Guidelines for Participation – Mini Castra 2026
About the Exhibition
The exhibition of this year’s Mini Castra 2026 will take place at Lokar Gallery from Saturday, August 29, 2026—when the official opening and the awards and diplomas ceremony with a cultural program will also be held—until Saturday, October 3, 2026.
In addition to the opening, the traditional ex tempore watercolour event will take place on Friday, August 28, and on Saturday morning, August 29, in Planina and Ajdovščina.
After all accepted watercolours have arrived at the gallery, the committee will select the recipients of awards and honourable mention awards.
Awards
Municipality of Ajdovščina Award: 600 €
Three sponsor awards: 300 € each
Guidelines for Participation
The exhibition is open to all participants aged 18 and over, who may submit up to four watercolours. The theme of the submission may be: landscape, people, urban motifs, or abstraction.
The watercolour must not be older than two years (created from 2024 onwards), must be without a mat and without a frame, and must measure between 10.5 × 14.8 cm and 29.7 × 42.0 cm.
New application deadline is May 10th.
Application Details
The photograph of the watercolour must be in .jpg, .jpeg, or .png format.
The longer side of the image may be a maximum of 1700 pixels (approximately 2–3 MP), with a resolution of 300 dpi.
Please name the file according to the following format:
first name and last name – country – title of the work – year – dimensions – priceThe gallery reserves the right to re-photograph the watercolours for the catalogue if the submitted image is not of sufficient quality.
In mid-May, the jury will announce the results and notify the selected artists.
Participation Fee
The participation fee is payable only if you are selected for the exhibition. The deadline for payment of the participation fee is June 12.
The participation fee includes:
participation in the exhibition,
a printed catalogue,
promotion of the works,
return postage for the watercolours.
The participation fee is paid via the online shop:
Shipping of Original Watercolours
Please attach a completed form to the back of each watercolour. The form can be obtained by clicking on this link.
The watercolours must arrive at the gallery no later than June 5, 2026.
Shipping Address:
Lokarjeva galerija
Vilharjeva ulica 38
5270 Ajdovščina
Slovenia
As we will return your watercolors in the same package as you sent to us and will also include the catalogue and certificate in the package, the parcel must not contain wooden backing boards or other heavy protective materials, as these significantly increase the weight and shipping costs.
In the event of a large number of submissions, the organizer reserves the right that, out of a maximum of four accepted watercolours per artist, only one or two may be exhibited, especially when the works are of maximum dimensions.
Prize Payment
Prizes will be paid out by the end of 2026.
All amounts are gross. For payment, we require your tax identification number; if you do not have one, please inform us and we will find an appropriate solution.
Award-winning works remain the property of the organizer, regardless of the stated sale price.
Miscellaneous
If your watercolour is for sale, please indicate an appropriate and realistic sale price.
The catalogue will be sent to the artists together with the returned watercolours after the exhibition concludes, no later than the end of November 2026. In the event of complications in individual countries, the return of works may be slightly delayed.
Lokar Gallery reserves the right to reproduce and exhibit all submitted works for promotional and cultural purposes.
All works will be handled with care; however, Lokar Gallery assumes no responsibility for any damage or loss that may occur during the shipping or return of the works.
The works are shipped via Pošta Slovenije. If a shipment is returned to the organizer, the gallery will arrange re-shipment with the artist via another courier at the artist’s expense.
Works that do not comply with the terms and conditions of the open call will not be returned.
By sending the works and paying the participation fee, you confirm that you accept all the conditions of participation.
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