Call Description

Texas National 2026 Art Competition & Exhibition

Exhibition Dates: April 17 – May 31, 2026.

The Juror: Cindi Strauss

Awards: 1st - $2,000; 2nd - $1,000; 3rd - $500; Honorable Mentions

Entry Fee and Procedures: One, two or three digital images may be submitted via CaFÉ for $35 entry fee at https://www.callforentry.org. Secure credit card payments can be made through CaFÉ.  

If you require additional information regarding TEXAS NATIONAL, e-mail weelynd.mcmullan@sfasu.edu.

Juror’s choices for TEXAS NATIONAL 2026 will be announced via e-mail and the CaFÉ website by March 10. Exhibition dates are April 17 – May 31, 2026.

Shipping: Accepted work must be sent at the artist’s expense, properly and securely packed in a single reusable carton or crate (NO Styrofoam peanuts) to TEXAS NATIONAL. Works must be shipped ready for installation. All 2-D works must have hangers or be wired for hanging. Plexiglas must be used instead of glass in framing. Works must arrive by April 2, 2026 IMPORTANT RETURN SHIPPING INFORMATION: Each reusable carton or crate must include a pre-paid return-shipping label, which also includes pre-paid insurance. Detailed instructions will be sent to those artists whose works are accepted by the juror. Artists do have the option to hand-deliver/pick up work if arrangements are made in advance. ANY ARTWORKS THAT DO NOT HAVE RETURN SHIPPING, ARE ABANDONED OR NOT CLAIMED BY SEPTEMBER 20, 2026, WILL BECOME THE PROPERTY OF STEPHEN F. AUSTIN STATE UNIVERSITY.

SFA Galleries: The SFA Galleries present exhibitions of regional, national and international art to an expanding audience centered in East Texas. It maintains high security with a guard always present during gallery hours. The gallery facilitates sales but takes no commission. The gallery does not profit from the entry fees of TEXAS NATIONAL. All monies collected pay for the entire exhibition, artists’ fees, awards, and advertising.

About the Juror:

Cindi Strauss is the Sara and Bill Morgan Curator of Decorative Arts, Craft, and Design and Assistant Director, Programming at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. She holds a B.A. with honors in Art History from Hamilton College and an M.A. in the History of Decorative Arts and Design from the Cooper-Hewitt/Parsons School of Design. At the museum, she is responsible for the acquisition, research, publication, and exhibition of post-1900 decorative arts, design, and craft.

Over the course of her career, she has curated over 30 exhibitions including major craft and design-based exhibitions including Ornament as Art: Contemporary Jewelry from the Helen Williams Drutt Collection (2007); Shifting Paradigms in Contemporary Ceramics: The Garth Clark and Mark Del Vecchio Collection (2012); Beyond Craft: Decorative Arts from the Leatrice S. and Melvin B. Eagle Collection (2014); Radical: Italian Design 1968-86, The Dennis Freedman Collection (2020); Electrifying Design: A Century of Lighting (2021); and The Jewelry of Dorothea Pruhl (2025). In addition to her MFAH publications, she has contributed writing to craft and design catalogues and journals nationwide and has been a frequent lecturer at museums and universities.

Application Requirements

Submitting Images for Jurying: All entries (information and images) will be accepted through the CaFÉ website.

1) Each entrant may submit up to three digital images of three different art works.

2) Each work must be represented by only one image (no detail views or duplicates).

Instructions on how to format images to CaFÉ specifications can be found at Image Prep.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility: TEXAS NATIONAL COMPETITION & EXHIBITION 2026 is open to all artists working in the United States. Works may be of any medium (except video and performance). All works must be original and completed within THE LAST TWO YEARS. Works too old or two large will be disqualified. No previously submitted works will be accepted. All works must be available through the entire run of the show. Do not submit works for jury that might be sold before or shown elsewhere during the TEXAS NATIONAL 2026 show time frame. Visit us at: http://www.art.sfasu.edu/cole, or apply on line at: https://www.callforentry.org/ and search for Texas National. Questions? email us at weelynd.mcmullan@sfasu.edu, or call 936-468-1131.

PLEASE READ CAREFULLY AS SOME THINGS HAVE CHANGED. Size Limitations: Two-dimensional works, when displayed, cannot exceed 48” in height or width, including frame. Three-dimensional works cannot exceed 72” in height, 40” in width, and 40” in depth. If a separate pedestal is sent with the work, the total height, including the pedestal, must not exceed 72”.  The weight limitation of each crated or packaged work must not exceed 60 lbs.