COMPETITION

84th Annual International Competition: Photography
May 1 – July 24, 2010

The Deadline for Entries has past.
Artists will be notified of acceptance by email on March 1, 2010

“Being selected a winner in The Print Center’s photo competition has led to amazing things for my work and career. As a result of entering the competition my work was selected for a solo show at The Print Center. I could never, ever have predicted what sending one image into the competition would lead to. I entered this competition on a whim and it has led to two solo shows and an incredible amount of exposure for my work.” - Amy Stein

Amy Stein, Nursery, from the 82nd Annual International Competition: Photography purchased for the Philadelphia Museum of Art

Juror
Ingrid Schaffner, Senior Curator
Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia

Awards and Prizes
Up to $2,500 in cash and material prizes, a solo exhibition at The Print Center, a two-year contract from The Print Center Gallery Store and a purchase award for the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

About the Competition
The Print Center’s Annual International Competition is one of the most prestigious and oldest juried exhibitions in the United States. Alternating yearly between printmaking and photography, it provides a unique opportunity for local, national and international artists to compete in a forum which emphasizes individual talent and expressiveness rather than a specific exhibition topic.

If you are not already a member, your entry fee to the competition entitles you to a one-year membership to The Print Center.

We are excited to work with Ingrid Schaffner as the juror for this year’s competition. Photography has been an ongoing subject of exploration for Schaffner throughout her career. She has curated exhibitions that have included a number of renowned photographers, including James Casebere, Eileen Neff and Allan Sekula. Schaffner's investigations express a particular interest in the role that photography plays in the artistic process, from conceptual tool and sketching device to fully realized works of art. 

Accepted Work
Work selected for the exhibition must be shipped in a reusable container and labeled with the artist’s name, title, medium, image and frame size, retail price (if for sale) and insurance value.

Payment for return shipping and an itemized packing list must be enclosed. For entrants in the United States, work must be framed in a black frame, under Plexiglas and wired for hanging. Framing deemed unsuitable for exhibition will be reframed at the expense of the artist.

For international entrants, work may be submitted framed or unframed. The Print Center will facilitate preparing unframed works for installation.

Each selected artist will receive twenty exhibition announcement cards.

Calendar
Entry Deadline: December 1, 2009
Notification (by email): March 1, 2010
Delivery of Accepted Work: By April 1, 2010
Opening Reception: May 1, 2010
Exhibition Dates: May 1–July 24, 2010
Long Beach Island Foundation of the Arts & Sciences Exhibition: September–October, 2010

Sales
The Print Center will receive a 50% commission on works sold. A price list will be made available in the gallery. The Print Center will pay the artist’s commission within 90 days of the close of the sale. Payment will be made by check and will include a statement listing work sold and the purchaser (if available).

Liability
The Print Center is not responsible for damage to work submitted, although care in handling can be assured. Works will be insured for fire and theft while on The Print Center premises, en route to Long Beach Island Foundation of the Arts & Sciences and on their premises.

Traveling Exhibition
The Print Center’s 84th Annual International Competition: Photography will travel to the Long Beach Island Foundation ofthe Arts & Sciences (LBIF) and will be on view in September andOctober of 2010. Located in Loveladies, NJ, the Foundation isa nonprofit organization devoted to the teaching, support andenhancement of the creative arts and physical sciences. TheFoundation will handle transportation from The Print Center toits location and return all work to the artists after the exhibition.

Juror Information
Ingrid Schaffner is Senior Curator at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia. She is currently organizing the first major museum survey of the work of the illustrator Maira Kalman. Other recent exhibitions she organized for the ICA include Dirt on Delight: Impulses That Form Clay (2009); Douglas Blau (2009); The Puppet Show (2008); Karen Kilimnik (2007); and Accumulated Vision, Barry Le Va (2005). Working independently, among the exhibitions she has organized are Jess: To and from the Printed Page (Independent Curators International, 2007); Gloria: Another Look at Feminist Art in the 1970s (White Columns, New York, 2003); Julien Levy: Portrait of an Art Gallery (Equitable Gallery, New York, 1998); Deep Storage, (Haus der Kunst, Munich, 1997); Chocolate! (Swiss Institute, 1995); and Return of the Cadavre Exquis (The Drawing Center, New York 1993). Schaffner has written extensively on modern and contemporary art, and her publications include Salvador Dalí's Dream of Venus: The Surrealist Funhouse at the 1939 World's Fair (Princeton Architectural Press) and an essay on wall text in Questions of Practice: What Makes a Great Exhibition? (Philadelphia Exhibitions Initiative). Schaffner, who participated in the Whitney Museum of American Art's Independent Study Program, earned a BA from Mount Holyoke College and an MA from New York University’s Institute of Fine Arts.

Mission
The Print Center’s mission is to support printmaking and photography as vital contemporary arts and to encourage the appreciation of the printed image in all its forms. The Print Center presents a variety of programs for the public including exhibitions; an extensive series of education programs and special events; the longest running annual international competition for prints and photographs in the country; and The Print Center Gallery Store, which offers the largest and most diverse selection of contemporary prints and photographs in Philadelphia.

Contact Information
Please direct questions to: info@printcenter.org