Official Rules
THIS IS NOT A GAME OF CHANCE. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.
1. Entry Period.
Entries in the Texture and Shape Juried Art Exhibition (the "Exhibition") must be submitted between 12:01 a.m. CET on September 14, 2026, and 10:59 p.m. CET on November 30, 2026.
2. Eligibility.
Entrants must be at least 18 years of age or older. Entries can be submitted by entrants of the age of majority in their jurisdiction of residence who are legal residents of the United States, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, or the European Union.
3. How to Enter.
Enter as often as you like. Entries must be submitted as JPG (or PNG) digital files online at https://upwardgallery.com during the Entry Period. Files must be less than 10 MB. Images must be between 800x800 and 2000x2000 pixels.
Entry fees are due after the works are accepted by the Sponsor's moderator. Your record of the credit card will be your receipt.
4. Additional Requirements for Entries.
The Exhibition is open to all artists working in all traditional art media (e.g., oil, watercolor, acrylic, pastel, mixed media, gouache, egg tempera, pen and ink; drawing media such as graphite, charcoal, colored pencils, scratch board, markers, metal point), digital painting, arts and crafts (beadwork, pottery, embroidery, floristry, batik, stained glass, two-dimensional collage and fabric art as well, etc.).
All works must be original. "Original" means that the work must be from the hand of a single artist; pieces that originate from a workshop or a class under the direction of a teacher are eligible too. For works based on reference photographs, eligibility requires that the artist must have taken the photographs or have obtained written permission from the photographer to create the work and to enter it in the Exhibition.
By entering, you represent and warrant that your entry is your original work, that your entry does not infringe the rights of any third party, and that you have all the rights necessary to submit the entry and to assign the rights in the entry.
Works deemed unsuitable for publication or that do not meet above criteria, in the sole discretion of Sponsor, are not eligible.
No profanity or political artwork.
5. Limited Grant of Rights.
By entering, you grant to Sponsor, its licensees and designees, the worldwide, irrevocable, perpetual, royalty-free right to use the entry on Sponsor's websites and in ads promoting future Exhibitions, without further permission, compensation, or notification. You waive any right to inspect or approve the manner in which the entry is used in connection with these purposes, including without limitation editing, cropping, or overlaying the image with text. You further agree that Sponsor shall have the right, but not the obligation, to use your name and/or photograph for the same purposes.
Additionally, by accepting the 1st place prize, the winner grants Sponsor a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free right to reproduce, reformat, and use the winning entry — including on the cover, in the interior layout, and in any promotional materials — of the special publication described in Section 8, and to print, publish, and distribute the special publication in digital form. This license is non-exclusive: the winner retains full rights to reproduce, publish, license, and sell the same work through any other channel. This grant is in addition to, and not in place of, the rights granted above in this Section 5.
6. Judging and Notification.
There will be three (3) Winners in total for each media and age category. Limit one (1) prize per entrant. All eligible entries will be judged by jury members, using the following criteria:
- Artistic technique
- Handling of medium
- Design and creative elements
- Overall impression/impact
The works will be judged by the jury depending on the age category.
Ages categories are as follows:
- Artists: Ages 22+
- Artists: Ages 18-21.
Winners announcement: December 8, 2026 (on the Exhibition page at website https://upwardgallery.com). Winners will be notified within thirty (30) days of the close of the Entry Period, by email too.
7. Fees.
The amount of entry fees depends on the way in which you apply for the Exhibition.
When registering on the UPWARD Gallery website
The entry fee for participation in the Exhibition of one competitive work is $20.
Each additional artwork (up to a maximum of four artworks per entrant per Exhibition) is $10. For example, an order of three artworks totals $40.
Entries are limited to four (4) artworks per entrant per Exhibition. Additional submissions beyond the fourth will not be accepted for moderation.
Entry fees are non-refundable.
Without registering on the UPWARD Gallery website
Entry fees: $36 for 1-2 artworks; $64 for 3-4 artworks.
The price is fixed. That is, for example, if you place one or two entries, the payment amount will be $36 in any case. In the same way the amount of payment for the number of works from 3 to 4 is calculated.
Entries are limited to four (4) artworks per entrant per Exhibition. Additional submissions beyond the fourth will not be accepted for moderation.
Entry fees are non-refundable.
8. Prizes and Awards.
The 1st place winner in each category will be interviewed by the UPWARD Gallery editors, with the interview published on the Exhibition website in the Interviews section, along with the winner's digital certificate.
As an additional option, subject to the winner having a sufficient body of available work (typically at least 20 pieces) to fill the publication, the 1st place winner may request a dedicated UPWARD's Special Edition publication featuring exclusively their work, provided at no cost, delivered as a high-resolution digital PDF, in accordance with the standard specifications described at upwardgallery.com/ad/se-terms. This option does not include printed copies; printed copies, if desired, may be ordered separately by the winner at the standard rates described on that page. Approximate Retail Value (ARV) of this option: $49. No cash or other substitution will be offered, except at Sponsor's sole discretion.
This option is entirely optional and is offered in addition to, not instead of, the interview and certificate described above. Winners who do not have a sufficient body of work for this option, or who choose not to request it, are not offered a substitute, and this does not affect their other prizes.
