Call Description

MidSummer Art Celebration is a celebration of Hawaiʻi based artists in all media. What are you working on in your studio? What new artworks are ready to be hatched?

MidSummer Art Celebration is a venue to share those ideas and creations with the community and artists alike. This is your invitation to show us your best work with no limitations on subject, style or media. 

Open to all Hawaiʻi Island based 2D and 3D artists in all mediums and styles.

2026 Juror: Meidor Hu

Sponsored by Hawaiʻi Island Art Alliance (HIAA) and the Hawai’i State Parks. 

Important Dates

Exhibition Dates: May 15 - June 18, 2026

Submission Deadline: April 17, at 11:59 PM HST.

Artist Notification: Tuesday, April 20, 2026

Accepted Artwork Drop-off:

• Hilo - Wailoa Center:  Saturday, May 9, between 10:00am - 2:00pm.
   
• Kona - Kona Frame Shop Parking Lot*: Friday, May 8, at 10:00am. Note: To be eligible for Kona drop-off, Artwork must be less than 40" x 40" and securely wrapped for transport.

Opening Reception: Friday, May 15, 5:00 - 7:00 pm.

Exhibition Opens: Friday, May 15 at 5pm. 

Exhibition Closes: Thursday, June 18, 2026

Artwork Pick-up:

• Hilo - Wailoa Center: Friday, June 19, between 10:00am - 2:00pm.
• Kona - Kona Frame Shop Parking Lot*: Friday, June 19, 10:00am.

*Kona pick-ups and drop-offs will be in the parking lot outside of Kona Frame Shop (73-5619 Kauhola St.) DO NOT contact the folks at Kona Frame Shop to make arrangements. Please contact Wailoa Center. More info upon acceptance to the exhibit. 
 

Submitting Artwork

To enter, participants must have a CaFÉ account and create a portfolio.

• If you do not have an existing CaFÉ account, you must first create one in order to proceed to submitting artwork to this juried exhibition.
• For each artwork submission, you will need to upload an image and artwork information to your portfolio in CaFÉ.
• The maximum file size that will be accepted is 5 MB.
• For this call we highly recommend submitting high quality images with the longest edge at 1200 pixels, sRGB, jpeg.
• Once submitted and entry fees are paid, you cannot make changes to your submission or add further artworks.

To better showcase your 3D works, you can:

• Submit a collage of multiple photographs of your artwork. This will allow the juror to see the work from all angles.
• Submit a short video of the artwork. Take a video as you walk around the piece or from a variety of angles. Please note in the video description that the 3D object is the submission not the video itself.

When creating your CAFE account and portfolio, be ready with both an artists statement and description of each work. 

• Your artists statement will be entered when creating your account. This can include a short bio, and/or your perspective as an artist.
• When uploading artwork images and information to your portfolio, please use the description section to convey the vision or story behind each work. (2000 character max)
• Both the artist statement and artwork description will be included in the exhibit documentation.

Need Help? Check out this helpful videos from CaFÉ:

Image Requirements: https://www.callforentry.org/artist-help-cafe/uploading-media/

Preparing Images for Download: https://www.callforentry.org/preparing-your-image-files-for-upload/

Photographing your work: https://www.callforentry.org/photographing-artwork/

Entry Fees 

$20 non-refundable entry fee per each submission. Maximum of five entries per artist. All images or videos must be submitted digitally and will be judged by jurors based upon files submitted.

Hawaii Island Student Discount - To encourage more local students to participate in the shows at Wailoa Center, HIAA offers a free first entry student discount for all HIAA-sponsored calls. 

This discount is available to all full time Hawaii Island students grade school through college, and can be redeemed using code 'HIStudent'. 

We hope this initiative will encourage student participation in the exhibitions.
 

Acceptance

Artists will be notified via email on the status of their application by Tuesday, April 20,2026. Please make sure your CaFÉ account is updated with your current contact information to ensure you are receiving communication from Wailoa Center and HIAA.

Sales

For any work sold, 75% of sales goes to the artist and 25% goes to HIAA for support of artists, art opportunities and exhibitions at Wailoa Center. 
 

Juror Information: 

2026 Juror: Meidor Hu

Juror Bio:

Meidor Hu was born in 1970 in Guangdong (China) and lives in Kea‘au in Hilo (Big Island). She received an MFA at the San Francisco Art Institute in 1999 and a BA at the University of Hawai‘i in Hilo. Meidor is an interdisciplinary artist comfortable moving from paint, print, drawings or installations. She currently teaches traditional studio art classes and digital media classes at The Digital Media Arts Program at Hawai‘i Community College, in Hilo. Her research is in the deconstruction of colors, patterns and meanings in Chinese portraits. She is interested in the dislocation/relocation of the figure with painted face from the artifice of the stage to the natural environment of landscape. Her work on interdisciplinary projects has been displayed locally at the Hawai‘i State Foundation on Culture and the Arts (Honolulu), The Contemporary Museum (Honolulu), and Honolulu Academy of Arts and in the continental U.S. Meidor Hu’s artwork is in numerous public collections in Hawai‘i, New York, New Jersey and Japan.
 

Prizes

Monetary prizes will be awarded. 

About Wailoa Center:

Located in Piʻopiʻo and the Wailoa River State Recreation Area, Wailoa Center is one of Hawai’i Island’s largest venues for showcasing the work of local and international artists. With exhibits that change monthly, the two galleries within Wailoa Center offer opportunities that provide inspiration and exposure to artists and community members alike. The Wailoa Center is free and open to the public.
 

About Hawaiʻi Island Art Alliance: 

Founded in 2015, Hawai`i Island Art Alliance (HIAA) is a non-profit organization supporting and inspiring art and culture in our community. HIAA is a completely volunteer-driven, whose current Mission is to concentrate on the support and production of a variety of happenings at the Wailoa Center. 

HIAA sponsors juried and non-juried exhibits, educational and cultural programming at Wailoa Center throughout the year.  Through its contributions at Wailoa Center, HIAA hopes to positively impact the art and cultural community on Hawaiʻi Island.

Application Requirements

• Completed Portfolio on CaFÉ with 1 - 5 artwork samples.
• Submission fee: $20 per entry (non-refundable).
• Artist Statement (filled out when making your CAFE account)
• Description of artwork (filled out when creating your CAFE portfolio)

Eligibility Criteria

• Open to Hawaii Island residents.
• Open to any media (2D, 3D, video, etc).
• No reproductions or AI generated or assisted art will be accepted.
• For 2D works larger than 7’ tall x 9’ wide’ or 3D works taller than 10' or wider 6' feet, please contact Wailoa Center.
• Artwork must have been created in the past two years.
• Artwork can NOT have been previously exhibited.
• This exhibit will be displayed in a State Parks facility, thus artwork with sensitive subject matter (i.e. nudity, offensive religious or political statements, and or violence) may be juried out.
• If accepted, all work MUST be gallery quality installation ready to hang or be easily installed. 2D framed wall art must use gallery wire with d-rings or equivalent. No sawtooth hardware.
• If you have any questions regarding you or your artwork's eligibility, please contact Wailoa Center at (808) 933-0416 or dlnr.sp.wailoacenter@hawaii.gov

Click the "Legal Terms" button below to read all rules for entry.