DESCRIPTION The 38th Annual International Exhibition is a juried visual art competition organized by the Department of Art and Art History at The University of Texas at Tyler. Internationally known artists, curators, and scholars have served as jurors selecting works for exhibition created by some of the best contemporary artists working today. The Department purchases three to six works from the exhibition each year; purchased works are added to our permanent collection. The permanent collection serves as an educational teaching resource; much of the permanent collection is exhibited throughout the UT Tyler main campus.

JUROR Willie Cole (b. 1955 in Somerville, New Jersey) lives and works in New Jersey. 

His work has been the subject of several one-person museum exhibitions at the Museum of Modern Art, New York (1998), Bronx Museum of the Arts (2001), Miami Art Museum (2001), Tampa Museum of Art (2004), University of Wyoming Art Museum (2006), Montclair Art Museum (2006), College of Wooster Art Museum (2013-14).

In 2010, a survey exhibition of his work on paper (1975-2010) took place at the James Gallery of the Graduate Center of the City University of New York and traveled to Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, Sarah Moody Gallery of Art, University of Alabama and Rowan University Art Gallery, New Jersey.

Several of his sculptures were included in “Reconfiguring an African Icon: Odes to the Mask by Modern and Contemporary Artists from Three Continents” at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York (2011).  In 2013, a traveling exhibition “Complex Conversations: Willie Cole Sculptures and Wall Works” opened at Albertine Monroe-Brown Gallery at Western Michigan University.

In 2015, Cole’s work was included in “Represent: 200 Years of African American Art” at the Philadelphia Museum of Art and “Wild Noise: Artwork from the Bronx Museum of the Arts” at El Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Havana. In 2016, his work was included in “Disguise: Masks and Global African Art” at the Brooklyn Museum.

“Willie Cole: On-Site” opened at the David C. Driskell Center, University of Maryland and traveled to the Museum of Art at the University of New Hampshire, and Arthur Ross Gallery, Philadelphia in 2016. The following year, Cole had solo exhibitions at the Snite Museum of Art at the University of Notre Dame and at the College of Architecture and Design Gallery at the New Jersey Institute of Technology. In 2019, “Willie Cole: Beauties” opened at the Radcliffe Institute at Harvard University as well as “Willie Cole: Bella Figura” at Alexander and Bonin, New York.

ENTRY AND FEES This exhibition will be juried from digital media. Artists may submit up to three works for consideration for the non-refundable fee of $35. Entries must be submitted via CaFE (Call for Entries)

IMAGE SPECIFICATIONS.Submitted images must comply with CaFE’ s entry requirements. Artwork not accurately represented by the submitted image may be withheld from the exhibition. 

ELIGIBILITY This competition is open to any artist who is over the age of 18, working in two-dimensional media. Paintings, drawings, prints, and photographs created in the last three years are welcome.

SHIPPING Shipping costs and shipping insurance are the responsibility of the artist. Shipped work should arrive by January 16, 2023. Hand delivered artworks may be brought in on January 5, 2023, between 9:00 am and 1:00 pm. Shipped work must be in a reusable shipping container and have a pre-paid (ready to use) return shipping label included with the artwork. All work will be returned in accordance with our shipping policy which will be sent to accepted artists. The University of Texas at Tyler is not responsible for any artworks without shipping labels that are left at the gallery beyond the designated pick-up period. 

AWARDS Several purchase awards will be made; purchased works will be added to the University of Texas at Tyler Department of Art and Art History’s permanent collection.

PRESENTATION Works must be professionally presented and ready for installation upon receipt. Framed works must use Plexiglass only. Pieces with glass will not be accepted. Entries must weigh less than 50 pounds.

LIABILITY The Department of Art and Art History will insure all works in the period between delivery and pick-up at the Meadows Gallery. All reasonable care will be taken in the handling of entries, however, works will be shipped and handled at the artist’s risk. All works are insured subject to the limitations, terms, and specifications of our fine art insurance policy and all liability will be isolated to our insurance policy.

AGREEMENT Completed entry constitutes agreement on the part of entrant to all conditions stated. Works may be reproduced for publicity unless otherwise indicated.

KEY DATES   November 11, 2022: Entry Deadline

December 19, 2022: Notification of acceptance via email

January 6, 2023: Deadline for Receipt of Work

January 16, 2022: Exhibition opens

To Be Determined: Reception and Juror Presentation

March 3, 2023: Exhibition closes

March 13 - 17, 2023: Return of Works

CONTACT Michelle Taff, Gallery and Media Coordinator

Email:  mtaff@uttyler.edu

Phone:  903-566-7237

Application Requirements

ENTRY AND FEES This exhibition will be juried from digital media. Artists may submit up to three works for consideration for the non-refundable fee of $35. Entries must be submitted via CaFE (Call for Entries)

IMAGE SPECIFICATIONS.Submitted images must comply with CaFE’ s entry requirements. Artwork not accurately represented by the submitted image may be withheld from the exhibition. 

Eligibility Criteria

This competition is open to any artist who is over the age of 18, working in two-dimensional media. Paintings, drawings, prints, and photographs created in the last three years are welcome.