The open call application checklist

A lot of applications get written in the 48 hours before a deadline. The ones that go well are usually assembled from things that already existed. This checklist is in two parts: what to keep ready all year, and what to check before you send each one.

Keep these ready all year

A statement in three lengths

Write your artist statement once, properly, then cut it down:

• 300 words, for calls that want depth
• 150 words, the length most calls ask for
• 50 words, for forms, catalogues and the "short bio" box

Write in the first person, in the present tense, about the work you make now. Say what it is, how you make it and what it is about, in that order. Cut every sentence that could describe anyone's work.

A bio in two lengths

A bio is not a statement. It is facts in the third person: where you are based, what you studied if it is relevant, two or three recent shows, residencies or awards. Keep a 100-word version and a 40-word version.

A CV on one page

One page, newest first: exhibitions, residencies, awards, commissions, education, collections. Leave out anything that is not about your practice. Keep a two-page version for funders who ask for it.

Images, sized and named

Choose 10 to 20 images of recent work. For each one, keep:

• a large file, at least 3,000 pixels on the long edge
• a version at 1,920 pixels and under 2MB, the size most forms accept
• the title, year, medium and dimensions in a single line

Name the files the same way every time, for example "surname_title_year.jpg". Many calls ask for a naming convention, and having one already saves an hour.

Installation views

If your work is shown in space, keep three or four photographs of it installed. Curators and residency panels often want to see how it sits in a room.

A proposal template

For calls that ask what you would do, keep a short template: what you will make, why here, what you need, when. Keep a simple budget alongside it, even a rough one: materials, travel, your time.

On Callboard, all of this lives in Kit. Each call page then shows which items the call asks for and which you already have.

Before you send each one

Run these checks on every application. They take ten minutes and they catch the mistakes that get work set aside unread.

1. Eligibility. Re-read every rule. Age, residency, career stage, student status.
2. Deadline. Time and timezone, and whether it means "sent" or "received".
3. Word limits. Count. Panels notice 400 words in a 300-word box.
4. Image rules. Number, pixel size, file size, format.
5. File names. In their convention, if they have one.
6. The brief. Does your proposal answer the question they asked, or the one you wish they had asked?
7. The tailoring. Change at least the first and last sentences of your statement for this call. Name it.
8. The fee. Paid, and the receipt saved.
9. The confirmation. Wait for it. Screenshot it if there is no email.
10. The record. Note what you sent, when, and when you should hear back.

After you send

Keep a list of everything you applied for, with the date and what happened. After a year it tells you which kinds of call you get, which you never do, and how much you spent on fees. On the board, marking a call as sent puts it in Sent, where you can record the outcome.

Rejection is the normal result, even for strong work. The list is what turns each one into information.

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