12th Annual Dirty South Cup Call And Competition

The 12th Annual Dirty South Cup Call & Competition is a national, juried exhibition. Artists will be chosen to display traditional or non-traditional ceramic vessels at River Oaks Square Arts Center, Alexandria, Louisiana. The 2026 Guest Juror for this annual feature is Nevada-based ceramicist Amy Kline-Alley

•Entry Fee: $15 per artist, up to three entries (credit card)

•Each artist may submit up to three works. ONLY ONE IMAGE PER ENTRY/PER CUP.  PLEASE TITLE EACH PIECE INDIVIDUALLY. Use varied reference numbers and/or titles to aid with clarification of accepted selections.  

•Open to all artists working in the medium of clay, residing in the United States.

• Functional & Non-functional, traditional and non-traditional pieces accepted

•Entries will be blind juried by digital images.

Give us your best mug, cup or yunomi! 

River Oaks Square Arts Center is looking for a few good pieces to include in its' 12th Annual Dirty South Cup Call and Competition.  We are looking for ceramic vessels (mugs, cups, yunomis) that encompass exemplary creativity, experimentation and imagination, showcasing what can be accomplished with ceramics.   Up to 80 artists will be chosen for this inspiring Southern event, because we all need a good mug for our tea and coffee and if not, we always need a good conversation piece!

The 2026 Dirty South Cup Call & Competition is a national, juried exhibition. Artists will be chosen to display traditional or non-traditional ceramic vessels at River Oaks Square Arts Center, Alexandria, Louisiana.

Guest Juror 2026:

Amy Kline-Alley was born in Plattsburgh, NY. Amy had a diverse upbringing in the Fine Arts that included Art, Music and Theater. Amy received a BFA in Ceramics from Alfred University, and an MFA in Sculpture from Southern Illinois University, Carbondale.

In 1995 Amy moved to Las Vegas, NV and built Pottery West.  High fire porcelain became her focus when she met Tom and Elaine Coleman in 2005. Amy taught pottery classes and hosted ceramic workshops at Pottery West from 2006-2014.

In 2015 Amy moved to Henderson, NV where she started apprenticing with Tom and Elaine Coleman. Amy currently hosts workshops in porcelain with Tom and Elaine while she continues to create her artwork.  Amy’s interest in porcelain as ‘glass’ interacting with slips and glaze, are showcased in Amy’s sensuous forms created in high-fire porcelain.
 

SPECS:

• Entry Fee: $15 per artist, up to three entries (Café entries only)

• River Oaks will be utilizing the CallforEntry.org™, also known as CaFÉ™, an online application and adjudication system for exhibits and more. Go to www.CallforEntry.org to complete your application form.

• Open to all artists working in the medium of clay, residing in the United States.

• Functional & Non-functional, traditional and non-traditional pieces accepted

• Entries will be blind juried by digital images.

•Each artist may submit up to three works. ONLY ONE IMAGE PER ENTRY/PER CUP.  PLEASE TITLE EACH PIECE INDIVIDUALLY. (to aid with accepted selections) 

•Digital entry only, JPEG format, 5MB maximum. Click here for supported image format.

•Work may not be larger than 7” x 7” x 7”. Mugs, Cups and yunomis accepted.  Must be under 15lbs.

• All work must be for sale. No single work may exceed $200 in value. Artists will pay a 30% commission to the Gallery on all sales.

•The price of your artwork entered into the Cafe system for this call will be the price of your artwork in the exhibition and the online virtual show.  We cannot change the price of the piece if it is accepted into the Cup Show. All information listed in Cafe is used to generate label information for the virtual & onsite shows.  Make sure this info is correct upon data upload.

• Artist responsible for shipping/insurance cost to/from the Gallery. Featured artists may include a return shipping label with the initial shipment to the Arts Center, however, artist can verify sale of inventory prior to conclusion of the show before forwarding a return label to River Oaks.   Weight Limit 15 lbs. River Oaks is not responsible for any damage during shipment. Applicants, please make sure your address and contact info within CaFE are up to date.  All return shipments will be sent to addresses listed in CaFE.

• River Oaks Square Arts Center reserves the right to photograph exhibited work and use these or the artists digital images for reproduction in both printed and electronic materials for publicity.

• Entry free must be paid at the time of application submission.

• Please make sure to update your mailing address and contact information within the CaFE portal as this info will be used to mail commission payments, send return shipments and remit correspondence.  

