When will I hear if my art was selected?

Artist notifications were emailed on February 27. If you did not receive an email regarding your status, please contact us immediately at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Where do I ship or deliver my art works and store items?

Shipping and delivery instructions will be emailed to participating artists; if you have not received your instructions by April 1, 2010, please email us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Note that we change the shipping location each year. Do not ship art to us if your work was not selected. Do not ship art to the Seattle Center as we only rent the space for a week and do not receive mail there.

I will not be attending the Festival, can I give my artist pass to someone else or get a refund?

All artists who pay their submission fee through BrownPaperTickets will receive a complimentary one-day pass for any day of the Festival. Passes are a thank-you for your submission; they are not transferable and have no cash value. Artist passes are only valid for the submitting artist; you may not give them to your friends or associates. A photo ID will be required at the door for admission.

Can I purchase passes for my friends through BrownPaperTickets?

Passes and tickets for the general public will be available for sale at BrownPaperTickets.com in February. If your friends would like to get involved (and get free tickets) we are always looking for volunteers. A full list of volunteer positions is available at www.SeattleErotic.org

What does “publish in promotional materials” mean?

Promotional materials include the Festival website, posters, postcards, t-shirts, advertisements, programs, etc. We recognize that not everyone wants all information published, therefore we have given you the option of providing permissions to publish information regarding your website, email address, street address, telephone number, and individual images. We only publish this information for participating artists and do not necessarily publish all of the information we request.

If you do not give us permission to publish your information, we cannot assist patrons in contacting you if they are interested in your art. Similarly, we will not publish your images on the Festival website or in any catalog or catalog-substitute if you deny permission for image publication.

I forgot to document (photograph) my work before I sent it, can I get it back?

It is important to make sure you document your work, including taking high-quality photographs, for your portfolio before you ship or deliver it to us, especially it is a one-of-a-kind. If it does not sell and you have completed your shipping or pick-up information, your work will be returned to you once the festival is over. Work that is sold will be given or mailed to the purchaser at the end of the Festival. We will not return artist work that has been sold.

May I contact the person who purchased my work?

Art patrons and collectors may not wish to be contacted after the sale. It is the Festival policy not to give out patron contact information unless requested by the patron.

Where and when do I drop off my art?

Artists who are selected to exhibit at the Festival will be notified of drop off date and place. If you have not completed the submission process or have not been selected to exhibit at the Festival (selected artists will receive a confirmation email), do not bring or mail your art in hopes of having it included in the Exhibition or Store.

What do the jurors look for when they select the Exhibition Art?

Art submissions are judged on originality, depth of emotion, quality of execution, and quality of presentation/digital images. Erotic is a subjective term and may mean different things to different people. To help reduce the subjectiveness of this term, multiple jurors of different backgrounds are selected to judge the art. Additionally, an entirely new jury is selected every year.

In order to keep the jury process impartial, all artwork is selected by a blind jury. This means that the jury is not given names, artist bios, websites, or other identifying information about the artists. This is also why any images with watermarks must be rejected.

I cannot attend the Festival, may I still submit art?

Attendance of the Festival is not mandatory for submission. All artists who submit art will receive a complementary one-day pass to the Festival and are welcome to attend.

Will you ask for model age certification?

Yes, by law, we must confirm that all models whose images are displayed in the Festival gave consent to be photographed and were at least 18 years old when photographed. This applies to photographic images (digital and film) and video/DVD art. It also applies to any mixed media art that contains photographic images of people.

In order for works to be displayed in the Festival, we will require a declaration form, which will be available once jury notifications are sent. On the form, you will certify that you have personally verified age by witnessing documentation such as a driver's license with photo, that the model was over 18 years old at the time the image was taken, and that you have collected and maintained individually identifiable records for each model. Those records must contain the models' names, dates of birth, stage names, and any other names they have ever performed or modeled under.

For the purposes of information collection, we ask that you verify that you have this information on file for applicable works. This certification is necessary regardless of the apparent age, identifiability, or the completeness of the image of the model(s).

Why can’t I log in?

A couple of things can prevent you from being able to log in or from being able to complete the entry form. Most importantly, your browser must be set up to accept cookies. Depending upon which browser you are using, this is often found under Tools > Internet Options > Privacy.

Your password is case-sensitive. Make sure that your caps lock is not on and that you are capitalizing your password exactly as you did when you registered. If you do not remember your account name or password, you can request that they be sent to the email address you used to register. This feature is below the login form on the main page.

I am submitting 3D art and I would like to include some detail images. How do I do this?

At this time, our system does not accept more than one image per piece. If you would like the jury to review details of your work, please upload one full image here and then email no more than 3 detail images per piece, with the necessary information, to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

I have registered, uploaded my art and paid my fee. Will I received confirmation that my submission is complete?

We intend to send emails to everyone who registered via this Artist Portal to confirm that your submission is complete or to determine your status if you did not complete the process. That said, if you wait until the last week to upload your work, we may not have time to email your confirmation as we will be busy preparing for the jury review. You will receive an auto-confirmation that you paid your fee via BrownPaperTickets as it is a separate website.

Why can't I upload my image?

