CALL FOR ENTRIES: Ink, Press, Repeat 2025

CALL FOR ENTRIES

Ink, Press, Repeat: National Juried Printmaking and Book Art Exhibition of Traditional and Digital Print Media

Exhibition Dates:

September 8 – December 4, 2025

Exhibition Location:

South Gallery and East Gallery, Ben Shahn Center for the Visual Arts

William Paterson University (Wayne, NJ)

Submissions Deadline:

Friday, June 20, 2025 (11:59 p.m. EST)

NO APPLICATION FEE! 

ABOUT THE COMPETITION

Since 2001, the University Galleries at William Paterson University has organized a juried printmaking exhibition featuring traditional and digital print media and book art. One artist will be selected to have a future solo exhibition at the University Galleries.

ABOUT THE JUROR

Curlee Raven Holton is a printmaker and painter whose work has been exhibited in more than fifty one-person shows, and one hundred group shows. His exhibitions have included prestigious national and international venues like Egypt’s 7th International Biennale, Taller de arts Plasticas Rufino Tamayo in Oaxaca, Mexico, the Cleveland Museum of Art, and the Whitney Museum of American Art. 

Holton’s work is in many private and public collections including: the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Allentown Art Museum, the Discovery Museum of Art and Science in Bridgeport, Connecticut; the West Virginia Governor’s Mansion; the Foundation of Culture Rodolfo Morales in Oaxaca, Mexico; Yale University Art Gallery; Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Cornell University Rare Books Collection, The Library of Congress; Boise Art Museum, Philadelphia Art Museum, U.S. Embassy, Costa Rica, Federal Reserve of Washington DC., and The National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC.

Holton’s work has been featured and written about in more than fifty publications. As part of his research and study as an artist-scholar, he has lectured and presented demonstrations throughout the United States and abroad in Mexico, the West Indies, Japan, England, and Costa Rica. Holton has been an artist in residence at museums, colleges, and universities. He has presented over one hundred public lectures on the subjects of his own work, African American art, and contemporary printmaking. He has written numerous articles and essays on art and artists that have been published in catalogues and journals. 

Many of Holton’s artworks have been published in magazines, newspapers, and documented on television. He has received awards and grants for his creative research and artwork, which has been described as both powerful and graceful. The breadth of his visual investigations has included traditional and innovative approaches to his art making process. Holton’s mastery is demonstrated in his manipulation of diverse mediums and techniques including printmaking, drawing, painting, and bookmaking.

Holton earned his M.F.A. with honors from Kent State University and his B.F.A. from the Cleveland Institute of Fine Arts in Drawing and Printmaking. Since 1991 he has taught Printmaking and African American Art History at Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania and is also the founding director of the Experimental Printmaking Institute. In 2006 he established Raven Fine Arts Editions. In 2012, Holton was named the David M. and Linda Roth Professor of Art at Lafayette College. His awards include The Anyone Can Fly Life Time Achievement Foundation Award, 2015; an Honorary Doctorate from the Institute of Doctoral Studies in the Visual Arts, 2017; and a Linny Artist of the Year Award (PA), 2018. He recently retired as the director of the David C. Driskell Center at the University of Maryland. 

TIMELINE

Notification 

Monday, July 14, 2025

Receipt of Work

Artwork must be received by the University Galleries no later than Thursday, August 21, 2025

Opening Reception

TBD

Return of Work

Artwork will be returned to artists no later than Thursday, January 1, 2026

ELIGIBILITY 

Open to all artists residing in the United States. Works must have been completed within the past two years (2023-2025) and may not exceed 60 inches on its longest side. Work previously shown at the William Paterson University Galleries will not be accepted.

ARTWORK REQUIREMENTS

All accepted work requires proper framing and should be ready to be hung (except for book art which will be displayed on pedestals or shelves). The juror reserves the right to reject any work found to be unacceptable upon arrival.

SALES 

The University retains a 20% commission for all artwork sales.

LIABILITY 

All work shown at the gallery will be insured for the duration of the exhibition. The gallery cannot insure works in transit.

SHIPPING REQUIREMENTS 

The cost of shipping or hand-delivering works to and from the gallery is the responsibility of the artist.

IMAGES 

Artists may submit up to 3 artworks for consideration. 

Please upload no more than 3 images total. (You may submit multiple images for a single work if you are not submitting 3 separate artworks.) A submission image can be a grid showing multiple views of the same artwork. Each image file should not exceed 4MB.

Please label your image files in the following format: "TitleofWork" (If you include a detail or alternate view as one of your images, you may label it "TitleofWork_detail" or "TitleofWork_2".

ARTIST STATEMENT and CV/RESUME 

Artists may also upload an artist statement and need to upload a CV as separate documents. Please DO NOT include your name on the artist statement. You may include your name on your curriculum vitae. Please follow the same file format: "Statement" and "LastName_CV".

Please note: This is a blind jury. File names should be adjusted accordingly. The juror will be able to view your artwork submission details, images, and artist statement (if you choose to submit a statement); they will not be able to see your personal information, demographic data, or your CV. Do not include your name or other identifying information you do not want seen by the juror in your artist statement or artwork file names.

Contact the University Galleries at [email protected] or (973) 720-2654 with any questions or concerns.

06/20/2025