The Gertrude Herbert Institute of Art is pleased to announce the 2025 juried fine art competition, A Sense of Place. Open to participants from throughout the United States, this event, now in its 43rd year, seeks to recognize the outstanding quality and diversity of work being generated by contemporary American artists. 

Founded in 1937 and housed in the historic Nicholas Ware mansion (c. 1818), the Gertrude Herbert Institute of Art (GHIA) is Augusta's only independent nonprofit visual arts school and gallery. The Institute serves as a showcase for local, regional, and national artists, offering rotating exhibitions of outstanding contemporary artwork year-round. In addition, professionally taught studio art classes in a wide variety of media are provided to students of all ages and experience levels. 

Juror: Marshall Price

Marshall N. Price is the Chief Curator and Nancy A. Nasher and David J. Haemisegger Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University and serves as adjunct faculty in the university’s Department of Art, Art History, and Visual Studies. He received a Ph.D. in Art History from the Graduate Center, City University of New York. Before joining the Nasher Museum, Price was Curatorial Assistant at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art and from 2003 until 2014 held the position of Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the National Academy Museum, New York. He has organized numerous exhibitions including Second Nature: Photography in the Age of the Anthropocene, Roy Lichtenstein: History in the Making, 1948-1960, Nina Chanel Abney: Royal Flush, 1967-75, Jeffrey Gibson: Said the Pigeon to the Squirrel, and John Cage: The Sight of Silence, among others.

Non-Refundable Entry Fee: $35 entry fee for up to 3 entries/images. Each image counts as an entry. If you are submitting 3D work and you need to send additional images of your work, you may email them to hwilliams@ghia.org.

Awards

Three cash prizes will be given, including a $750 Best of Show Award and two $500 Juror’s Awards. At the juror’s discretion, additional noncash Merit awards may also be presented. Award recipients will be announced on Friday, September 5, 2025, at the opening reception for A Sense of Place.

Application Requirements

Artwork and Presentation

1.       Each accepted entry must be installation-ready, framed or encased, with appropriate hanging hardware and installation instructions.

2.       2D artworks must have a hanging device, either d-rings or screw eyes with braided picture wire securely wrapped. Works under 14” in any and all directions may use saw tooth hangers.

3.       2D work must not exceed three feet in width or seven feet in height (framed). Works on paper should be framed and under Plexiglas (no glass, please). Test your framing/presentation before sending it. The presentation of your work is as important as the object and deserves extra care and consideration including clean mats and frames. Please no plastic frames or clip style frames. Works on canvas do not have to be framed but must be ready to hang. Gertrude Herbert Institute of Art (GHIA) retains the right to reject works from the exhibition at any time, at their discretion.

4.       3D artworks must not exceed 4’ (four feet) in any direction or weigh more than 70 pounds. Installations must conform to the space guidelines for three-dimensional artwork.  We are unable to accept work that requires suspension from the ceiling. Sculptures will be placed on pedestals or wall shelves (or floor if appropriate).

5.       DO NOT use packing peanuts for shipping. They are the bane of our existence. Please pack your work carefully and in sturdy boxes, not ones that have been excessively reused. If using paper to stuff around your artwork, remember it will compress with weight and movement and may not protect your work adequately.

Accepted work may not be withdrawn before the close of the exhibition on Friday, October 10, 2025. If your art is accepted, it must be available for the entire exhibition. No substitutions may be made once work is juried into the show. We recommend work submitted should be considered for general viewing audiences of all ages.

**Return Shipping MUST BE PREPAID through a shipping company such as FedEx or UPS with a prepaid label enclosed with your artwork. GHIA will not accept postage stamps for shipping, credit card numbers, or shipping accounts for return of artwork, nor will GHIA staff take artwork to the post office or anywhere else to be weighed, measured, or pay for shipping.

Calendar of Events

April 15 – June 30 – Open for entries

June 30, 2025 – Entry deadline 

July 28 – Notification letters sent to artists

On or before August 20 – Delivery deadline for accepted works 

September 5–October 10 – Exhibition on view  

September 5, 2025, from 5-7 PM – Awards presentation and reception

October 26 – Deadline for artwork to be picked up.

Return shipment - can take up to 2 weeks after the closing date of show to be shipped due to the volume of artwork.

Eligibility Criteria

The 2025 juried fine art competition is open to all US artists age 18 and older. All works must be original, not previously exhibited at the Gertrude Herbert Institute of Art, and completed on or after January 1, 2022. Work that predates this cut-off date will not be considered and omitted from the jurying process.

Entries in the following media will be accepted: painting, drawing, mixed media, printmaking, ceramics, sculpture, fabric art and photography. Film and video pieces are ineligible due to our gallery limitations. Entries are not judged in media categories. 

We respectively request that if your art is accepted, it is available for the show. Our gallery is in the state of Georgia so consider shipping costs before entering. No substitutions may be made once work is juried into the show. We recommend work submitted should be considered for general viewing audiences of all ages.