Exhibition Theme: 

At the start of 2022, the world remains devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic, political and ideological polarization continues to divide Americans, and our collective reckoning with systemic racism remains critical to achieving the country’s promise.  Artists, like most New Jerseyans, are taking steps to reemerge into an altered landscape.  How has this change landscape manifested itself in artists’ practice?  Do the works reflect hope, despair, resignation, something else?  Have artists altered their style, worked with new materials, embraced technology?  How has isolation and tentative reemergence been reflected in the works created during this period?

New Jersey is home to a diverse and robust artistic community.  The New Jersey State Museum welcomes submissions to the 2022 New Jersey Arts Annual: Reemergence (on view from June 18, 2022 through April 30, 2023).  This open call invites a range of artistic practices and media that explore the Reemergence theme.

New Jersey Arts Annual:

The New Jersey Arts Annual is a unique series of exhibitions highlighting the State’s visual and performing artists. In partnership with major museums around the state, one exhibition takes place each year, alternating between host institutions. These exhibitions are open to any artist currently living or working in New Jersey. The Arts Annual series is sponsored by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, a partner agency of the National Endowment of the Arts.  

Jurors:

Margaret M. O’Reilly is the Executive Director and Curator of Fine Art at the New Jersey State Museum. She began her career at the State Museum in 1988.  In 1997, she was named Assistant Curator, Fine Art, in 2008, Curator of Fine Art, and in 2016 was named Director.  Ms. O’Reilly has organized over 100 exhibitions for the Museum including a complete re-installation of the Museum's art collection - American Perspectives: The Fine Art Collection; and the critically well-received exhibitions, Wendel White: Manifest; Transcendent: Toshiko Takaezu in the Museum Collection; Women's Works; and Mel Leipzig: A Retrospective. She has been a panelist and lecturer at museums, colleges, and professional conferences on topics including American art, collection stewardship, art and copyright, among others.  Additionally, she is active in professional organizations and has served on the Boards of the New Jersey Association of Museums and the Mid-Atlantic Association of Museums.

Sarah B. Vogelman is the Assistant Curator, Fine Art at the New Jersey State Museum. Prior to joining the State Museum staff in January 2022, she was part of the curatorial team responsible for the recent retrospective, Jasper Johns: Mind/Mirror, at the Philadelphia Museum of Art and Whitney Museum of American Art. She has also held positions at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, MoMA PS1, and Metro Pictures Gallery, in New York, and SKETCH Galería, in Bogotá, Colombia. She earned a Master’s degree from the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University, and Bachelor’s degree from Swarthmore College.

New Jersey State Museum:

The New Jersey State Museum is a center for the exploration of science, history and the arts.  We preserve and share stories that inspire curiosity and creativity for the enrichment of our communities.  

The State Museum was established by Governor George T. Werts and the New Jersey Legislature in 1895.  The first state museum in the country founded with education as its primary mission, today the Museum’s renowned collections are comprised of well over two million objects in Archaeology & Ethnography, Cultural History, Fine Art and Natural History, and education remains at the core of the Museum's work.  The New Jersey State Museum is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums.

Application Requirements

Submission Procedure:  

There is no entry fee.   

To submit work, applicants must apply online at www.callforentry.org (CAFÉ). A link to that platform and a PDF of the abbreviated prospectus are located on the State Museum’s Exhibitions webpage - NJ DOS - NJ State Museum - Explore The Museum, Exhibitions. 

Artists may submit up to six (6) total works in any media. High quality digital photographs of the work(s) must accompany the application. Images, video or audio files may all be submitted, but the total number of submitted works must be no more than six (6). CAFÉ accepts up to six (6) total uploads of all work and detail images. Compilation images are acceptable if more than one image is needed.   

See Specifications below for accepted CAFÉ work sample formats.  

