Wassaic Project 2026 Summer Exhibition Open Call

Associated Organization

Wassaic Project

Location

37 Furnace Bank Rd #300
Wassaic, NY 12592
United States

Mission

The Wassaic Project, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, uses art and arts education to foster positive social change. We nurture connections between our artists and our neighbors facilitating a mutual broadening of perspectives and respect across economic and cultural boundaries.

Vision

The Wassaic Project envisions a community in the Hamlet of Wassaic and its surrounding region that is socially inclusive, generous, cooperative, and economically vibrant.  

Tag Words
Artist-led
Artist-founded
Open to artists based anywhere in the world
Fully Funded Residency
Partial Funding Available
Funding available for BIPOC Artists (Black, Indigenous and People of Color)
Funding available for Parent artists
Opportunity Type
Exhibition
Opportunity Description

Application Opens: June 9, 2025

Deadline: August 18, midnight EST 

Application Fee (USD): $25.00 

 

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…;

 

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-ho…;

 

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.

Discipline
Book Arts
Ceramics/Clay Arts/Pottery
Choreography
Costume/Fashion Design
Dance
Drawing
Electronic Arts
Environmental Arts
Film
Glass Arts
Illustration
Installation Arts
Interdisciplinary Arts
Mixed Media
Moving Image
Multimedia Arts
Painting
Paper Arts
Performance Art
Printmaking
Sculpture
Sound Art
Storytelling
Virtual Reality
Visual Arts
Woodworking
Writing
Stage of Career
Any stage of career
Emerging
Mid-career
Established
Country of Residence
Open to artists based anywhere in the world
Additional Expectations/Opportunities
N/A
Additional Opportunity Information
Application Type
Open application
Registration or Application Information

REVIEW PROCESS

Applicants are evaluated by our Co-Directors — Eve, Bowie, and Jeff — 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

  • Contact info
  • CV or publication list (3 pages max)
  • Project proposal
  • Portfolio
  • $25 application fee

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.

Associated Fees
25
US Dollar (USD)
Fee Details

Please email danielle@wassaicproject.org if you cannot afford to pay the application fee

Total Applicant Pool in Most Current Year
500
Number of Artists Accepted or Awarded in Most Current Year
40
Artist Stipend or Award
Studios/Facilities Accessibility
Inaccessible
Accessibility Contact Email
Accessibility Contact Name
Danielle Klebes