Call Description

Exhibit Details: 

The Marblehead Arts Association (MAA) is inviting artists, both MAA members, and non-members, from across the country to participate in the MAA’s National Exhibit entitled Variations 2026.

Exhibition Dates are April 18 through June 13, 2026

Variations 2026 is an 8-week, juried exhibit of 2D and 3D artwork. All mediums are welcome (see specifics for submissions under "Exhibit Details" further down). 

Artwork will be juried for acceptance and judged for prizes in Fine Art, Photography, and 3D works. Awards will be presented at the Opening Reception on Sunday, April 19, 2026.

The Marblehead Arts Association is located at
8 Hooper Street, Marblehead, MA 01945

781.631.2608

www.marbleheadarts.org

JUDGES and JUDGING PROCESS

We are pleased that the following, highly qualified professionals will be our jurors for this Variations 2026 show. All decisions with regards to which entries are accepted, as well as the awarding of prizes are solely those of the judges and no persons associated with the Marblehead Arts Association has participation in either process. 

Fine Art Judge
Christina Grace Mastrangelo

Biography

Christina Grace Mastrangelo is a European-trained Classical Realist Painter who has dedicated herself to studying, teaching, and professionally painting figurative work for over 15 years. A 2009 graduate of the Angel Academy of Art in Florence, Italy, she has won awards for her work from the Art Renewal Center, Portrait Society of America, Oil Painters of America, the Salmagundi Club, and more. She has shown at notable venues, including a solo show at the St. Botolph Club in Boston, MA, the Villa Bardini in Florence, Italy, twice at both The European Museum of Modern Art (MEAM) in Barcelona, Spain, and the Michele and Donald D’Amour Museum of Fine Arts in Springfield, Massachusetts, including a solo show at the latter. Most recently, in 2024 she exhibited forty-four pieces at the Guild of Boston Artists for a solo show and was featured in Fine Art Connoisseur Magazine as one of “Five Artists to Watch” and American Art Collector Magazine’s “Artist Focus.”

www.christinamastrangelo.com

Photography Judge
Lou Jones

Biography

Lou Jones is past president of the New England chapter of the American Society of Media Photographers and co-founder of CDIA (Center for Digital Imaging Arts), Boston, Massachusetts. His eclectic career has evolved from commercial to the personal. It has spanned every format, film type, artistic movement and technological change. He maintains a studio in Boston, Massachusetts and has photographed for Fortune 500 corporations, international companies and local small businesses including Federal Express, Nike and the Barr Foundation; completed assignments for magazines and publishers all over the world such as Time/Life, National Geographic and Paris Match; initiated long term projects on the civil wars in Central America, death row, Olympics Games and pregnancy; and published multiple books.

www.fotojones.com

3-D Judge
Simon Kogan

Biography

Born in Russia, Simon Kagan received 13 years of classical academic training in Moscow, including an MFA and an apprenticeship under the renowned sculptor Isaac Brodsky. Since immigrating to the U.S. in 1991, he has steadily risen to national prominence as a sculptor whose widely acclaimed work, Monumental to Miniature, reflects a bold yet poetic pursuit of the archetypal and renders an ethereal quality highly resonant with the viewer. A Fellow of the National Sculpture Society and recipient of the Medal of Honor 2025, Simon Kogan has long shared his artistic passion through the teaching of sculpture, painting, anatomy, and drawing in the U.S. and abroad.

www.simonkogan.com


Prizes:

The following awards will be given in each category of Fine Art, Photography, and 3-D:

• Cash prizes of $1000, $250, and $100
• Judges' decisions on acceptance into the exhibit and prize awards are final.

Applicants aged under 18 must have a parent or guardian sign their permission.

 Important Dates:

·       November 15, 2025     Online submission start date

·        February 22, 2026    Online submission closing date

·        March 15, 2026        Email notification of Juror's decisions

·        April 12, 2026       Deadline date for the arrival of accepted artwork(s). 

          All artwork should be hand-delivered or shipped to:

The Marblehead Arts Association, 8 Hooper Street, Marblehead MA 01945

·       April 18 – June 13     Variations 2026 Exhibit Dates

·       April 19 - Opening Reception and Awards

·       June 14 – Beginning of Artwork pick-up (local) date

        June 15 - June 16 - Packing and shipping week

MAA Members: If you are submitting a piece for jurying into Variations, please plan on submitting a different piece in the MAA Summer Member exhibit in order to avoid the same piece hanging in two closely time exhibits.

Submissions accepted or exhibited in the Variations 2022, 2023, 2024 or 2025 show are not eligible for Variations 2026.

Visa, MasterCard, AMEX, or PayPal will be accepted for application fee payment. Applicants may also pay by personal check. Checks should be made payable to the Marblehead Arts Association, 8 Hooper St, Marblehead MA 01945. Please write "Variations 26" in the memo line. The application will not be finalized until the entry fee has been paid.

Any in-person payment done at the MAA for this exhibit does not exempt you from registering through the CaFE website. Each applicant must complete the online application to be eligible regardless of where or how payment is made. The application will be held in the "incomplete status" mode and not eligible for jurying until the online application and payment are complete. 

