SHOW DATES:
November 14 - December 19, 2026
Crowded Table
CALL FOR ARTISTS ENTRY DEADLINE:
September 1, 2026
OVERLAP Art Space is seeking artwork submissions for Crowded Table*, a juried exhibition with a focus on food and community. We are interested in artwork that considers and/or facilitates the cultivation, preparation, display and consumption of food, as well as the habits and traditions associated with nourishment and gathering. We would like to show artwork that is functional- tools for gathering at a “crowded table”, work that is topical, and work that is both at the same time. We welcome a range of mediums and subject matter though the general atmosphere of the show will be celebratory yet thoughtful.
Application Requirements:
$15 entry fee
At least one but as many as three high-quality images of 1 - 3 artworks. A “set” of objects (such as a set of glasses) is considered a single artwork. (2000px on the longest side)
A short (250 words or fewer) statement about the work, including how it relates to the theme of food and community.
Our goals for the exhibit are:
To create a meaningful, inspiring exhibition for our audience members.
To provide a variety of artists with an opportunity to reflect, to share their work with an audience and to connect with each other, and
To gather our community together and to support each other.
In the spirit of giving back around the holidays, this is a fundraising show supporting both Overlap Art Space itself and The Rhode Island Community Food Bank.
The mission of OVERLAP is to support and strengthen our regional creative community through contemporary art exhibitions that inspire curiosity, critical thinking, and dialogue.
*The title “Crowded Table” is taken from the 2019 song by The Highwomen.
About our Exhibition Jurors:
Lesley Baker is a ceramic artist, sculptor and Associate Professor, Department Head and Graduate Program Director of Ceramics at the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, RI with previous teaching experience at the Herron School of Art and Design in Indianapolis, IN, UC Berkeley and the California College of the Arts. She has an undergraduate degree in architecture from Texas A&M University and a Masters of Fine Art in Studio Ceramics from the Rhode Island School of Design. Her current work explores the resilience and power of nature.
Bob Dilworth is an accomplished artist and teacher who has exhibited widely and earned many accolades. Most recently he was awarded a 2025 Joan Mitchell Fellowship, the 2026 James Solomon Russell/Saint Paul’s College Museum and Archives Award, the 2024 Pell Award for Excellence in the Arts and a 2023-2025 General Operating Support for Artists Grant from the Rhode Island State Council for the Arts. His work is included in corporate and private collections, as well as the Smithsonian Institution, the RISD Museum, the Newport Art Museum, the Fitchburg Art Museum, and other public institutions. Dilworth earned an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and a BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design. He is Professor Emeritus, Department of Art & Art History at the University of Rhode Island, where he taught for 28.5 years until he retired in 2020. Dilworth now lives in Providence, RI where he works as a full-time visual artist, represented by Cade Tompkins Projects.
Harry Philbrick is the executive director of the Newport Art Museum. He has spent the last three decades leading various distinguished arts institutions including The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts Museum, and The Fabric Workshop and Museum. In 2016, Philbrick founded Philadelphia Contemporary, a visual and performance arts nonprofit that connected the community through place-based installations and programming.