General Description

The Wayne Art Center Plein Air Festival is one of the longest-running and most popular outdoor painting events in the country. Founded in 2008, the Wayne Art Center Plein Air Festival has welcomed over 500 artists to paint the splendor of the Philadelphia area and has become one of the most eagerly anticipated cultural events in the region.

The 16th Annual Wayne Art Center Plein Air Festival kicks-off on May 5, 2024, with the arrival of 32 juried, nationally recognized, and emerging artists who have ventured to Wayne, Pennsylvania to capture the exceptional beauty of the Delaware Valley. As one of the premier plein air events in the country, Wayne Art Center offers artists the unique opportunity to showcase over 300 works created during the festival in three spacious, light-filled, and state-of-the-art exhibition galleries. These impressive works, which represent a diverse range of styles and mediums, are on view and sale through June 22, 2024 (6 weeks). A full schedule of events, to include community paint-outs, artist demos, lectures and other programs will be presented during the span of the festival and exhibition to further advance awareness of the plein air movement.

The galleries at Wayne Art Center are enjoyed by more than 30,000 visitors each year and sales during the Wayne Plein Air Exhibition are robust and remain steady throughout the span of the exhibition.

The success of the Wayne Art Center Plein Air Festival is made possible through the artists’ enthusiastic participation over the past 15 years, along with the generosity of our many business sponsors, patrons, and volunteers, demonstrating how valued this festival is to our community. Funds raised through this eagerly anticipated event benefit Wayne Art Center’s vast array of educational, outreach, and exhibition programs for individuals of all ages and abilities.

Artist Participants

For artists who previously have participated in Wayne Art Center Plein Air, the festival offers an opportunity to reconnect with old friends and collectors and to compete for $25,000 in cash awards. For emerging artists, acceptance into Wayne Art Center's Plein Air Festival represents an important step in achieving national recognition. As one of the first plein air festivals established in our country, the Wayne Art Center Plein Air Festival has attracted some of our nation’s most prestigious outdoor painters working in the field and has served an instrumental role in supporting the vibrant contemporary landscape painting movement.

Hospitality

Artist housing will be graciously provided by welcoming members of the community.

Participating plein air artists are requested to attend a Welcome Breakfast at a local picturesque farm on Sunday, May 5 to launch the festival week, along with a comprehensive artist orientation and canvas stamping.

Locations

Throughout the festival week, painters work on location throughout the surrounding areas, a locale robust with colorful and varied landscapes. From quaint small towns filled with historic architecture to rolling hills dotted with livestock, to the dynamic skyline views of Center City Philadelphia and its surrounding waterfronts, including the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers, there is no lack of inspiration or subject matter. A week of intense work culminates in a dynamic exhibition of over 300 paintings.

Plein Air Festival Exhibition Collectors’ Preview & Awards Ceremony

The 16th Annual Wayne Art Center Plein Air Festival debuts with a highly charged collectors’ preview party where patrons vie for the first chance to acquire their painting of choice. Participating plein air artists will have the unique opportunity to connect with Wayne Art Center sponsors, patrons and area collectors while establishing important contacts. Over ten major cash awards totaling $25,000 will be presented by Juror Jill Carver, including Best of Show, First Place, Second Place, Third Place, and Special Themed Awards. Industry prizes will also be offered.

In addition to cash, the Best of Show award winner will be invited to participate in the next year’s plein air event.

16th Annual Wayne Art Center Plein Air Festival Juror:

Wayne Art Center is pleased to welcome Jill Carver as the 2024 Plein Air Juror.

Originally from London, England, Jill Carver moved to the United States in 2002. Before becoming a full time professional artist, she was a curatorial research assistant at the National Portrait Gallery in London for twelve years. Jill lives in Rico, Colorado, a small historical mining town nestled in the San Juan Mountains of SW Colorado.

After establishing her name winning numerous Artists Choice awards at the country’s top plein events, such as Laguna Beach Invitational, Plein Air Easton, Sedona, San Luis Obispo and Telluride, she has participated in premier annual shows such as The Coors and The Bighorn Rendevous. In 2014, Jill won the Gold Medal (Artists’ Choice) for Best in Show at Maynard Dixon Country and in the same year was inaugurated as Signature Member in ‘Plein Air Painters of America’. Her work is represented by The Medicine Man Gallery, The Insight Gallery, and Wood River Fine Arts. She is a popular and highly regarded teacher.

Skip Whitcomb: “Jill is making a powerful imprint on a whole generation of painters and opening eyes and minds to what western painting can be.”

Calendar of Events for Wayne Plein Air 2024

December 20, 2023 – February 20, 2024

Online submissions accepted        

Saturday, March 2, 2024

Notification of Accept/Decline  

Sunday, May 5, 2024, 9:00 am

Welcome Breakfast and arrival of artists for registration, canvas stamping and orientation.                   

May 5 – May 10, 2024

Artists paint within 35 miles of Wayne

Thursday, May 9, 2024

Paint Out – Artists paint at a specific location

Friday, May 10, 2024

Final festival morning

Friday, May 10   6-9 pm

Wayne Art Center 16th Annual Plein Air Festival Collectors’ Preview & Sale Awards Presentation

Wayne Art Center, 413 Maplewood Avenue, Wayne, PA 19087

Saturday, May 11, 2024, 1pm

Jill Carver: Juror’s Lecture

Monday, May 13 – Wednesday, May 15, 2024, 9 am – 4pm

Jill Carver: Three-Day Painting Workshop

Saturday, June 22 at 4pm 

Exhibition Closes

June 24-28 and July 1-2, 9am-5pm

Retrieval of Unsold Artwork.  All work must be picked up by the artist or a representative by July 26, 2024 

Register at www.waynepleinair.org

Contact Information

Pam McLean-Parker, Exhibition Coordinator, pam@wayneart.org

Wayne Art Center

413 Maplewood Avenue

Wayne, PA 19087

610.688.3553 x211

wayneart.org

If you have any questions about the exhibition, please contact Pam McLean-Parker at pam@wayneart.org. If you have technical questions about the online system, please contact the Call for Entry support team at Cafe@westaf.org

Application Requirements

Be sure to have upload-ready JPG files:

File Format: JPG files.

All images should be at least 300 dpi resolution.   

File dimensions: 1200 pixels or greater on the longest side.

File size: under 5 MB

Please name each jpg file with the title of the work.

Online applications are accepted through the CaFE platform only and must be completed and submitted with payment by midnight, February 20, 2024.  Wayne Art Center invites up to four images per application.  Artists may submit ONE application.

Eligibility Criteria

Open to artists 18 and older from the United States.

Artists participating in the Wayne Plein Air Festival 2024 may not exhibit at other galleries within a 50-mile radius of the Wayne Art Center during the duration of the WAC Plein Air Exhibition from May 11- June 22, 2024.

Invitation to participate as a 2024 Wayne Art Center Plein Air artist constitutes an agreement on the part of the artist to all terms and conditions of this entire prospectus, which includes, but is not limited to, the right of Wayne Art Center to use entry images for publicity purposes.

Plein Air artists will agree to sell work featured in Wayne Art Center’s online gallery throughout the duration of the exhibition at the same commission rate as in-gallery sales.