We are hosting our first National Juried Show for visual arts in 2023 and 2024. It is part of our ongoing theme, A Sense of Place.
This is the hub for information about the juried show, and we’ll be updating it frequently as we have more information to provide.
Ready to submit your artwork to the juried show?
Submissions are open November 1!
Stay Updated
Be sure to fill out our Sense of Place Contests Interest Form to stay in the loop for specific news about this juried show (and other competitions!)
Juried Show Information
Click these links to jump to particular sections of information about our juried show.
Scope of Participation and Eligibility
This juried show is open to creators in the United States aged 13 years of age and older.
We are limiting this exhibition to the United States because the defining issue is around shipping of artwork. International shipping can get prohibitively expensive.
If you have any questions, feel free to contact us!
Juried Show Theme
The theme for this juried show is Sense of Place.
We don’t want to provide too much structure to our theme. We hope juried show entrants will interpret this theme as they see fit, using whichever medium they select from our categories.
However, here is our really simplified definition of sense of place:
“Our simple definition for sense of place is: figuring out the reality of where you are, and how you perceive that reality, and what your perception of that reality means to you.”
If you would like more inspiration, please feel free to read more about our take on a sense of place.
Juried Show Categories
We’re planning to have four categories of visual arts as part of this juried show
Photography (Digital and Film)
Photography includes visual works created within a camera and processed using traditional darkroom or digital darkroom/lightroom software tools resulting in a printed work.
Painting, Drawing, Illustration
Painting, drawing, and illustration includes visual works created by hand using traditional analog techniques on a variety of surfaces that can be hung on a wall, with or without frames (such as stretched canvases).
Mixed Media
Mixed media are visual works created using a combination of materials and analog and digital processes, such as collage and assemblage. As long as the piece can hang on a wall and meets our physical specifications, we’ll consider it. Surprise us!
Graphic and Digital Art
Graphic and digital art are visual works originating inside a computer, regardless of form factor (desktop, laptop, smartphone). These works are printed, framed and ready to hang.
For example, an illustration created in a software program (even by hand using a stylus and tablet) is considered digital art.
If you have any questions, feel free to contact us!
Submissions
Submissions of creative work to the juried competition require an entry fee of $30.
We’ll be using our Submittable platform to accept submissions for the juried show.
If you’re not yet familiar with Submittable, we encourage you to visit our Submittable page to check it out, bookmark us, and explore all the opportunities for submission on that platform.
No other forms of submission will be accepted.
See our proposed timeline below for our submission windows and deadlines.
Our Juror
We are pleased to announce that our juror for our first National Juried Show is Mary Anne Redding, who serves as Senior Curator at the Turchin Center for the Visual Arts of Appalachian State University in Boone, NC.
Mary Anne Redding is a visual arts curator and writer with more than forty years’ experience working as a curator, archivist, librarian, educator, arts administrator, writer and sometimes image maker. She holds a B.A. in English Literature from Ohio University, Athens, Ohio, an M.A. in Arts Administration from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, an M.L.S. from the University of Illinois, Champaign Urbana, as well as an advanced certificate in Museum Studies from Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona. Her publications include A Country No More: Rediscovering the Landscapes of John James Audubon with photographer Krista Elrick (2021); Gila: Radical Visions/The Enduring Silence with photographer Michael Berman (2012); the introduction for Light in the Desert: Photographs from the Monastery of Christ in the Desert, photographs by Tony O’Brien and an essay by Christopher Merrill (2011); Through the Lens: Creating Santa Fe (Museum of New Mexico Press, 2009); and, Grasslands/Separating Species an exhibition catalog for 516 ARTS in Albuquerque, New Mexico; as well as an essay in Land/Art New Mexico, published by Radius Press in 2010.
Awards and Prizes
Our juror will be selecting first and second place awards in each of the four categories of visual arts, as well as several honorable mentions.
