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Ernie Barnes, Homecoming, 1994; courtesy the Estate of Ernie Barnes, Ortuzar Projects, New York, and Andrew Kreps Gallery, New York; ©️ Ernie Barnes
Open Call

Open Call: Bay Area Sports Fan Art

Related Exhibition Get in the Game: Sports, Art, Culture

Sunday, Sept 1, 2024

10 a.m.–4 p.m.

Floor 2, Koret Education Center

Free museum admission for you and a guest if you arrive with fan artwork.

Does your love for a Bay Area sports team overlap with your personal art practice?

In conjunction with the upcoming exhibition Get in the Game: Sports, Art, Culture, SFMOMA seeks original fan-made artworks that reflect on, reimagine, and celebrate the people and culture of Bay Area sports. On September 1, 2024, from 10 a.m.–3 p.m. we invite artists to bring in an artwork to share during a one-day display in SFMOMA’s Koret Education Center. Youth artists: we especially hope to see your work!

Juried selection: At 3 p.m. that day, as part of a juried process artist David Huffman will select up to fifteen works as finalists for possible presentation in Steps Coffee, on Floor 2, from October 2024 to February 2025.

Please note: Works not selected as finalists must be picked up by artists between 4–5 p.m. on September 1, 2024. SFMOMA is unable to hold works or return them after 5 p.m. on September 1, 2024.

How to Participate

Upon arriving at the museum on September 1, 2024, please show your artwork (we ask that you bring only one artwork per person) to museum staff in the Koret Education Center on Floor 2. They will provide you with two complimentary admissions to SFMOMA for the day.

When you drop off your artwork, you will be asked to complete an intake form. You can also complete your intake form beforehand online. All participants will need to check in on the day of the event. Please also ensure that you read all of the guidelines on this page (including in the drop-down menus below) prior to participating.

Artwork Guidelines

We seek works that celebrate the love of a game, sport, or team and are meant to be enjoyed and inspire viewers of all ages. We ask that works be original works by the submitting artist. Artists must create the works by hand, the work must be original work of authorship of the artist, and they may not be AI generated.

Below are the required size parameters to best fit the presentation space of Steps Coffee. Note: we are unable to display larger artworks due to space constraints.

2D Works:
Maximum dimensions: 28 x 17 inches

3D Works:
Maximum dimensions: 12–15 in. height x 2 in. depth x 24 in. width

Video and digital photos:
Selected video works will be presented on a 109-inch monitor with no sound output. Suggested runtime for video is under three minutes. For the September 1 event, video works will be shown using a basic laptop; we suggest file sizes of under 300mb and .mov format if possible.

We are unable to accept or display multimedia works, interactives, or video games.

To further ensure that the artworks may be enjoyed by all audiences, and to ensure a welcoming and inclusive experience for all visitors, all works must comply with the museum’s anti-discrimination and anti-harassment policies.

Additional Important Details

Please read all details below if you plan to participate in the fan art Open Call on September 1, 2024.

One-Day Artwork Display in Koret Education Center on September 1

Guidelines for September 1, 2024 — One-Day Display (September 1 “Fan-Made Art Event”)

Due to space constraints, we are unable to accept works that are larger than outlined and ask you only bring one artwork.

After intake, works will be displayed informally on September 1 from 10–4 p.m. on tables, shelves, or attached to a white board with magnets for fellow artists and visitors to peruse. Videos will be added to a looping playlist shown on one screen. Please note we cannot guarantee proper playback of all video files.

Please note that all artworks shared during the September 1 Fan-Made Art Event, and any subsequently selected through the juried process for display in Steps Coffee, are displayed at the exhibitors’ own risk. Because Koret Education Center and Steps Cafe are public spaces, the exhibition areas are not insured for damage or loss to artworks, and SFMOMA is not responsible for such damage or loss.

If interest surpasses capacity, we cannot guarantee space to display all fan art brought on September 1. If we are unable to display your work and you would like it to be considered by our juror for possible display in Steps Coffee, subject to space availability, we will store the work in a safe, private location that the juror will visit on that date.

Juror Selection and Steps Coffee Display October 2024–February 2025

At 3 p.m. on September 1, Juror David Huffman will begin selecting finalists for potential inclusion in the Steps Coffee presentation.

Artworks will be reviewed and selected from the Fan-Made Art Event submissions and in SFMOMA’s sole discretion, for subsequent exhibition in SFMOMA’s Steps Coffee.

Artworks are pre-screened and evaluated by the SFMOMA juried process based on artistic merit, originality, and treatment of subject matter.

All submissions must comply with the Artwork Submission guidelines outlined above.

As noted above, all selected artworks are displayed at the exhibitors’ own risk. Because Steps Coffee is public cafe space, the exhibition areas are not insured for damage or loss to artworks, and SFMOMA is not responsible for such damage or loss.

Selected artworks shall be on view in Steps Coffee for up to 18 weeks. SFMOMA reserves the right to modify display locations and periods in its sole discretion.

A small subset of finalists will undergo an additional round of juried review.

Not all finalists’ works will be displayed at Steps Coffee. Finalists’ artwork not selected for presentation must be picked up by artists by October 1, 2024.

Artwork Return Policy

Works not selected as finalists for possible display at Steps Coffee must be picked up by artists between 4–5 p.m. on September 1, 2024. SFMOMA is unable to hold works or return them after 5 p.m. on September 1, 2024.

Not all finalists’ works will be displayed at Steps Coffee. Finalists’ artwork not selected for presentation must be picked up by artists by October 1, 2024.

Selected exhibitors will be notified of the appropriate pick-up date and return process following the close of the Steps Coffee exhibition.

Any artwork remaining on site beyond the designated pick-up period will be treated as unclaimed property under SFMOMA’s lost and found policies.

Voluntary Participation and Permission for SFMOMA to Use Works

Submission and participation are entirely voluntary, and no compensation will be provided to participants, including those whose works are selected for exhibition in Steps Coffee.

As a condition of participation in the event and the juried process, participants grant SFMOMA a worldwide, perpetual, non-exclusive, royalty-free, and irrevocable license to use their name, image, likeness, and also to copy, print, display, distribute, incorporate, or otherwise use the submitted artwork(s) in its discretion, in whole or in part, in any and all media now known or hereafter devised, for archival, educational, promotional, marketing, website, social media, and/or any other charitable museum purposes as determined by SFMOMA.

About the Juror

David Huffman (b. 1963, Berkeley, CA) has work in the collections of SFMOMA, San Francisco; LACMA, Los Angeles; Berkeley Art Museum, CA; Studio Museum, Harlem; Minneapolis Institute of Art, MN; Denver Art Museum, CO; Oakland Museum of California; Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, CA; San José Museum of Art, CA; Palo Alto Art Center, CA; Birmingham Museum of Art, AL; Frederick R. Weisman Art Museum, Los Angeles, CA; ASU Art Museum, Tempe, AZ; Lodeveans Collection, London; and the Embassy of the United States of America, Dakar, Senegal, among others. Huffman enjoyed a recent solo exhibition at the Museum of the African Diaspora, San Francisco. He is the recipient of numerous awards and residencies across his career. Huffman lives and works in Oakland, CA, and teaches at California College of the Arts. Huffman is represented by Jessica Silverman, San Francisco, and Casey Kaplan, New York.