Submission Groups and Artwork Categories let you sort applicants and artwork as submissions arrive, so you can filter your Call Admin view, give jurors a focused review queue, award prizes by medium or bracket, and pull group and category data into your submission exports without sorting entries by hand.
Both are optional, and you set them up when you build your Call for Entry.
When you create a Call for Entry, you can add two optional tools that help you sort and review what comes in:
Submission Groups organize the applicants. If you add groups, each artist picks one group for their entire submission.
Artwork Categories organize the artwork. If you add categories, each artwork in the submission gets its own category.
You can use one, both, or neither. If you don’t add any Submission Groups or Artwork Categories, your Call works exactly the way it always has.
| Submission Groups | Artwork Categories |
What it organizes | The applicant and their entire submission | Each individual artwork in a submission |
Who selects it | The artist, once per submission | The artist, once per artwork |
Typical uses | Member level, experience level, age or school division, affiliation | Medium, subject matter, format, theme |
Example labels | Member / Non-Member; Student / Amateur / Professional; Youth / Adult | Painting / Sculpture / Photography; Still Life / Landscape / Portrait |
Required for artists? | Only if you add at least one group | Only if you add at least one category |
What is a Submission Group?
A Submission Group describes who is applying. When you add Submission Groups to a Call, each artist chooses one group when they start their application, and everything in that submission is associated with that group.
Submission Groups are for distinctions that apply to the applicant as a whole, not to individual artworks. If your organization says things like “we jury members separately from non-members” or “students compete against other students,” that is a Submission Group.
When to use Submission Groups
Add Submission Groups when how you review depends on who is applying. If you jury members separately from non-members, or judge youth entries in their own bracket, a group lets you filter straight to that pool in your Call Admin view and Jury Room instead of cross-checking a membership roster by hand.
You define the group names, so use whatever labels your organization already uses in its prospectus.
Common examples:
Membership status: Member, Non-Member, Student Member
Membership tier: Associate, Signature, Master, Lifetime
Experience level: Student, Amateur, Professional
Competition division: Novice, Emerging, Established, Accomplished
Age or school level: Youth, Adult; Elementary, Middle School, High School, College
Affiliation: Current Student, Alumni, Faculty, Community
Applicant type: Individual, Collaborative Team, Guild
How to add Submission Groups
The Submission Groups section is directly after Submission Limits and Required Artwork Fields.
Open your Call for Entry form (+New Call or Edit)
Scroll to the Submission Groups section
Select + Add group
Enter the group name exactly as you want artists to see it
Repeat for each group
Save your Call
Note
If at least one Submission Group exists on your Call, artists must select a group before they can save a draft or submit.
Artists can select only one Submission Group per submission.
Important Note!
Before publishing your Call, you can edit or remove any Submission Groups you have created.
However, once a Call is published or has received submissions, existing Submission Groups cannot be edited or deleted.
You can continue to add new groups at any time.
How to Explain Your Submission Groups in Application Requirements
Artists only see your group names in a drop-down on the application form. They will not know what “Associate” or “Emerging” means to your organization unless you tell them.
In the Application Requirements section, add a short entry that:
States that selecting a Submission Group is required
Defines each group so artists can identify the right one
Says who to contact if they are unsure
Example:
Submission Group (required): You must select one Submission Group when you begin your application.
Member: current dues-paying members as of the submission deadline.
Non-Member: all other applicants.
Emerging: fewer than 5 years of professional practice and no prior solo exhibition.
Contact exhibitions@yourorg.org if you are unsure which group applies to you.
If a group also determines who is eligible to apply at all (for example, a members-only call), repeat that in the Eligibility Criteria field.
What is an Artwork Category?
An Artwork Category describes the artwork itself. When you add Artwork Categories to a Call, the artist assigns a category to each Piece they include in their submission. Different Pieces in the same submission can be in different categories.
Artwork Categories are for distinctions that apply to a single Piece record, not to the applicant. If your organization says things like “we award Best in Show for Painting and Best in Show for Sculpture” or “entries are juried by subject,” that is an Artwork Category.
When to use Artwork Categories
Add Artwork Categories when how you review or award depends on what the artwork is. If you give Best in Show for Painting and Best in Show for Sculpture, categories let jurors review one medium at a time and confirm every award has a complete pool behind it.
