Online Submission Process
To sell your work at ShopColumbia, there is an online submission process at shopcolumbia.submittable.com.
When submitting, artists will submit basic contact information, an artist statement, submit information about the work you are submitting including: title or description, media or materials, quantity available, suggested sales price and images of your work.
Types of Calls
Artists can submit their work for year-round consignment or for special events including holiday markets and spotlight exhibitions.
Year-Round Submissions
ShopColumbia accepts submissions from artists year-round. There are separate consignment process for Students and Alumni and Staff and Faculty.
In addition to selling tangible items in the store, ShopColumbia accepts submissions for Digital Portrait Artists. Customers are able to commission digital portraits created in the style of the artist. Customers can select size format (such as above the shoulders, above waist or full body) and with additions including text, props, people and pets.
ShopColumbia also accepts designs to license for their line of Columbia College Chicago merchandise and apparel called Buy Columbia By Columbia. The line features original designs by Columbia artists that capture the creative spirit of campus. Designs can feature compliment the College's logo or create a new redesigned or revamped Columbia logo.
Holiday Markets
ShopColumbia hosts two annual holiday markets: The Dark Market during the month of October and the winter Holiday Market during the month of December. The markets transform the boutique and present larger collections of work that appeal to holiday shoppers.
Spotlight Exhibitions
Throughout the year, ShopColumbia hosts rotating exhibitions in the front portion of the boutique. Presented work is thematic based on media, theme, or size format. Previous Spotlight exhibitions include: March of Miniatures, an annual exhibition of miniature work that is smaller than 8" x 8".
- ShopColumbia Review Board
Your work will then be reviewed by the ShopColumbia Review Board. ShopColumbia’s Review Board is a rotating board comprised of faculty and staff from a variety of departments across campus. The Board reviews all of the submissions; providing constructive professional feedback on pricing, originality, quality of craftsmanship, and cohesiveness of work. Faculty and staff that are interested on serving on the Board should contact shop@colum.edu.
The Board’s decision falls under one of three categories:
- Accept: The Board agrees that your work is ready to be sold at ShopColumbia!
- Conditionally Accept: The Board wants to consign your work but they are requesting you make some minor changes to your submission based on their feedback.
- Submit at a later date: The Board feels your submission isn’t quite ready to be sold at ShopColumbia. As a learning laboratory, the Board will provide constructive feedback as to why they are not accepting your work at this time.
- Resticted Items
ShopColumbia's Review Board restricts the sale of the following products:
- NEW: Due to safety concerns and legal requirements for candle makers and candle sellers, ShopColumbia is no longer accepting submissions of candles.
- Food items or perishable products
- Products with text or images that infringe on any intellectual property rights including, but not limited to copyrights, trademarks, and rights of privacy/publicity
- Businesses with multi-tiered sales structures
- Items that are unsafe or contain hazardous materials
- Products with content that is libelous or defamatory; contain or promote hate speech; can reasonably be viewed as harassing, threatening, or otherwise harmful; and can reasonably be viewed as discriminatory based upon race, ethnicity, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or disability
- Products that violates any federal, state, county or municipal law, ordinance or regulation, violates any college policy, regulation or rule as outlined in the Student Handbook and Columbia's Student Code of Conduct
- Per Academic Affairs and the Office of the Provost: Columbia College Chicago Faculty are unable to sell self-published materials
- Due to the regulations that govern student employment for international students on a student visa, we are unable to accept items for sale from F-1 and J-1 students unless they are on approved pre or post-completion Optional Practical Training (OPT). Please contact isss@colum.edu if you need further clarification on the regulations that govern international student employment.