If the winner accepts the special publication prize, UPWARD Gallery will request, within 30 calendar days of the winner announcement, the following additional information not collected at the time of entry: full name, contact information (website, email, social media profile links), a short biography, location, and an artist's statement, together with high-resolution photographs of the winner and their work. This information is collected solely for the purpose of preparing the special publication and, upon the winner's consent under Section 12, may be included in the published edition.
Certificates: all entrants will receive digital certificates based on the results of the Exhibition. The winners will receive digital certificates for the 1st place, 2nd place, and 3rd place. Also, the most deserving works will be marked with digital certificates Merit Awards, Honorable Mention Awards, and Finalist. Other entrants will receive digital certificates for participation in the Exhibition.
9. Odds.
Odds of winning depend on the number and quality of eligible entries. Sponsor cannot predict the number or quality of entries.
10. General Conditions.
Void where prohibited. Any entrant suspected of tampering with or disrupting any aspect of the Exhibition will be disqualified. All decisions of Sponsor are final. By your participation in the Exhibition, you (i) agree to be bound by these Official Rules, (ii) agree to release, indemnify, and hold Sponsor, their affiliates, parents, subsidiaries, and divisions, and all of their officers, directors, employees, and agents harmless from any and all claims, liabilities, losses, and damages of any kind arising in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, from your participation in the Exhibition, from Sponsor's use of your entry, or from your acceptance, possession, use, or misuse of any Prize, and (iii) agree that any dispute or claim will be resolved individually and without resort to class action.
11. Limitation of Liability.
SPONSOR MAKES NO WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR NONINFRINGEMENT WITH RESPECT TO THE PRIZES. SOME JURISDICTIONS MAY NOT PERMIT LIMITATIONS OR EXCLUSION OF LIABILITY FOR INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OR EXCLUSION OF IMPLIED WARRANTIES. CHECK YOUR LOCAL LAWS TO DETERMINE IF ANY OF THE ABOVE LIMITATIONS OR EXCLUSIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. Sponsor is not responsible for late, lost, misdirected, or unintelligible entries, including entries not received because of interrupted or unavailable network servers, failed communications networks or equipment, computer hardware or software, or other errors or malfunctions whether human, mechanical, or electronic. Should Sponsor, in its sole discretion, determine that the Exhibition has been compromised by virus, bugs, hackers, or other causes beyond its control, Sponsor reserves the right to terminate or revise the Exhibition and choose the Winner in a fair and reasonable manner from among all eligible entries submitted prior to termination.
12. Privacy.
With the exception of the Winner's alias, year of birth, city, and country, information collected by Sponsor solely in connection with the Exhibition will not be shared with third parties.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, the 1st place winner agrees that their full name, biography, and contact information (as provided by the winner for the purpose described in Section 8) may be included in the special publication described in Section 8, and consents to such publication as a condition of accepting that portion of the prize. Declining to provide this information, or declining this consent, is treated as declining the special publication prize under Section 8, without affecting the winner's other prizes.
13. Sponsor.
The Sponsor of the Exhibition is UPWARD gallery.
Guidelines
When registering on the UPWARD Gallery website
- You will need to create a free account on the UPWARD gallery (https://upwardgallery.com) credentials in order to submit an entry.
- Entries can be sent from your Dashboard on the UPWARD gallery. To do this, you need to go to the My Artworks section, and then click on the Add entry link (https://upwardgallery.com/node/add/entry). Or simply click on the blue icon (+) located at the top right of each page of the site after you log in.
- Fill out the Entry Form completely. This information will be reproduced in award certificates exactly as submitted. Fields marked with an asterisk (*) are required. Upload a single digital image.
- Once you have submitted your entry you will be redirected on the page Entries (Cart) in the Dashboard. This page shows a list of entries waiting for moderation. Usually the moderation process takes up to 2 days. Without waiting for the result of moderation, you may submit another entry, up to the four-artwork limit described in Section 7.
- When your works in the Entries (Cart) section are approved by the moderator (they will be marked with a green bar), the Checkout button will become available to you and you will be able to pay the entry fee. We accept payment via PayPal.
Please note, the discount for additional artworks applies within a single order and per Exhibition. The number of works in the order is not summed up with previously placed and paid works in the Exhibition, and is subject to the four-artwork limit described in Section 7.
- After summing up the results of the Exhibition, you can download a digital certificate in PDF format in the section My Artworks (links near each work).
If you are the 1st place winner and accept the special publication prize, UPWARD Gallery will contact you separately, within 30 calendar days of the winner announcement, to collect the additional information described in Section 8 and to guide you through the process described at upwardgallery.com/ad/se-terms.
Without registering on the UPWARD Gallery website
To participate in the Exhibition without registering on the site, applicants must send a form with information about themselves and the works submitted for the Exhibition. The number of artworks per entry is limited to four (4). A form to fill out is available at: https://upwardgallery.com/submit-entry
The gallery moderators will look at the submitted works and will send a link to the applicant's email to pay the entry fee. After the gallery receives the entry fee payment, the artist's personal page on the website will be created within 1-2 working days, the approved works will be published, and after the jury summarizes the results of the Exhibition, digital certificates will be sent to the applicant's email.
If you experience any difficulties submitting an entry form please contact info@upwardgallery.com.