WHAT IS DANDYLAND EXXXPO?

A first-time, weekend-long series of events held the last weekend in April in New York City, and ONLINE.

Events Include:
• Erotic Art Exhibition components featuring an International Queer Erotic Art Exhibition and Sale with a Juried Competition, displayed IN-PERSON across two NYC gallery spaces, and ONLINE. Continue reading below for additional information, then follow the links at the top or bottom of this page to apply.

• An Opening Night Reception event at our Soho gallery space.

• Two-Day DANDYLAND Queer Erotic Art & Gift Market, featuring artists and makers with booths selling art, clothing, jewelry, books, gifts, etc.
Your application is NOT for this component of the event. If you would like information about joining the market, and are not currently on our DANDYLAND NYC artist email list, please inquire HERE. Artists must be present in NYC to participate in the market

• Saturday Night Erotic Performance Party featuring queer erotic performers (eg. burlesque, bodypainting, kink demos, gogos, etc.) Possibility of Event TBD.

INFO ABOUT THE EXHIBITION

The gallery component of the event will have two platforms:
1. ONLINE Exhibition and Competition (grand prize $800, plus additional prizes TBD) Open to ALL artists!
2. IN-PERSON Exhibition, Competition (grand prize $1200, plus additional prizes TBD) and Sale. Open to artists who are able to ship or drop-off work to NYC (or digital artists/photographers open to paying for prints, details below).

ALL pieces from both the ONLINE and IN-PERSON shows will be featured in an Exhibition Catalog, which will be available for pre-sale during the event and published afterward. The catalog will highlight pieces receiving recognitions and awards.

HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?
There is NO COST to apply or participate for many artists.
There is NO application fee.
There is NO cost associated with submitting for the ONLINE show.
Potential fees for those participating in the IN-PERSON show include: shipping costs, fee for entry of a NOT FOR SALE work, and printing of digital images for IN-PERSON display. (Please see "IN-PERSON ART SALE DETAILS" below)
Exhibition Catalogs will be available to participating artists at a discount.

WHAT IS THE TIMELINE?
JANUARY 20th - Applications Open
MARCH 1st - Deadline to Apply
MARCH 15th - Accepted Works Announced
APRIL 15th -Final Images or Works MUST be Received by Event Production in NYC
APRIL 25th - Opening Event
APRIL 26th/27th - DANDYLAND EXXXPO WEEKEND
APRIL 27th - Juried Prize Winners Announced

WHO IS INVITED TO SUBMIT?
The event is intended to feature the work of LGBTQ+ artists, however allies are also permitted to apply.

WHAT KIND OF WORK SHOULD BE SUBMITTED?
Artists should submit works on any subject considered Erotic (eliciting sexual desire or excitement), especially depictions of Nudity, Sex, and Sexuality. Anything with a strong message about queer connection, culture, identity, or politics as it relates to sexuality is also encouraged.

All Types of Visual Art (both digital and physical) may be submitted including: Drawing, Painting, Collage, Photography, Sculpture, etc.

Works using AI may be submitted but must be properly labelled, and will be classified separately from other works.

Artists may submit Up to FIVE Pieces of work to be considered, and Image Files MUST Be Properly Labeled according to the naming guidelines (described below and on the Application Page), or artists will be asked to resubmit their application in full.

Outstanding pieces in the following Categories will be recognized, and potentially awarded prizes:
• HUMOR
• SURREALISM
• LOVE
• LUST

• FIGURE
• COLOR
• TECHNIQUE

Artists may apply with images of UNFINISHED works, or concept sketches for pieces IN-PROGRESS, provided they agree the piece will be fully completed to the quality level of their existing portfolio works, and will follow our standard timeline for final submission of the completed piece (Received in NYC by APRIL 15TH). Please include a description and any other relevant info about your piece's completion in the SUBMISSION NOTES portion of the application.

We absolutely encourage and celebrate pushing boundaries in art, however,
Works We Will NOT Accept include:
• Depictions of minors in sexual situations.
• Depictions of humans having sexual interactions with non-humanized animals.

WHAT ART IS LIKELY TO BE ACCEPTED FOR PARTICIPATION?
Qualification for acceptance of individual works will be based on how many artists apply. We would like to accept at least one work from as many artists as possible, but we are limited in display space, so the more artists we have applying, the more qualities like technique, style, originality, and perspective will come into play. Medium or genre of a work may also affect its qualification, for example: we anticipate a high number of standard nude figure drawings to be submitted, so that genre will be more competitive, whereas there are likely to be a lower number of three-dimensional works, so sculptural pieces may have a higher chance of being accepted.

Art completed during or after the year 2020 may be more likely to be accepted if the applicant pool is large. Exceptional works created before then may still qualify, but we prefer to exhibit a survey of work that is as contemporary as possible.

We plan to feature works by local artists, so those artists in the New York City Area are very likely to have at least one piece accepted, if they meet the show’s standards of quality.

The EXXXPO is fully inclusive of ALL queer erotic artists. We invite and highly encourage artists depicting femme/female eroticism to apply, and will give special consideration for acceptance of such works. Please be aware that our applicant pool may lean in the direction of masc/male eroticism, and if that is the case, our final overall selection of accepted works is likely to reflect that. Any eligibility for show-wide recognition or awards will be based strictly on artistic merit. The competition judges will neither elevate nor disregard works of art specifically based on their inclusion or exclusion of masc/femme representation.

WHERE IS THE EVENT HAPPENING?
• ONLINE: www.dandyland.art (the website you are currently on).
• IN-PERSON:
1) Soho Project Space, a well-established underground SoHo gallery devoted to gay erotic exhibitions.
2) A pop-up gallery in the basement of Boxers HK, a gay bar and event space in Hell's Kitchen.

