Oceanside Museum of Art's mission is to explore the art and stories of Southern California artists.

OMA welcomes exhibition proposals from artists and independent curators. Proposals must feature artists and artwork of Southern California. OMA staff reviews submissions year-round and on a rolling basis.

OMA staff performs a preliminary review of proposals before selected proposals are brought to the Exhibitions and Collections Advisory Committee for review, where final selections are confirmed. Each proposal may take up to 6 months to 1 year to be reviewed. Not all proposals will be reviewed by the committee. The committee meets triannually and consists of community members in art and museum-related fields. Exhibitions are scheduled approximately two to three years in advance.

Our exhibition schedule is carefully balanced to present our viewers with a varied artistic program. Proposals are weighed against concurrent, past, and future confirmed exhibitions to ensure that we are bringing a cross section of media, genres, group and solo shows, and a range of current and historical works that showcase diverse voices from the community, in accordance with OMA’s mission to explore the art and stories of Southern California artists.

Unfortunately, due to the significant number of proposal submissions that we receive, we are unable to respond individually to each proposal. Should a proposal be approved by the committee for consideration and possible scheduling, an OMA staff member will reach out to the main contact person or group provided in the proposal. 

Please note that OMA staff cannot perform appraisals or authentications of any works of art.

As You Prepare to Submit Your Proposal, Please Keep in Mind:

• After your proposal is submitted, do not contact the museum to inquire about your proposal status. If we choose to move forward with your proposal, we will contact you. As much as we’d love to, we unfortunately do not have the capacity to respond to every proposal we receive. Thank you for your consideration and understanding.
• No original work or valuable materials, under any circumstances, should be submitted to OMA for consideration. OMA will not consider or be responsible for artwork arriving at the museum unsolicited.
• The proposal must have a strong connection to the San Diego/Southern California region.

Interested in Submitting Your Proposal?

Download Proposal Guidelines Here

Learn More About Exhibitions at OMA

OMA's current, upcoming, and past exhibitions

Questions?

Contact proposals@oma-online.org