Oddball Art Labs presents
8 Bit Life!
Video games have become a pervasive part of life. (Heck, even my 83 year old dad still manages his “Farmville” years after the grandkids have moved on to other titles.)
While the show title focuses on the old games of our youth (and before), any video game art is welcomed. Pay homage to your favorites, or create the game mash-ups you’ve always dreamed about. Dazzle the crowd with scenes you WISH you’d seen in your favorite games!
This is an open call show challenging the Elgin and Chicagoland creative community to share their visions. We are hoping to inspire the same mix of strangely surprising paintings, drawings, and mixed media 3D work that makes people smile while at our shows.
Submit your work before May 24, 2026 to be a part of this show.
Submission FAQs
We’re glad you asked. The art displayed at the Robin and Mark Seigle gallery in Elgin Artspace Lofts at ArtSpace will definitely need to be tasteful and ‘All Ages’.
This is intended to be a lighthearted and fun show for everyone.
All artwork submitted must be Made by Humans!
While many of us rely on Adobe, Affinity, Canva, Clip Studio Paint, and many other digital creativity tools to make our art…they are just tools to leverage our human creativity.
Digital prints of work created by humans will always been welcomed at Oddball Art Labs shows.
AI “Art” however is NOT welcome in this show.
All artwork submitted must be ready to hang!
All drawings, prints or photos must be framed. While paintings on canvases do not need to be framed, please make sure the visible edges are presentable.
D-Hooks and wire on the back is preferred, but quality sawtooth hangers are acceptable.
The point where the wire hangs on the nail should not be visible above the artwork.
Fishing line and/or string tends to be unreliable and as such is not considered acceptable for hanging.
If you are submitting 3D art, please let us know if you will need a pedestal.
Oddball Art Labs will retain 20% of all art sales to help pay for the show expenses. Please price your work accordingly.
Any prints for sale should be dropped off with the art at the defined drop off date. We ask this so we can plan out the Print Table space requirements in advance.
All prints should be in clear, plastic print bags, and should have labels on the bags that list the Art Title, Artist Name and price.
Maximum print size for our shows is 11″ x 17″.
Saturday, June 6, 2026
10am-3pm
Sunday, June 7, 2026
11am-1pm
The Robin and Mark Seigle Gallery at Elgin ArtSpace Lofts
51 S. Spring St., Elgin, IL 60120
Can’t Drop Off in Person?
We don’t have a budget for shipping artwork across the country. As such, this show is focused on artists local to the Elgin / Chicagoland area.
If you won’t be able to handle in-person drop-off & pickup, please talk to us prior to submitting.
We have welcomed the work of artists out of state if they are open to covering the shipping costs.
Here’s some inspiration to get you started:
- The Last of Us / Super Mario mashup where the mushrooms have turned the toads into zombies? You bet!!
- Tetris blocks dropping into a skyline and making buildings vanish? That could look cool!
- Mega Man battling the restrictions of Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics? Yes, Please!
- Metal Gear Cardboard Boxes? Of Course!
- Sonic the Hedgehog three-legged race medical disasters? …It’s supposed to be a family, friendly show…but okay!
- A new “Point-and-Click” adventure featuring a doctor performing an autopsy on a dead whale washed up on a beach? (…no…I’m not sure I want to see that one…)
- …and any other crazy video game inspired ideas you may have!
These are just a few ideas…but we really want to see what you’ll come up with. Surprise us!
8 Bit Life Submissions Now Open!
Please note: To help fund our show this year, there will be a $10 fee for artist submissions, which includes up to five (5) pieces of art.
Opening Reception
Friday, June 12, 2026
Hours: 6pm-9pm
The Robin and Mark Seigle Gallery
at Elgin ArtSpace Lofts
51 S. Spring St.
Elgin, IL 60120
Closing Reception
Saturday, July 11, 2026
Hours: 11am-2pm
The Robin and Mark Seigle Gallery
at Elgin ArtSpace Lofts
51 S. Spring St.
Elgin, IL 60120
The show will also be open from 3-7pm on these Fridays in June and July:
6/19, 6/26, 7/3 & 7/10
The show was made possible by grants from the Elgin Cultural Arts Commission and the Palmer Foundation.
Please feel free to use our contact form if you need to get in touch with us with any general questions.