.Shipping

• Please make sure your name is directly on your artwork if shipping
• The MAA is not responsible for loss or damage to work in transit to or from the MAA.
• Shipping and handling fees, as well as return shipping fees, are the responsibility of the artist. We strongly suggest insuring and tracking your pieces adequately for transport.
• No packing peanuts allowed.
• A PRE-PAID RETURN-SHIPPING LABEL MUST BE ENCLOSED WITH THE WORK AND SHIPPED IN A CONTAINER SUITABLE TO RE-USE FOR RETURN SHIPPING. No work will be exhibited that does not include a pre-paid shipping label or one that has been emailed directly to the MAA. The email to send the shipping label to info@marbleheadarts.org.
• The MAA will store the artist's shipping materials and return-shipping labels to send the artwork back at the completion of the exhibition.
• If the artist’s shipping materials are deemed inadequate for return shipping, replacement shipping materials will be purchased and used by the MAA, at the artist's expense.
• Please consider the return packing process. If it is complex or difficult packaging, please provide instructions.

Commission and Sales Tax  

60% paid to the artist, 40% to the Marblehead Arts Association if the piece is sold while part of the MAA’s Variations 2026 show, and for 30 days following the closing if it is determined the sale is a result of having seen the artwork at the Variations 2026 exhibit, either online or in person.

All sales must be made through and recorded by the MAA.

Sales tax is collected on each sale except where exempt by individual state law.

Artists will be notified of any sale of their work(s) during the exhibition.

Every effort is made to pay the artist’s commission for their work 30 days after the end of the exhibition and payment has been received by the MAA. All sales are final.

Exhibit Details: 

Artists may submit digital images for up to 3 pieces of artwork for jurying for acceptance.

This is a one-artist-per-piece entry only. Multiple artists working on a single piece of work is not permitted.

If accepted, work sent in for exhibition must be the same work represented in the images used for judging. No substitutions will be accepted.

$35 for the first entry, $10 for each additional entry (maximum 3 entries).

For current MAA Members: At check-out, use the coupon code available only to MAA members to receive a $10 discount on their first entry. Contact the MAA at info@marbleheadarts.org or 781.631.2608. Please note: No refunds are given after payment is made.

Artist who are under 18 years of age need to have a parent or guardian email and contact information is required to complete the application. All students must provide the contact information for an Adult Sponsor (teacher, parent, mentor, etc.)

MAA Members: If you are submitting a piece for jurying into Variations, please plan on submitting a different piece in the MAA Summer Member exhibit in order to avoid the same piece hanging in two closely time exhibits.

Submissions that were accepted or exhibited in the previous Variations exhibitions are not eligible for Variations 2024.

Visa, MasterCard, AMEX or PayPal will be accepted for application fee payment. Applicants may also pay by personal check. Checks should be made payable to the Marblehead Arts Association, 8 Hooper St, Marblehead MA 01945. The application will not be finalized until the entry fee has been paid.

In-person payment, done at the MAA for this exhibit does not exempt you from registering through the CaFE website. Each applicant must file through this application to be eligible for the exhibition. 

Application Requirements

APLICATION REQUIREMENTS

Artwork Specifics:

All entries must be original, and if accepted, may not be substituted or withdrawn.  Accepted artwork must remain hanging until the completion of the exhibit unless sold or special arrangements are made with the MAA.

There are (3) three categories for submission:

Fine Art – Painting, Drawing, Printmaking, 2-D Mixed Media, Digital Art

Photography – Film, Digital

Composite images are acceptable. All parts of the image must be created photographically by the artist. Computer-generated or AI subject is not allowed.

3D – Sculpture, Crafts, Jewelry, Fabric, Paper

Digital submissions for jurying (high-quality images required for jurying)

• Images must be in jpg format, cropped to remove backgrounds
• Any single image cannot exceed 5MB (5000kb)​ Minimum of 100 dpi resolution
• Longest side is not to exceed 1400 pixels, other side not to exceed 1050 pixels

** For 3D work, multiple views of 3D work may be submitted as long as they are combined into one image that meets the stated requirements. The artist will only be charged for 1 image.

Due to the gallery exhibition space constraints of our antique mansion, 3D work must not be larger than what can fit on a 12x12 pedestal or take up more than 3ft by 3ft floor space. Weight must not be more than 50 lbs.

All accepted 2-D work must be framed and wired for hanging. Any work deemed not suitable for hanging will be returned to the artist without a refund. The MAA uses the Walker hanging system exclusively which utilizes rods hanging from a special crown molding. This hanging system requires sturdy, museum-quality wiring. Unusual installation requests must be made in advance and approved by the Marblehead Arts Association.

• Works on paper (including photography) must be matted, framed, and under glass or plexiglass.
•  Maximum size of 2-D work: no more than 42″ on any one side.
• Any hanging piece must not weigh more than 30 lbs.
• We do not permit nails, glue, or the application of any substance to the walls of our galleries. Our hanging system requires sturdy wiring exclusively.
• The MAA has a limited number of pedestals. Accepted artists requiring pedestals or other display structures should contact the MAA before shipping. All jewelry must come with its own display materials.
• There is no guarantee of acceptance.
• If your artwork is accepted, we kindly request you inform us as soon as possible if you are unable to provide that work for the exhibit. The judges are basing their decisions on individual pieces of artwork, not the artist. Only artwork submitted and subsequently accepted by the jurors are eligible for display in the exhibition. We cannot accept substitute pieces.

Eligibility Criteria

Artists under 18 years of age must have an adult sponsor.