"Coast" A Call to Enter for New Jersey Artists

"COAST" a call to enter for NJ artists. 

The Long Beach Island Foundation of the Arts & Sciences (LBIF) announces an exhibition opportunity for NEW JERSEY artists only. The call invites artwork that celebrates & explores New Jersey’s coastline, a defining feature of the state that influences tourism, the fishing industry, waterways & navigation, politics & defense, natural beauty, & quality of life. Artwork may be a direct reflection of coastal imagery or inspired by coastal themes, capturing the spirit, environment, & culture of life along the shore.

Eligible mediums include drawing, painting, prints, photography, mixed media, wall-hung 2D craft works (clay, glass, metal, fiber, wood), & computer-generated digital work, created within the past two years. 

The Juror is Michelle Donnelly, Curator, PAFA. 

CALENDAR: May 22, 2026: DEADLINE to apply on CaFE

FEE: $35.00 for up to 4 entries (non-refundable)
Exhibition Dates: July 18 - August 16, 2026
Questions? exhibitions@lbifoundation.org

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"COAST"
The Long Beach Island Foundation of the Arts & Sciences, Loveladies, New Jersey, invites applications to "Coast", a Juried Competition & Exhibition.

The Long Beach Island Foundation of the Arts and Sciences (LBIF) is pleased to announce an exhibition opportunity for NEW JERSEY artists ONLY. This call invites artwork that celebrates and explores New Jersey’s coastline, a defining feature of the state that influences tourism, the fishing industry, waterways and navigation, politics and defense, natural beauty, and quality of life.

Artwork may be a direct reflection of coastal imagery or inspired by coastal themes, capturing the spirit, environment, and culture of life along the shore.

Eligible mediums include drawing, painting, hand-pulled prints, photography, mixed media, wall-hung 2D works in the crafts (clay, glass, metal, fiber, wood), video, and computer-generated digital work displayed as prints. All artworks must have been created within the past two years and submitting artists must be 18 years or older.

An exhibition catalog is planned pending funding. 

Apply Online: https://artist.callforentry.org/festivals_unique_info.php?ID=16323

https://artist.callforentry.org/festivals_unique_info.php?ID=16323

FEES: $35.00 for up to 4 entries (non-refundable)
May 22, 2026:  Deadline for entries on callforentry.org

EXHIBITION DATES:
July 18 - August 16, 2026

The Juror is Michelle Donnelly, Curator, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA, founded in 1805 as the first school and museum of fine arts in the United States.

Michelle Donnelly is the Evelyn and Will Kaplan Curator of Twentieth Century Art and the John Rhoden Collection at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) in Philadelphia. Prior to joining PAFA, she held curatorial positions at the Whitney Museum of American Art, Yale Center for British Art, Morgan Library & Museum, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, Brooklyn Museum, and Heckscher Museum of Art. At the Whitney, she curated Experiments in Electrostatics: Photocopy Art from the Whitney's Collection, 1966–1986 (2017–18) and oversaw the Sondra Gilman Study Center for works on paper. Her research has been supported by the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Helen Frankenthaler Foundation, Menil Dawing Institute, and Bancroft Library, among other institutions. She holds a PhD in the History of Art from Yale University, an MA in the History of Art from the University of Pennsylvania, and a BA in Art History with Honors from Vassar College.

AWARDS: $500 first prize, $250 second prize, $100 third prize and three honorable mentions. Three cash Prizes and three Honorable Mentions will be awarded by the Juror. Artists do not have to be present to receive their awards. Please note: Artists who receive an award will receive their check by mail.

ABOUT THE EXHIBITION

SPECIFICATIONS:

The Long Beach Island Foundation of the Arts & Sciences welcomes entries of original work, created within the last two years and that have not been previously shown at LBIF.
Artists 18 and older are eligible and must be residents of New Jersey.

Larger size work is encouraged and allowed. As a guide, two-dimensional works should not exceed 60 inches in width and 60 inches in height, and not exceed 10 lbs.  Work may not project in the third dimension beyond 18 inches. The artist must provide return prepaid postage or pre-paid return shipping label for work and packaging or arrange for drop off and pick-up. 

Please do not submit work that has a retail value over $7,500.
Submitted work must be available for the duration of the exhibition. ALL ARTWORK MUST BE FOR SALE. 

The Long Beach Island Foundation of the Arts & Sciences will retain a 40% commission of the purchase price on all works sold during the exhibition. If any artwork is commissioned from this exhibition, the LBIF will retain 40% of the commissioned price.

Should you be accepted to the exhibition, your work may appear online for sale in the "gallery store" section of the lbifoundation.org website for the duration of the exhibition. Special instructions needed for labelling will be emailed to you. 
 
Work submitted must be suitably framed, firmly wired, prepared for hanging, and professionally presented. No saw-tooth hangers; no sandwich frames. Frames for artwork must be in a black, white, or a natural wood frame.  All paper and fragile materials must be displayed framed and protected under acrylic (Plexiglas); no glass. 3-D work will be considered, but should be wall mounted, or able to be displayed on a 10” deep wall mounted shelf. Please do not submit three-dimensional works in the round that require pedestals. 
 
