Imagine this: You open your inbox and find an email saying you’ve been accepted into an exhibition. Exciting, right?
But there’s one problem. You can’t remember which exhibition this is, what artworks you submitted, or what you agreed to in your application.
If you apply to several open calls, this can happen more easily than you think.
Why keeping track of your open calls matters
When you apply to an open call, you usually share more than just your name and contact details. You select artworks, write about your practice, and sometimes agree to specific requirements.
Then weeks or even months pass before you hear back.
And when organizers finally reply, they might not include the original open call details. Sometimes, it’s not even clear which exhibition they’re talking about.
If you haven’t saved your application, you might have to search through old emails and files just to figure out what you submitted.
That’s why keeping track of your applications is just as important as sending them.
What should you keep track of?
You don’t need a complicated system. Just make sure you save a few important details for every open call:
- The open call name and organizer: So you know who you’re hearing from.
- The artworks you submitted: So you know exactly which pieces the organizers expect. See Managing Submission Artworks to keep your selection with the application.
- Your application answers and documents: So you can check what you wrote and promised. Submission Details explains how to save supporting files and comments.
- Important dates and requirements: So you don’t miss a deadline or forget to prepare something.
- Your application status: So you know which opportunities you’re still waiting to hear back from. See Tracking Submission Status And Outcomes.
If you have all this information in one place, you can prepare for an exhibition without digging through months of emails.
Make it part of your application routine
The easiest time to save these details is when you apply.
If you wait until you hear back, you might have already forgotten what you submitted.
You can use a spreadsheet, a folder, or a dedicated tool to organize your applications. What matters most is that you can easily find everything later.
And you don’t have to do all this manually.
How Artlope makes it easier
Artlope helps you manage the whole process, from finding open calls to keeping track of your applications.
You can discover opportunities, prepare applications using the artwork and CV information you’ve already saved, and keep your application details together.
Artlope can also remind you about important dates, so you don’t have to keep checking every deadline yourself. The Open Calls guide explains how saved deadlines appear in your schedule and can be included in your weekly schedule email when enabled. Use Schedule to add and review other application events.
And if you get accepted, everything you need is already in one place.
That means less time searching through files and emails, and more time preparing your work for the exhibition.
A small habit that makes a big difference
Applying to open calls is an important step toward showing your work. But staying organized after you apply matters, too.
If you keep track of what you submit, you’ll be ready when an opportunity comes your way.
Your future self will thank you.
Want to make applying to open calls easier? Explore Artlope and keep your opportunities, artworks, and applications organized in one place.