Submissions must also include a current résumé, brief artist biography, an artist’s statement, and complete and accurate dimensions (in inches - Height x Width x Depth; weight if over 50lbs; # minutes for audio/video) of the work submitted. For works selected for the exhibition, the submitted images may be used in the catalogue, on the Museum website and publications, programs, and/or for press purposes.  If you do not choose to have your images retained by the Museum, please note that at the top of your artists’ statement document.  The Museum reserves the right to edit the artist’s statement. The artist statement should be written in the first person and no more than 150 words. 

Specifications:  

All work samples must be submitted via a CAFÉ application.  

• Images must be in JPEG or JPG format.
  • File Dimensions: 1,200 pixels or greater on the longest side.
  • File Size: Under 5 MB
• Video must be in MOV, MP4, WMV, 3GP, AVI, ASF, MPG, M2T, MKV, or M2TS format.
  • File Size: Under 100 MB.
  • Linked media from YouTube, Vimeo, etc. is not accepted.
• Audio must be in AIFF, WAV, XMF, or MP3 format.
  • File Size: Under 10 MB.
• Images should be of publishable quality, including sharp, accurate color reproduction and the highest resolution possible. Selected works/images may be used in the exhibition catalogue, on the Museum website, in digital publications, or for press purposes related to the 2022 New Jersey Arts Annual.
• Inclusion of images in the application constitutes permission from the artist to use submitted images for such purposes free of restrictions. The Museum will endeavor to include all appropriate credit information whenever images are reproduced.
• Each digital file MUST include the following as accompanying information in the CAFÉ upload: artist’s name, title of work, date, medium and dimensions (in inches, height x width [x depth, if appropriate]; weight if over 50lbs; # minutes for video/audio).  (Example: “Jane Smith, Untitled, 2021, oil on canvas, 24 x 24")
• CAFE accepts up to six (6) total uploads of all work and detail images. Compilation images are acceptable if more than one image is needed.
• Artwork requiring assembly or special handling must include precise directions and photo(s) of the assembled work.
• Artwork MUST be ready to install and include all necessary hanging hardware (D rings, metal wire, cleats), equipment or mounts.
• If artwork is not inherently balanced or stable, an appropriate mount or method must be provided.
• Electrical requirements must be stated; US/North America standard: 115/120V, 60hz; no more than 15 amp.
• Delicate electronics (micro-controllers, midis, etc.) must include their own battery back-up (UPS).
• Audio, video and media works must be accompanied by all the necessary AV equipment (monitor, projector, media player, speakers, cables, etc.). They must have the ability to automatically restart components and initialize the multimedia program if power is interrupted. Multimedia must function without active WiFi and all auto update features should be disabled. Sound volume must be adjustable.

Submission Checklist:  

• Competed Entry Form
• Up to 6 high resolution images per work or 6 high resolution videos for new media submissions, or a combination of images, video, and audio of no more than 6 samples.
• Artist Biography
• Artist Statement document, 150 words maximum, written in the first person
• Current Résumé

Please Do Not Email Images to the Museum.

Email Jenny Martin at Jenny.Martin@sos.nj.gov with questions. 

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility  

Artists over the age of 21 who work or live in the state of New Jersey are eligible to apply.  

The exhibition theme can accommodate works created in traditional and contemporary art and craft media – oil acrylic, tempera, stone, digital, video, film, metal, glass, wood, textiles, clay, etc., and methods – painting, sculpture, drawing, photography, printmaking, film/new media, installation, metalwork, glassblowing, woodworking, textile, ceramic, etc.

Works may be designed for wall hanging (2-D or 3-D); free-standing sculptures intended for the floor or pedestal display; small or medium works for protected display cases; for audio installation; or for video display on a screen or digital monitor. All works must be ready to install, including all necessary hanging hardware (D-rings, metal wire, cleats/Z hangers), mounts, or audio/visual equipment.   

All submissions must represent work that: 

• Has been completed within the past two years.
• Is available for the complete duration of the exhibition.

See below for detailed Specifications.