Exhibit at SAM
SAM is proud to offer three program streams for Greater Shepparton and Goulburn Valley region creatives to showcase their work across the year. Through exhibiting in our dedicated community gallery, the Hugh D. T. Williamson Community Gallery, local creatives are given the chance to work in a professional museum context and connect with new audiences across a range of exhibitions, public programs, and events.
Images 1-5: SAM Open 2023: Home, SAM Open 2022: New Horizons, Aleisa Miksad: Between Scylla and Charybdis | Amphora (SAM Spotlight 2022), Tuesday Junction: After the Rain (SAM EOI/Selects 2023). Images 1, 3 & 4 by Leon Schoots, image 2 by Christian Capurro.
SAM Open: A group exhibition opportunity open to all local creatives aged 16+
All creatives are invited to participate in SAM Open, our annual open call exhibition that celebrates the diverse creativity of our region. SAM Open is an open-call group exhibition for artists aged 16+ that celebrates the artistic talent and creativity of our community.
Applications for the next SAM Open have now closed. Stay tuned for news on SAM Open 2027.
Eligibility
Applicants must live, work, or study within the Greater Shepparton and Goulburn Valley Region and be 16 years of age or older at the time of applying. Artworks must have been created within the last 24 months and meet the size requirements to be eligible.
Artwork size requirements:
2D artworks must not exceed the size limit of 8,000 square cm, with a maximum height or width of 100 cm (e.g., 100cm height x 80cm width). Artworks may be a multi-panel artwork, but overall dimensions must not exceed the size limit.
3D artworks must approximately fit within the size limit of 125,000 square cm, with a maximum height or width of 60 cm (e.g., 50cm height x 50cm width x 50cm height).
For full details, please review the SAM Open Guidelines and Terms & Conditions.
Key dates
Submissions open: 1 July 2026
Submissions close: 1 September 2026
SAM to confirm artist inclusion in exhibition: 1 October 2026
Artwork delivery: 13 November 2026
Exhibition dates: 21 Nov 2026 – 28 Feb 2027
SAM Selects & SAM Spotlight: Opportunities for emerging, early-career, and mid-career creatives
Artists and exhibitors are invited to submit exhibition proposals for SAM Spotlight and SAM Selects — two Community Gallery opportunities for emerging, early-career, and mid-career creatives.
Proposals are reviewed once a year and assessed against the following criteria:
- Quality and artistic merit of the proposed works, including professional presentation
- Clarity of the exhibition theme or concept
- Relevance to the community, region, and SAM’s wider curatorial program
- Suitability of the proposal to the physical limitations of the Community Gallery
Applying is also an opportunity to introduce your practice to the SAM Curatorial Team. In addition to selecting exhibitions for these programs, the team may use applications to identify local artists for other opportunities at SAM.
Upcoming exhibition opportunities
This round of applications will fill the following exhibition slots:
- SAM Selects 2027: June–September 2027
- SAM Spotlight 2028: March–June 2028
SAM Selects is an annual exhibition opportunity for artists, curators, creative practitioners, and community groups based in the Goulburn Valley region, or to non-local applicants if the artworks in the proposed exhibition were produced in the region, e.g. during a residency. SAM Selects is intended for artists/creatives seeking to exhibit an existing body of work.
SAM Spotlight is an exhibition opportunity for individual emerging artists living, working, or studying in the Goulburn Valley region. The selects artist will work with Shepparton Art Museum to develop a new body of work for a solo exhibition.
Before applying
- Read the Community Gallery Exhibition Guidelines and Terms & Conditions
- Check the eligibility requirements
- Prepare the materials listed in the application checklist
How to apply
SAM Selects and SAM Spotlight use the same application form.
The form will ask whether you have a preferred opportunity and includes questions about your exhibition proposal. Your responses, together with the supporting materials you provide, will help the SAM Curatorial Team determine which opportunity is most suitable for your proposal.
Only one application per artist/exhibitor per opportunity will be accepted.
There is no application fee.
Eligibility
To be eligible for SAM Selects, applicants must either:
- Live, work or study within the Greater Shepparton and Goulburn Valley Region; or
- Have produced the artworks within the proposed exhibition in the region such as being created as part of a residency held within the Goulburn Valley region.
To be eligible for SAM Spotlight, you must be an emerging artist that lives, works or studies within the Greater Shepparton and Goulburn Valley Region.
Applicants must be 20 years of age or older at the time of applying.
Applications open 1 October 2026 and close 7 December 2026.
Applicants will be notified of the outcome of their application in early 2027.
About Hugh D.T. Williamson Community Gallery
The Hugh D. T. Williamson Community Gallery is located on Level 2 of the Shepparton Art Museum. The gallery takes its name from Hugh Dean Thomas Williamson, who grew up in country Victoria and at sixteen began his banking career as a teller for the Ballarat Banking Company. His steady achievements over the next 44 years in the banking industry saw him rise to become the General Manager of the ANZ Bank. Hard work and constancy were principles that informed his life and career; these principles gave rise to Williamson’s philanthropic commitment to others by supporting and strengthening community organisations.
Williamson was a founding trustee of the William Buckland Foundation, and for 21 years was the honorary treasurer to the Building Committee and Trust of the Victorian Arts Centre (Arts Centre Melbourne). Established in 1986, the Hugh Williamson Foundation generously supports the community gallery at SAM in recognition of Williamson’s lifelong commitment to supporting and strengthening opportunities to enhance the cultural life of all Victorians.
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