Long Beach Island Foundation of the Arts & Sciences reserves the right to exclude from the exhibition any works that do not arrive in sturdy condition or are deemed too fragile or hazardous to be successfully exhibited. Work that has not been suitably prepared will be hung at LBIF's discretion.

Please only submit work that will be available at the time of the exhibition and will remain for its entirety. No accepted entry may be withdrawn prior to the close of the exhibition. No pricing changes will be allowed after acceptance. Work that is copied or done under the guidance of an instructor is not eligible. Entries must not have been previously exhibited at LBIF. If the work does not fully reflect what is represented in the submitted images, Long Beach Island Foundation of the Arts & Sciences reserves the right to exclude it from the exhibition.
 
Please refer to the prospectus for full details regarding eligibility, deadlines, awards and details posted on the LBIF website at: https://www.lbifoundation.org
 
APPLICATIONS:
IMAGE SIZING:  Image size for entry on CAFE:
File format: JPEG or JPG only

·                     File dimensions: 1200 pixels or greater on the longest side. Anything larger than 1200 pix will be resized to fit the limitations.

·                     File size: under 5 MB

If you are having difficulty resizing your images to fit this format, go to http://bulkresizephotos.com/
Drag and Drop your images in the space on the site. Click longest side from the left hand menu. Enter 1920 in the box next to pixels. Hit the Start Resizing. You should see it says completed. Note that depending on your browser settings, the image may go directly to your “Downloads” folder.
If you have questions, please contact LBIF at 609-494-1241 or email: exhibitions@lbifoundation.org

SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS about submitted images:
We suggest - for the Juror's convenience - that on the CAFE application - after the TITLE of your WORK on your application, you state the medium you are submitting, such as "DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY" or "CHARCOAL DRAWING ON PAPER". Because of the wide range of materials that are allowed, this information will quickly inform the Juror when viewing each of the submitted images. 
 
ARTIST STATEMENT, BIO, or RESUME:  Please include in your application a 1-2 page document that contains an Artist Statement, your Bio, and professional Resume - as a pdf or in Word. Submitted documents, whether it is a resume, bio, or statement must list the county of the submitting artist.

NOTIFICATION: Accepted entries will be notified by email and posted on the LBIF website.
If you do not receive your notification by the notification date, please contact LBIF: exhibitions@lbifoundation.org

DELIVERY of accepted artwork:  Shipping/Delivery instructions will accompany email notification of acceptance. Shipping to LBIF is the responsibility of the artist and must be sent with a pre-paid return shipping label or shippers’ UPS or FEDEX account number to charge the artists’ account.
 
LIABILITY: 
Works will be insured for the duration of the exhibition from time of arrival at the LBIF until return shipment to the extent of 60% of the artist’s stated retail value. Artists are encouraged to have their own insurance.

APPLY ONLINE on Call for Entry (CaFE). All entries must be submitted online.

https://artist.callforentry.org/festivals_unique_info.php?ID=16323

TIMELINE:  May 22, 2026, Deadline for entries on callforentry.org
By June 5: Accepted entries posted on LBIF website by this date; artists will also be notified by email.
July 9: Work must be received by this date at LBIF
July 18 - August 16: Exhibition dates
Prizes & Awards announced by the Juror during Reception for the artists. Reception and awards date TBD. 

August 17, 2026: Unsold Artwork returned to artists after close of show.

ABOUT THE LBIF:
Celebrating our 78th anniversary, the Long Beach Island Foundation of the Arts & Sciences (LBIF) was established in 1948 as a non-profit institution by artist Boris Blai to provide arts and educational opportunities to the surrounding communities.  Blai, a sculptor and founding Dean of Tyler School of Art, Temple University, had a vision that through exceptional art exhibitions, classes, and cultural activities the LBIF could provide visitors an opportunity to experience and share quality arts and cultural programming.  For more than seventy-five years the LBIF has delivered this mission through its Exhibition programs, Art Classes, Visiting Artists programs, Artist Residency and Retreat Programs.

LEGAL AGREEMENT:

Submission to "COAST" constitutes an agreement with all conditions of this show. The artist allows the Long Beach Island Foundation of the Arts & Sciences the right to photograph accepted work for publicity purposes, use artist's name and bio, and images of artist and their work for publicity purposes in print, on the web and digitally. Long Beach Island Foundation of the Arts & Sciences reserves the right to reject any work not resembling the submitted entry, deemed too fragile or hazardous, or work that is not ready to be shown according to the aforementioned specifications. 

FEES: $35.00 for up to 4 entries (non-refundable)

Submitted resumes, bios or artist statement must list county of residence. 

Only Artists 18 years or older are eligible to apply. 

Entries must have been completed within the past two years.

Entries must not have been previously exhibited at LBIF. 

All artwork must be for sale. 

The retail price cannot exceed $7,500.00