Common examples:
Medium: Painting, Drawing, Photography, Sculpture, Ceramics, Fiber, Mixed Media, Digital
Format: 2D, 3D, Time-Based Media
Subject: Still Life, Landscape, Portrait, Abstract, Animals, Figurative
Theme or section: Open, Themed, Miniatures, Plein Air
How to add Artwork Categories
The Artwork Categories section is directly below Submission Groups on the Call for Entry form.
Open your Call for Entry form (new or draft)
Scroll to the Artwork Categories section
Select + Add category
Enter the category name exactly as you want artists to see it
Repeat for each category
Save your Call
Note
If at least one Artwork Category exists on your Call, artists must assign a category to every artwork in their submission before they can submit. Each artwork can have only one category.
Important Note!
Before publishing your Call, you can edit or remove any Artwork Categories you have created. Once a Call is published or has received submissions, existing categories cannot be edited or deleted. You can continue to add new categories at any time.
Explain your categories in Application Requirements
As with groups, add a short entry to Application Requirements that states the selection is required for each artwork and clarifies any categories that could be read more than one way.
Example:
Artwork Category (required for each artwork): Assign one category to every artwork in your submission.
2D: painting, drawing, printmaking, photography, and wall-hung mixed media.
3D: sculpture, ceramics, glass, fiber, and freestanding work.
Digital: video, animation, and screen-based work. Diptychs and triptychs count as one artwork.
If category placement affects awards or jurying, say so here as well, for example “Best in Show is awarded in each category.”
Using Submission Groups and Artwork Categories together
The two features work independently, and many Calls will use both. The group applies to the whole submission; the category applies piece by piece.
Example:
Your annual members’ show has three Submission Groups (Gold, Silver, Bronze) and two Artwork Categories (Still Life, Landscape). An artist applies and selects Bronze as their Submission Group. They add two artworks:
Artwork 1 is assigned to Still Life
Artwork 2 is assigned to Landscape
Result: one submission, in the Bronze group, containing one Still Life entry and one Landscape entry.
In your Call Admin view and Jury Room, you can filter to see all Bronze submissions, all Landscape artworks, or Landscape artworks from Bronze applicants only.
How to Filter Submissions by Submission Group and Artwork Category
Once submissions arrive, Submission Groups and Artwork Categories appear as filters in:
Call Admin view: filter the submission list by group, and the artwork list by category
Jury Room: jurors can filter to review one group or category at a time
For details on reviewing submissions, see Guide to Reviewing Submissions & Adjusting the Status (for Organization account version).
Did you know?
You can also use Discount Codes alongside Submission Groups. For example, create a “MEMBER25” code and share it only with members, then use the Member group to confirm eligibility when reviewing.
Do You Have to Use Submission Groups and Artwork Categories?
No. Both Submission Groups and Artwork Categories are optional.
If you add neither, artists apply exactly as before with no additional selections.
If you add only Submission Groups, artists choose one group per submission and nothing else changes.
If you add only Artwork Categories, artists assign a category to each artwork and nothing else changes.
Only add a group or category structure if it reflects how your organization actually reviews, juries, or awards artwork. Extra required fields with no purpose slow artists down and lead to incorrect entries.
Submission Groups and Artwork Categories FAQ
Can an artist be in more than one Submission Group?
No. Each submission belongs to exactly one group. If an artist qualifies for multiple groups, ask them to choose the one that best fits, or clarify in your Call details which group they should select.
Can an artwork have more than one category?
No. Each artwork is assigned to one category. If an artwork fits two categories, the artist chooses one.
What if an artist picks the wrong group or category?
Send a Change Request from the submission. The artist can update their selection and resubmit.
Can I add groups or categories after the Call is published?
Yes. You can add new ones at any time. You cannot edit or delete existing ones once the Call is published or has received submissions.
I only have one type of applicant. Should I still create a group?
No. If everyone applying is treated the same way, leave Submission Groups empty.
How is this different from the old Submission Categories field?
If you used Submission Categories on earlier Calls, that per-submission selection is now called a Submission Group. Any Submission Categories you already created migrated over as-is, so nothing changed on your existing Calls. Artwork Categories are new and apply to each artwork rather than the whole submission.