We request that images be in JPG format, and be between 2MB and 10MB in size (in pixels, please nothing less than 1000x1000). Low resolution images will be fuzzy and will not give our jury a fair sense of your work.

Although we request that you submit high resolution images, your upload may be slow or fail entirely if your image file is beyond 10MB. If you encounter problems, please check the size of your file. If you are still unsure how to proceed, please email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

How do I review or edit my entries?

Once you sign on, click the "Submit/Edit Art" link. On that page, you can upload more artwork by selecting the Add Submission tab (up to 5 pieces) or edit pieces you have already submitted. Once you have uploaded an image, however, it may not be changed. If you wish to change the image, or submit a different piece, you must delete your entry and create a new one. If you edit a piece be sure to hit the SAVE icon to register your changes.

When you upload your images they are automatically resized into the thumbnails you see when you visit art submission page. Also, the dimensions are stored automatically so that the images you and the jury see have the correct proportions.

Why do you ask for a legal name?

Your legal name strictly for our records and for payment if you sell art works or store items. If you prefer to use a professional name, this will be used for any public purposes (name tags, catalog, website, etc).

What is expected for my bio/artistic statement?

People will want to know more about you, the artist. What inspires you, something you’d like the viewer to know about your work. What would you like them to think about as they view your art?

Statements are limited to 250 characterss—about 3 sentences, written in the third person. If you decide to use a pseudonym, do not forget to use it instead of your legal name and do not include your hometown or other identifying information.

Artist bios will not be available to the jury until after selections have been finalized.

All bios will be edited for grammatical correctness and length.

Why is my email required?

NOTE: Your registration is not complete until you receive and acknowledge the email confirmation you will be sent to the email address you give us when you fill out the registration form.

The Seattle Erotic Art Festival's primary method of communication with artists is via email. Entry updates and jury notifications will be sent by email. Because this is a critical method of communication, it is important that the correct email address be on file; a small typo could keep you from getting your notification letter. Also, to prevent missing these important communications, make sure that seafartist.com, sexpositiveculture.org, and seattleerotic.org are allowed by any spam filter you may have in place. 

What do you mean by “representation information?”

If you are represented by a gallery or have an art agent who is our contact for the Festival, then please fill out this information. If you represent yourself or show in multiple galleries, leave this information blank.

What is an edition?

Each identical replica of an original piece of art is called an edition. This can be a photograph, print, sculpture, or even a photograph of a piece of work. Editions are typically numbered so that the buyer knows how many pieces there are of the work and what number they own (for example: 3 of 10). Generally, the greater number of editions, the less valuable the work. An open edition is one in which the total number of editions to be created has not been preset; an open edition can be numbered, but does not need to be. Cards, posters, even works of a different size are not considered part of the edition.

How do I price my work?

This is dependent upon many factors, including the cost of your materials, the value of your time, your reputation as an artist, and others. Here are some websites that might be helpful:

http://www.studionotes.org/16/pricing.html
http://www.vsarts.org/x652.xml
http://www2.evansville.edu/studiochalkboard/r-pricing.html

Be sure to include the cost of framing or other installation preparation in the price.

Do I need to enter a value if my works are not for sale?

Yes, patrons frequently ask about the value of the work even if it is not for sale.

Do you accept transparency slides?

We do not accept transparency slides. In the past we have accepted transparency slides, which were scanned and converted to digital images for jury review. Due to the volume of entries, we are no longer able to offer this service.

How can I make sure that I get credit for my submission fee?

Submission fees are collected through BrownPaperTickets and are entered by hand into the entry form system. We must be able to match your name and email as entered in the BrownPaperTickets system to your name and email as entered into our system. Make sure that you check the box that says "Allow this event's promoter to contact me regarding this and future events" when you are making your payment. If you have someone else pay your fee, they must email us with their complete name, receipt number, and your full name and email address. It may take several days for your entry fee to be credited.

I am entering more than one piece, what is my submission fee?

The fee is required for submitting artists from the US and Canada only. If you are from another country, you do not need to pay a submission fee.

The submission fee is $15 (US dollars). Each artist may enter up to 5 (five) works of art for the exhibition. The submission fee is $15 regardless of the number of pieces submitted.

I am an international artist, how do I pay my entry fee?

Only US and Canadian artists are required to pay the entry fee. Fees will be waived for all other international artists.

Can I add more works of art once I have completed my entry?

If you did not initially submit 5 works of art, and would like to add more, return to www.SEAFArtist.com and login with your username and password. Click the "Submit Art" link and add more, until the submission deadline. Once the submission deadline has been reached, the "Submit Art" link will be disabled and editing will not be possible. Do not start over. Once you have logged in, you will have the option to review and edit your entry. This includes adding additional works (up to 5 total). You do not need to pay a second submission fee.

I did not finish my entry, can I finish at a later time or will my account be deleted?

Your account will not be deleted. You may continue your entry by logging in using your username and password. When you log in, you will be able to see your entry status. Links for reviewing and completing your entry will be available. The deadline for completing your entry is January 30, 2010.

Who do I contact if I have questions that are not answered here?

Please email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it for all other questions or concerns and your email will be forwarded to the appropriate person.