PrintHouston is pleased to announce Press Forward, a contemporary student printmaking exhibition to be held in Houston, TX in the fall of 2023. We are looking for exceptional works from current student printmakers that explore the wide range of traditional and innovative printmaking processes. Original works in all printmaking media are eligible, including  lithographs, screenprints, relief prints, intaglio, monoprints, and letterpress. Digital and mixed media works are accepted which incorporate a traditional printmaking medium as a main component. No photography or digital reproductions of original works will be accepted. Works must be completed within the last two years.This exhibition is open to current students in highschool or students currently enrolled in a degree or certificate program.

ORGANIZER 

PrintHouston is a Houston-based Non-Profit 501(c)(3) arts organization. Our mission is to promote traditional and non-traditional printmaking, encourage print collecting, and facilitate the professional growth of our members. 

JUROR 

We are pleased to announce that Melanie Yazzie, an artist and Professor of Printmaking at UC Boulder, will be our juror for this exhibition. As a printmaker, painter, and sculptor, Melanie Yazzie’s work draws upon her rich Diné (Navajo) cultural heritage. Her work follows the Diné dictum “walk in beauty” literally, creating beauty and harmony. As an artist, she works to serve as an agent of change by encouraging others to learn about social, cultural, and political phenomena shaping the contemporary lives of Native peoples in the United States and beyond. Her work incorporates both personal experiences as well as the events and symbols from Dine culture. Her work is informed and shaped by personal experiences.

Ms. Yazzie uses her travels around the world to connect with other indigenous peoples. Her visits to New Zealand, the Arctic, the Pueblos in the Southwest, and to indigenous peoples of Russia, these travels have been the impetus for continued dialogue about Indigenous cultural practices, language, song, story-telling, and survival.

Ms. Yazzie has exhibited widely, both in the United States and abroad. Her work is in the Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design, Print Collection, Providence, the Museum of Contemporary Native Art in Santa Fe, New Mexico, the Kennedy Museum of Art, Art Collection, Ohio University, Athens, Ohio, Rhodes University, Print Collection, Grahamstown, South Africa, to name a few. She has been reviewed in Focus Magazine, Santa Fe, the Los Angeles Times, New Zealand Herald, and she is mentioned in Printmaking in the Sun by Dan Welden and Pauline Muir and The Lure of the Local: Sense of Place in a Multi Centered Society by Lucy Lippard. She has had over 500 group and solo exhibitions combined. Yazzie makes prints, sculptures, paintings, and mixed media works. Her work can always be found at the Glenn Green Gallery in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

In order to ensure the quality of the exhibition, the juror reserves the right to reject any work that was not accurately represented in the digital file. The juror’s decision is final.
 

VENUE 

BOX13 is an artist-run nonprofit committed to supporting the creation and advancement of experimental contemporary arts in Houston. BOX13 holds affordable work spaces for emerging and established artists, four exhibition spaces, and an outdoor mural wall. In addition to providing space to create, BOX13 promotes and encourages dialogue on current trends in the arts. 
 

AWARDS 

First Place - $300

Second Place - $200

Third Place - $100

ELIGIBILITY 

Open to current students in high school or students currently enrolled in a degree or certificate program, residing in the United States of America. Works must be original, not to exceed 48 inches in any direction, completed in the last two years, and not previously shown in Houston. Collaborative work should be entered under only one of the artist's names. No reproductions of original works or photography. Please direct any questions to president@printmattershouston.org.
 

FEES 

$25 for up to 3 entries, payable during the online entry process. 
 

ENTRY GUIDELINES 

Selection will be based on juror review of jpeg images that have been prepared and submitted following CaFÉ entry media specifications. You may submit up to three images. If you wish to submit a detailed shot, it will count as an entry. All accepted works must be available for the duration of the exhibition. Be prepared to submit your artist statement (limit of 2000 characters) during the submission process. 

The entry deadline is 11:59 p.m. Central Standard Time, September 11, 2023.
 

PRESENTATION OF ARTWORK 

All work will be presented professionally in the gallery. Work must be shipped ready to hang: framed (matted with white or off-white mats, if applicable), with wire hangers or d-rings (no sawtooth hangers), and Plexiglass. Exceptions: oversized works, installations, 3-D, video, and artist’s books. Please contact president@printmattershouston.org for questions relating to hanging and installation requirements. 
 

Special display and handling instructions must be included in the package when shipped. PrintHouston reserves the right to exclude any entry that presents complex hanging/exhibition problems or is not framed professionally.

SHIPPING AND INSURANCE 

Shipped works are due at PrintHouston by October 14th. PrintHouston will accept work beginning October 9th. You may hand-deliver your work during install day to BOX13, November 1st, 12:00 – 2:00 p.m. No exceptions.
 

Shipped work must be packaged appropriately in a reusable carton, box, or crate and include paid return shipping. Absolutely no packing peanuts. All works will be insured upon arrival in BOX13. Neither BOX 13 nor PrintHouston is responsible for any damage or loss during transit.
 

Ship to: 
Address to be shared with selected artists.
 

Hand-delivered work must be picked up December 10th, 12:00 – 5:00 p.m. at BOX13. Return shipping will begin December 15th.
 

**IMPORTANT: Artists are responsible for the cost of shipping. You MUST include an easily located prepaid return shipping label. If you do not, your work will not be hung.
 

SALES & COPYRIGHTS Prints may or may not be for sale depending on the choice of the artist. The exhibition sale commission for PrintHouston is 40% of the selling price and artist commission is 60% of the selling price. PrintHouston reserves the right to offer reasonable shared discounts up to 10%. Your entry grants PrintHouston and BOX13 permission to include your image(s) in marketing and advertising and any catalogs created for Press Forward and BOX13.
 

QUESTIONS If you have any questions, e-mail us at president@printmattershouston.org. 
 

IMPORTANT DATES 
September 11: 11:59:00 p.m. (CST) Submissions Deadline

September 12 - September 17: Jury Process
September 18: E-mail notifications
October 9 - October 14: Shipped artwork due to arrive at PrintHouston

November 1: 12-2 p.m. Hand-delivered drop-off at BOX13

November 1: Exhibition install at BOX 13
November 3: 7:00 p.m. Juror’s talk and awards

November 3: 6:30 - 9:30 p.m. Opening reception
December 9: End day of exhibition
December 10: Hand-delivered pick-up, exhibition de-install
December 15: Return shipping begins

Application Requirements

Total Media - Minimum: 1, Maximum: 3

Selection will be based on juror review of jpeg images that have been prepared and submitted following CaFÉ entry media specifications. You may submit up to three images. If you wish to submit a detailed shot, it will count as an entry. All accepted works must be available for the duration of the exhibition. Be prepared to submit your artist statement (limit of 2000 characters) during the submission process.

Eligibility Criteria

Open to current students in high school or students currently enrolled in a degree or certificate program, residing in the United States of America. Works must be original, not to exceed 48 inches in any direction, completed in the last two years, and not previously shown in Houston. Collaborative work should be entered under only one of the artist's names. No reproductions of original works or photography.