Call for Artists — Nocturnes & Nostalgia

The Art Cellar is seeking work by local Calgary-area artists for a curated exhibition paired with The Bergman Project — an intimate evening of live jazz with vocalist Serafina Martino and pianist Janice Friedman, direct from New York City, performing the songs of Marilyn & Alan Bergman ("The Way We Were," "The Windmills of Your Mind," "What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life?," "How Do You Keep the Music Playing?," "So Many Stars," "Moonlight") alongside timeless jazz standards.

This is a collaboration between sound and image: each painting is chosen to deepen the music, surrounding an audience of 50 guests on opening night. The exhibition then remains on view — and for sale — in the Art Cellar for one month.

The Theme

The Bergmans wrote about memory, longing, romance, and time. We're looking for work with a nighttime, evening feel — romantic, nostalgic, sentimental — in three moods:

Nocturnes — art that lives in low light: moonlit landscapes and starry skies, night cityscapes, rain-slicked streets, lamplit windows, candlelit interiors. (3–4 pieces)

Memory & Nostalgia — remembered moments rather than present ones: soft-focus and impressionistic scenes, faded interiors, old photographs reimagined in paint, empty dance halls, the way we were. (4–5 pieces)

Romance, Movement & Jazz — couples, dancers, embraces; musicians, pianos and instruments, smoky club scenes; abstract work with turning, circling forms in the spirit of "The Windmills of Your Mind." (3–4 pieces)

Work in any medium is welcome.

How to Submit

This is a curated show — all submissions are reviewed, and preference is given to work on theme. Please photograph your artwork and email the images to info@grasbyartstudio.com with:

  • Photos (one clear image of each, straight-on and well lit): title, medium, dimensions, and price
  • A sentence or two on how each piece speaks to the theme
  • Your name, phone number, and website or Instagram if you have one

Email submission deadline: Wednesday, July 29, 2026
Artists notified: Friday, August 1
Drop-off at the studio arranged: Saturday, August 2 – Thursday, August 6
Opening night: Friday, August 7, 6:30 pm · only 50 tickets/seats are available and can be purchased above.

Please wait to hear from us before bringing in work — only accepted pieces can be received at the studio.

All works will be for sale throughout the month-long exhibition; please note the gallery retains a 30% commission on sales.

Teresa Grasby, curator and host
Grasby Art Studio · grasbyartstudio.com · info@grasbyartstudio.com · 403-453-1722