We will be offering cash prizes for first and second place awards in each category.
| Photography – First Place | $200 |
| Photography – Second Place | $100 |
| Painting, Drawing, Illustration – First Place | $200 |
| Painting, Drawing, Illustration – Second Place | $100 |
| Mixed Media – First Place | $200 |
| Mixed Media – Second Place | $100 |
| Graphic and Digital – First Place | $200 |
| Graphic and Digital – Second Place | $100 |
Our juror will also be selecting a “Best In Show” winner, and throughout the month during the hanging of the juried show, we will allow viewers to vote on an “Audience Choice” winner.
The Best In Show and Audience Choice winners will also receive cash prizes.
| Best In Show | $200 |
| Audience Choice | $100 |
Any applicable federal, state, and/or local taxes are the responsibility of the winner.
Rules and Guidelines
The entry fee for anyone to submit work to the Juried Show is $30.
One work of art per entry, with the option to upload three total images for a single work of art. For example, the second and third images could be details of a painting.
Uploaded images should be high enough resolution to appropriately display submitted work. Several standard image file formats are accepted. Please check the submission page for specifics.
Additional works of art can be submitted in a single category, subject to a $5 media fee.
Artists may enter multiple categories for the competition as long as they pay a separate entry fee in each category. For example, an individual artist could enter work into the photography and mixed media categories, each requiring a $30 entry fee.
All artworks entered into competition will also be considered for publication in The Upper New Review, regardless of contest outcome.
All works accepted into the juried competition must meet the following physical specifications.
Artworks must not exceed 36 inches in width or length, including framing.
Accepted works must be properly framed or mounted and ready to hang using gallery standard wire hanging systems. No sawtooth hangers allowed.
If glazing is used in the framing of the artwork, plexiglass is preferred for safe shipping.
Metal or glass prints of photography or graphic/digital artworks are also acceptable, so long as the included mounting system is compatible with gallery standard hanging systems.
The artist is responsible for shipping accepted artwork to and from the gallery space.
A prepaid return shipping label should be included with the artwork when shipped to the gallery space. The reference address for calculating shipping is 115 Atwood St, Sparta, NC 28675.
Artists are responsible for insurance coverage of their artwork during shipping and the duration of the juried show in February 2024.
Sales transactions of artworks will not be handled by The Upper New.
Any artist wishing to make their artwork available for sale may include a list price, and The Upper New staff will facilitate direct sales communication between the artist and interested parties as relevant.
Should any artwork sell during the show, The Upper New will not keep any percentage of sales as commission. 100% of sales revenue will be retained by the artist.
All cash prizes may be awarded contingent upon the volume of submissions to the juried show. Awards are subject to change based on these submission volumes.
If you have any questions, feel free to contact us!
Publication
In addition to being eligible for juried awards and prizes, all creative works submitted to the juried competition will also be considered for publication in the Upper New Review, even if they aren’t juried into the show.
All works accepted into the juried show will be published on the Upper New Review website. We will also be creating a digital catalog of the show, distributed to all creators juried into the show.
The Juried Show Opening Event
Early in February 2024, we will host an opening event for the juried show at the Alleghany County Library in Sparta, North Carolina, USA (Upper New River 05050001). For juried artists who can reasonably attend, we will be presenting the awards in person at this event.
Our intention is to host a hybrid event with a virtual audience, allowing anyone in the world to help us celebrate the winners and their works! We will be announcing this hybrid event on Eventbrite, with no cost for admission.
Timeline
Below is our preliminary timeline for the juried show.
- Submissions open November 1
- Deadline for submissions November 30
- Jurying process begins November 30
- Juried decisions made by December 15
- Juried show acceptances announced by December 30, 2023
- Opening date is ideally first Friday in February, 2024
- Juried show will run through February 2024
Stay Updated
Remember to fill out our Sense of Place Contests Interest Form to stay in the loop for specific news about this juried show (and other competitions!)