WHO IS ORGANIZING?
DANDYLAND.ART is the primary organizer of this event, and it's founder, Patrick McNaughton, is the Senior Event Producer and Curator.

WHO IS JUDGING?
A small group of NYC-based artists and art professionals, to be Announced MARCH 15TH, along with notifications regarding what pieces have been accepted into the EXXXPO, as well as the official judging rubrick.

IN-PERSON ART SALE DETAILS:
• Sale Prices for IN-PERSON pieces will be negotiated between the ARTIST and DANDYLAND.ART after acceptance into the EXXXPO. The EXXXPO will retain 25% of Sale Price for All Works (this figure has been updated from our original numbers). If a fair sale price cannot be negotiated, ARTIST has the option to enter the piece NOT FOR SALE (fees apply, see below).

• Artists may submit pieces that are NOT FOR SALE to the IN-PERSON exhibition, and will be eligible for IN-PERSON competition awards and prizes, but a handling/display fee may be incurred. ($10 for small pieces 8"x10"[80"sq.] or smaller, $20 for medium pieces up to 16"x20"[320"sq.], and $30 for anything larger.)

• ALL Shipping Costs related to submitting physical work to the IN-PERSON show (including shipping insurance) are the responsibility of the ARTIST. If your art piece is NOT FOR SALE or does not sell, ARTIST will be responsible for paying DANDYLAND.ART for the cost of return shipping BEFORE the art will be shipped back. Payment will be accepted through Venmo, Zelle, or Paypal.

• Please allow up to TWO WEEKS after the EXXXPO for art to be return shipped.

• All art will be displayed and sold as received. Paper and board will be directly mounted to the wall and framed canvases will be hung. We do not provide frames. 

• If you would like a Digital Piece to be displayed in the IN-PERSON Show, and do not have a copy to ship us, we are happy to have the piece Printed Through Our Printing Service (NSFW permitted) at the cost of printing and shipping, plus a $10 shipping/handling fee. (Example: Actual price is $11 for 8"x10" SUPERIOR QUALITY giclee fine-art print on archival paper, and $38 for 16"x20" [not including tax]) Digital pieces shown IN-PERSON are eligible to receive recognition and awards, and can be Part of the Sale in an Edition Maximum of 5 for the event (Editions 2-5 will be mailed to patrons from the printer directly, or left unprinted if not sold). Artist retains full printing rights and may print unlimited additional editions outside of the event as desired. Paper will be directly mounted to wall unframed for show display, unless otherwise arranged.

• Any pieces accepted for IN-PERSON exhibition must be RECEIVED through shipment or drop-off to NYC, ON OR BEFORE APRIL 15TH, 2025. Shipping address and drop-off locations and dates will be provided to qualifying artists.

FILE SUBMISSION DETAILS:
(repeated on the Artist Application page)
• You may submit a maximum of FIVE pieces for consideration.
• Upload only one LOW/MEDIUM RESOLUTION image for each submission, under 10MB per image. DO NOT SUBMIT HIGH/FULL-RESOLUTION IMAGES AT THIS TIME.
• You will be asked to RE-SUBMIT higher resolution images if your submission is accepted.
• If you are submitting a concept sketch for a piece you intend to finish, or any other work-in-progress, please identify by putting the word "UNFINISHED" in all caps at the end of the file name (see example below).

ALL IMAGE FILES MUST BE NAMED IN THE FOLLOWING FORMAT FOR SUBMISSION:

   ArtistName_PieceTitle_Year_Size_MediaCode_ONLINEorALL_PRINTorORIG_UNFINISHED.jpg

We understand these are complicated file names, but it is extremely important for keeping organized on our end, and your assistance keeps the application process FREE for artists. Thank you for your help.

• ArtistName - Artist name as listed on your application.
• PieceTitle - Title of your piece. If your piece does not have a title, use "Untitled."
• Year - Year the piece was completed.
• Size - Measurements of Length and Width (and Height for 3D work) followed by unit type ("cm" for centimeters or "in" for inches) eg. "11x17in" or "32.5x60x20cm" Please use decimals instead of fractions.
• Media Code - Original medium of the piece, eg. painting, drawing, etc. (see MEDIA CODE KEY below).
• ONLINEorALL - Are you submitting this piece for the ONLINE only (ONLINE) or both the IN-PERSON and ONLINE exhibitions (ALL)?
• ORIGorPRINT - Is the piece you are submitting an original or a print? This is for files being submitted for the IN-PERSON show ONLY. For all digital files, write PRINT.
• UNFINISHED - Only include if the image is a concept sketch or a piece in-progress you are intending to complete before final submission.

MEDIA CODES:
XDP - Digital Photograph
XDG - Digital Drawing or Painting
XDC - Digital Collage
XPP - Physical Photograph
XPD - Physical Drawing
XPA - Physical Painting
XPC - Physical Collage
X3D - Physical Sculpture or 3D Work
XAI - "AI" Program used for ANY part of final piece, physical or digital.

Any files not submitted in this file-naming format will NOT be considered eligible for submission. Artists not cooperating will be asked to fully resubmit their applications.

Examples:
   RobertMapplethorpe_Untitled_1976_31x22.5cm_XPP_ALL_PRINT.jpg
   KeithHaring_RadiantBaby_1990_20x25in_XDR_ONLINE.png
   PatrickMcNaughton_SuckMyHairyBalls_2025_24x36x12in_X3D_ALL_ORIG_UNFINISHED.tiff

PNG, JPG, TIFF, or HEIC files ONLY please!!!

If you have any additional questions, please reach out to our Senior Event Producer Patrick McNaughton.