Competitions

We sponsor six juried competitions per year. The forty winners of each competition receive a four-page, full-color spread in New American Paintings. Five of the annual competitions focus on geographic regions (Northeast, South, Midwest, West and Pacific Coast), and the sixth is only open to current Masters of Fine Arts candidates who are attending schools based in the United States, and current year graduates.

Eligibility: Our competitions are open to all artists working within the United States. We define the activity of painting broadly, and all styles and media are welcome, as long as the work is singular. There are no educational requirements to apply to our regional competitions, only the MFA competition. Artists applying to the MFA competition may also apply to their respective regional competition in the same calendar year. Regional competitions open 60 days prior to the deadline.

 

Why apply? Meaningful exposureNew American Paintings has a targeted readership of more than ten thousand art collectors, art world professionals and art ethusiasts who have a deep interest in contemporaary painting and discovering new artists. 
 

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Midwest

Midwest Competition

IL, IN, IA, MI, MN, MO, OH, WI
Competition Status:
OPEN: 2024 competition is now accepting submissions

Juror: , Curator of Visual Arts, Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN

Deadline:
February 29, 2024

Accepting
submissions now

Apply

West

West Competition

AZ, CO, ID, MT, NE, NV, KS, ND, NM, OK, SD, TX, UT, WY
Competition Status:
OPEN: 2024 competition is now accepting submissions

Juror: TBD

Deadline:
April 30, 2024

Accepting
submissions now

Apply

Pacific Coast

Pacific Coast Competition

CA, OR, WA, AK, HI
Competition Status:
CLOSED: 2024 competition will open mid-February

Juror: TBD

Deadline:
June 30, 2024

Accepting
submissions now

Apply

Northeast

Northeast Competition

CT, DE, MA, ME, NH, NJ, NY, PA, RI, VT
Competition Status:
CLOSED: This competition is currently under review.

Juror: , Artist, New York, NY

Deadline:
September 11, 2023

MFA Annual

MFA Annual Competition

Current Candidates and Graduates from 2020 - 2023
Competition Status:
CLOSED: This competition is currently under review.

Juror: , Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art, Ogunquit Museum of American Art, Ogunquit, ME

Deadline:
November 7, 2023

South

South Competition

AL, AR, DC, FL, GA, KY, LA, MD, MS, NC, SC, TN, VA, WV
Competition Status:
CLOSED: This competition is currently under review.

Juror: , Associate Curator, Perez Art Museum, Miami, FL

Deadline:
January 7, 2024