The Wassaic Project is currently holding our annual Open Call for our 2026 Summer Exhibition for artists of all mediums, including: 2D work, sculpture, video, new media, site-specific installation, performance, text, poems, essays, publication-specific work, etc. If selected, your work will be showcased alongside a diverse range of pieces and performances in and around historic Wassaic and Maxon Mills. The Wassaic Project's 2026 Summer Exhibition will be free and open to the public every weekend from May 16 - September 12, 2026. In an effort to be more W.A.G.E. certified, all accepted artists will receive a modest honorarium to participate in the exhibition. Artists interested in creating a site-specific installation for the 2026 Summer Exhibition are also eligible for an Exhibitions Fellowship to help realize their work. Fellows will be offered a no-fee residency for 1 - 4 weeks in April or May 2026. Artists interested in making site-specific work for the exhibition should still apply regardless of whether or not they are interested in or able to be in residence in April or May. The Wassaic Project cultivates and supports community for emerging and professional contemporary artists, writers and other creatives. Housed in historic, landmark buildings, the residency program offers 10 artists each month the opportunity to live and work in the heart of a rural community. The Wassaic Project seeks artists working in a diverse range of media who want to produce, explore, challenge, and expand on their current art-making practices, while participating in a community-based arts organization.
For more information:
https://www.wassaicproject.org/apply/summer-exhibition-faq#applying
2025 Summer Exhibition (currently on view through September 13): https://www.wassaicproject.org/exhibitions/so-it-goes
2024 Summer Exhibition (currently on view through September 14, 2024):
https://www.wassaicproject.org/exhibitions/tall-shadows-in-short-order
2023 Summer Exhibition: https://www.wassaicproject.org/exhibitions/counting-the-seconds-between-lightning-and-thunder
2022 Summer Exhibition:
https://www.wassaicproject.org/exhibitions/a-tournament-of-lies
2021 Summer Exhibition: https://www.wassaicproject.org/exhibitions/if-you-lived-here-youd-be-home-by-now
2021 Summer Publication: https://www.wassaicproject.org/exhibitions/secret-of-the-friendly-woods
About Wassaic Project
wassaicproject.org
Wassaic Project exists to provide a genuine and intimate context for art making. We hope to strengthen local community by increasing social and cultural capital through inspiration, promotion, and creation of contemporary visual and performing art.
Wassaic Project cultivates and supports community for emerging and professional contemporary artists, writers and other creatives. Housed in historic, landmark buildings, the residency program offers nine artists each month the opportunity to live and work in the heart of a rural community. The Wassaic Project seeks artists working in a diverse range of media who want to produce, explore, challenge, and expand on their current art-making practices, while participating in a community-based arts organization.
REVIEW PROCESS
Applicants are evaluated by our Co-Directors —Eve,Bowie, andJeff — and our Programming Director,Will. Artists are selected based on the quality of the work and how well a given piece fits alongside other pieces selected for the show.
Don’t overthink this — there’s no one thing we’re looking for, and we’re always open to creative new uses of Maxon Mills as an exhibition space.
APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS
PROJECT PROPOSALS
We accept four types of proposals for our 2026 Summer Programming: ready-to-hang work, site-specific installations, temporary installations/performances, and publication-specific works. Your application can include multiple proposals.
For all proposals, include:
A formal description of the work you would like to show.
A three-sentence conceptual description of the work you would like to show or your artistic practice more generally.
A note about any special circumstances you anticipate around the installation of your work. We have limited equipment available, so we need to know in advance if you require anything specific.
For publication-specific works:
Please explain how your work will activate the printed publication. This can range from essays, prose, or poetry to more experimental print projects. For example, our 2020 Summer Exhibition book featured essays and poetry from our artists alongside a flipbook of animation frames in the top right corner of each page and an inserted pop-up piece.
Portfolio
Provide 1 to 10 work samples, including title, year, medium, and dimensions, and anything else we should know.
Size requirements: images, up to 5MB each; video, up to 250MB each; audio, up to 30MB each; PDFs, up to 10MB each
If your work is time-based or has video documentation, you may also link to media from YouTube, Vimeo, and SoundCloud.
NOTIFICATIONS:
Notifications will be sent out in early December.
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