, but offers the jury a broader thematic selection and greater understanding of your artistic practice. 

We accept both large and small artworks. To give yourself the best chance, submit both large and small works. Keep in mind that the exhibition space may limit the selection of larger series.

Yes. You can have your artwork listed for sale during Being Scene. Also, if you are a member in good standing at Workman Arts, you will be able to have your artwork available in the Workman Arts online store for a year (until the next Being Scene). Also at Workman Arts 100% of the artist’s sale price will go to the artist. Please note that a 20% administrative fee will be added to the original price you set in the artist contract.

If you are selected to exhibit and have accessibility needs we can arrange pick up and delivery of your artwork locally. If your artwork will require framing, you have to provide specs of the frame and cost estimate. We are able to cover some of the framing costs based on needs and by approval.

Our budget has a small amount of money to help people exhibit their art. We divide our exhibition assistance money among everyone equally. The number of people we show each year varies therefore the amount we can assist varies. If the jury accepts your submission to be exhibited you will be notified of the amount of extra cost assistance we can provide.

Additionally, there is the Ontario Arts Council Exhibition Grant  which you can apply to if selected to exhibit. Workman Arts is a recommender of this grant and can be selected for the Being Scene exhibition.

We do need your legal name for payment purposes but that name does not need to be posted anywhere. We can simply make public the artwork name, size, year, material and author alias/artist name.

If selected for the show, we pay people by EFT deposits (electronic funds transfer “Direct deposit” i.e.: bank to bank) but can pay by paper cheque if direct deposit is not possible.

Yes, you can access documentation of past exhibitions and catalogues on Being Scene Archive page. 

You will still have to apply to become a member. You can find more information on becoming a member here.

The artist bio and statement is basically writing about yourself and your artistic practice, concepts and themes you usually work with. This is to help jurors know more about you and your work, and is an important part of evaluating applications. 

We can give you access to workshop slides on how to write your bio and statement, please contact the Visual Arts Manager or Coordinator to request access.

Please contact the Visual Arts Manager or Coordinator with any questions you may have regarding submissions. Please see here for a recording of our most recent information session on submissions (January 7, 2026).