Contested Spaces: 2019 Harnett Biennial of American Prints is the twelfth competitive national exhibition organized by the University of Richmond Museums. Submissions are encouraged by artists addressing the topic of “contested spaces” from both content and aesthetic perspectives. The theme provides an opportunity for artists to focus on their own understandings of “contested spaces” with a variety of interpretations, styles, and techniques. Open to all forms of prints, the exhibition is presented as a celebration and examination of contemporary printmaking by artists from throughout the United States. The Harnett Biennial will be on view from October 22 to December 6, 2019, in the Joel and Lila Harnett Museum of Art, University Museums.

Deadline
The deadline for submission is August 1, 2019.

Entry Fee
A non-refundable $35 fee will be charged for each application submitted. Each entry must be paid in full. Visa or MasterCard (credit or debit) and PayPal are accepted through the CaFÉ site.

Eligibility

• The exhibition is open to all artists residing in the United States.
• Entries must be in the category of printmaking using any traditional and/or experimental techniques and media.
• Eligible entries include prints on paper using, but not limited to, such media as intaglio, relief, planographic, stencil, monotype, and digital processes (no giclée reproductions are allowed).
• Photographs on paper are eligible.
• Prints must have been completed in the last two years. 

Biennial Timeline

• August 1, Entries due to the Harnett Museum of Art
• September 5, Notifications e-mailed to artists
• October 8, Works received by the Harnett Museum of Art
• October 22, Talk by the juror at 6 p.m., followed by the opening reception, 7-8 p.m.
• October 23 to December 6, Exhibition on view at the Harnett Museum of Art.

Accepted Prints

• The University of Richmond Museums will notify all accepted artists by email on September 5, 2019.
• Artists are responsible for delivery and/or shipment to and from the University of Richmond Museums. 

Delivery and Return of Prints

• ​Accepted works may be hand-delivered or shipped by the artist.
• All works must be packed properly for return shipping in the same packaging/container in which they were received.
• Pre-paid return and/or pick-up is the responsibility of the artist.
• Return prepaid shipping label from UPS or FedEx should be enclosed.
• Prints must be ready for installation and framed under plexiglass (no glass allowed).
• Work must be securely mounted and framed with all necessary hardware attached for hanging.

Sales and Awards

• Sales will be encouraged, and a commission of 20% will be collected on all work sold through the exhibition.
• Several purchase awards will be offered. The Executive Director of University Museums in consultation with the juror will select the awards.
• Purchased prints will become part of the collection of the Joel and Lila Harnett Print Study Center, University of Richmond Museums.

Juror Information

The juror of this year’s Harnett Biennial is Carmen Hermo, Associate Curator, Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art, Brooklyn Museum. She has curated the exhibition Roots of “The Dinner Party”: History in the Making, and co-curated the exhibitions Half the Picture: A Feminist Look at the Collection and Something to Say: Brooklyn Hi-Art! Machine, Deborah Kass, Kameelah Janan Rasheed, and Hank Willis Thomas. Additionally, she co-organized Marilyn Minter: Pretty/Dirty (2016-2017) and Radical Women: Latin American Art, 1960-1985 (2018). She co-curated the current exhibition Nobody Promised You Tomorrow: Art 50 Years After Stonewall, on view at the Brooklyn Museum through December 8, 2019. Previously, she was Assistant Curator for Collections at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (2010-2016). She has worked with the collections of the Whitney Museum of American Art and the Museum of Modern Art. Ms. Hermo received her B.A. in Art History and English from the University of Richmond in 2007 and her M.A. in Art History at Hunter College in 2019. 

About the University of Richmond Museums
The University of Richmond Museums serves the university’s students and community, the greater Richmond area, and statewide, national, and international audiences. The Museums provides the opportunity for the appreciation, knowledge, and scholarship of art, cultural history, and science through the collections, exhibitions (on-campus and traveling), and scholarly publications. The collections of the University Museums include approximately 100,000 objects, ranging from gemstones and shells to decorative arts and artifacts from many cultures, to prints from the Renaissance to the present, to contemporary paintings and sculpture. 

Application Requirements

Eligibility Criteria