Guest Juror: 

Awards:

Best in Show - First Prize $500 

Dr. Betsy Long’s Choice: $200

Juror’s Choice: 3 awards, $100 each

“Exhibiting Artist” designation: In addition to the monetary award winners, the top 20 artists will be considered for spots as “exhibiting artists” in future invitational shows hosted by ROSAC.

Please complete and submit images to CaFE with credit card payment information.

• Works will be insured for 50% of the stated value from the time of delivery to the end of the exhibition

River Oaks 12th Annual Dirty South Cup Call & Competition Calendar:

• March 14th, 2026 - Deadline to enter

• March 19, 2026 - Acceptance notification

• April 2, 2026 - Delivery of work, no later than 5pm

• June 2026 - Return of artwork

Calendar of Events Related to the Exhibition

Exhibition Dates: April 16 - May 30, 2026

•April 16, 2026  5-7 p.m. Opening Reception/Award Announcement/Juror Remarks

•April TBD - Amy Kline Ceramics Workshop

River Oaks Arts Center

River Oaks is a contemporary visual arts and fine crafts center made up of working artist studios, three galleries, and state of the art classrooms which feature a multitude of educational programming in a variety of media. In 1979, the Bolton Family donated their family home to the City of Alexandria in an agreement it would be used solely for the arts. The Bolton Home became the catalyst for the establishment of River Oaks Square Arts Center. Circa 1899, the house is exemplary of Queen Anne Revival Architect in Louisiana and is listed on the National Registry of Historic Places. After renovations to the Home, River Oaks opened its’ doors in 1984 to meet the needs of the community which it serves.

In 1999, a 15,000 square foot Studio Annex building opened its doors to meet the changing, additional needs of the Center. Both buildings occupy a one block square lot in Downtown Alexandria’s Cultural Arts District and are connected by a unique columned walkway. The Studio Annex Building houses 25 studios, 3 galleries, an on-site Arts Academy, a full scale ceramics studio comparable to most university systems, and rental space. The 8,000 square foot Bolton Home houses administrative offices, 7 studios and a gallery gift shop, featuring works of art from over 200 artists. For 40 years, it has been River Oaks Square Arts Center’s (ROSAC) mission to promote contemporary visual art and fine crafts, to stimulate interest in, exhibition of, education of and appreciation for regional, resident, and local artists and their work. Currently, there are over 30 artists in residence (occupying studio space); an on-site arts academy provides continuous classes for adults and youth; presentation of nearly 20 exhibitionss are featured annually; outreach events are conducted; collaborative efforts are ongoing with special needs organizations; and unique projects for youth stimulate knowledge and appreciation of fine arts and crafts.

www.riveroaksartscenter.com

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• Entry Fee: $15 per artist, up to three entries (Café entries only)

• River Oaks will be utilizing the CallforEntry.org™, also known as CaFÉ™, an online application and adjudication system for exhibits and more. Go to www.CallforEntry.org to complete your application form.

• Open to all artists working in the medium of clay, residing in the United States.

• Functional & Non-functional, traditional and non-traditional pieces accepted

• Entries will be blind juried by digital images.

• Each artist may submit up to three works. ONLY ONE IMAGE PER ENTRY/PER CUP.  PLEASE TITLE EACH PIECE INDIVIDUALLY. (to aid with accepted selections) 

• Digital entry only, JPEG format, 5MB maximum. Click here for supported image format.

• Work may not be larger than 7” x 7” x 7”. Mugs, Cups and yunomis accepted. Weight limit 15lbs.

• All work must be for sale. No single work may exceed $250 in value. Artists will pay a 30% commission to the Gallery on all sales.

• The price of your artwork entered into the Cafe system for this call will be the price of your artwork in the exhibition and the online virtual show.  We cannot change the price of the piece if it is accepted into the Cup Show. All information listed in Cafe is used to generate label information for the virtual & onsite shows. Make sure this info is correct upon data upload.

• Artist responsible for shipping/insurance cost to/from the Gallery. Featured artists may include a return shipping label with the initial shipment to the Arts Center, however, artist can verify sale of inventory prior to conclusion of the show before forwarding a return label to River Oaks.   Weight Limit 15 lbs. River Oaks is not responsible for any damage during shipment. 

• Artist responsible for shipping/insurance cost to/from the Gallery. All work must include a Return Shipping/label for return shipment.  Weight Limit 15 lbs. River Oaks is not responsible for any damage during shipment.

• River Oaks Square Arts Center reserves the right to photograph exhibited work and use these or the artists digital images for reproduction in both printed and electronic materials for publicity.

• Entry free must be paid at the time of application submission.

Open to all artists working in the medium of clay, residing in the United States