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 17th Annual Wayne Art Center Plein Air Festival kicks-off on May 4, 2025, 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 the art center's 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 21, 2025 (6 weeks). A full schedule of events including 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 six-week exhibition.

The success of the Wayne Art Center Plein Air Festival is made possible through the artists’ enthusiastic participation over the past 16 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 will attend a Welcome Breakfast at a local picturesque farm property on Sunday, May 4 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 & Sale and Awards Presentation

The 17th 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 Larry Moore, including Best of Show, First Place, Second Place, Third Place, and Special Themed Awards. Industry Prizes will also be awarded.

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

17th Annual Wayne Art Center Plein Air Festival Juror:

Wayne Art Center is pleased to welcome Larry Moore as the 2025 Plein Air Juror.

Larry Moore is a fine artist, instructor, illustrator and author.  Moore's illustrious career as a visual communicator spans an impressive 50+ years.  His journey began in the vibrant world of the surf industry where he honed his skills as a mural and apparel artist.  Over the years, he seamlessly transitioned into graphic design, advertising, illustration, and fine art, earning national acclaim in each of these realms of visual communication.  Since 1990, he has shared his knowledge as a college and workshop instructor.  His contributions to the field extend beyond his teaching, with the publication of his successful workbook on creativity for artists, 'Fishing for Elephants: Insights and Exercises to Inspire Authentic Creativity.'

Moore’s work has been recognized in numerous plein air events around the country with Best of Show Awards, a variety of Best of Category Awards, and Artists and Collectors Choice Awards. Some of his most noted awards include Society of Illustrators, NY 2005 Gold medal; Society of Illustrators, NY annual exhibit 1995, 1997-2005; Luerzers Archive Top 200 illustrators worldwide, 2005; and Art Renewal Center International Competition 2023, 2024.

Moore’s work is represented by galleries in Georgia, South Carolina, Wyoming, Florida and New Mexico and has been included in a number of museum exhibitions including Huntsville Museum of Art in Alabama, Society of Illustrators Museum in New York, Orlando Museum of Art in Florida, Laguna Museum of Art in California, Tallahassee Museum in Florida, and The Museum of Wildlife Art in Wyoming.  His work can be found in public and private collections across the United States, including Central Florida Historical Museum, Cape Canaveral Port Authority, Jacksonville Baptist Children’s Hospital, and The Kessler Collection, Grand Bohemian Hotel.

Calendar of Events for Wayne Plein Air 2025

November 13, 2024 – February 20, 2025

Online applications accepted        

Monday, March 3, 2025

Notification of Accept/Decline are sent through the CaFE submission platform

Sunday, May 4, 2025, 9:00 am

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

May 4 – May 10, 2025

Artists paint within 35 miles of Wayne

Saturday, May 10, 2025

Final painting festival morning in Wayne and surrounding area

Saturday, May 10   6-10pm

Wayne Art Center 17th Annual Plein Air Festival Collectors’ Preview & Sale and Awards Presentation

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

May 11 - June 21, 2025

Wayne Plein Air Exhibition

Sunday, May 11, 2025, 1pm

Larry Moore: Juror’s Lecture

Monday, May 12 – Thursday, May 15, 2025, 9 am – 4pm

Larry Moore:  Four-Day Painting Workshop

Saturday, June 21 at 4pm 

Exhibition Closes

June 24-27 and  June 30 - July 1 9am-5pm

Retrieval of Unsold Artwork.  All work must be picked up by the artist or a representative by July 25, 2025 

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, 2025.  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 2025 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 10- June 21, 2025.

Invitation to participate as a 2025 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.