250 Years of Expression: Freedom, Dissent, and the American Voice

Enter 250 Years of Expression: Freedom, Dissent, and the American Voice  a Juried Exhibition, for a chance to exhibit your artwork at Artspace's gallery located at 2833-A Hathaway Rd., Richmond, VA 23225.

Artspace Gallery is a non-profit organization that prides itself on support and development of artists from all backgrounds. 

Notification of acceptance: Tuesday April 21, 2026.

Exhibition Dates: May 22 - July 18, 2026

Juror: Diego Sanchez (see his bio below.)

Artspace

2833-A Hathaway Rd., Richmond, VA 23225 in the Stratford Hills Shopping Center

804.232.6464 phone | www.artspacegallery.org

artspaceexhibitions@gmail.com

Rules of Entry

Enter 250 Years of Expression: Freedom, Dissent, and the American Voice, a Juried Exhibition, for a chance to exhibit your artwork at Artspace's gallery located at 2833-A Hathaway Rd., Richmond, VA 23225.

Artspace Gallery is a non-profit organization that prides itself on support and development of artists from all backgrounds. 

250 Years of Expression: Freedom, Dissent, and the American Voice 

In 2026, as the United States marks 250 years since its founding, this exhibition insists on a necessary truth: the American voice has always been shaped by freedom of expression. In the United States, the idea has never been abstract—it has been fought for by artists, carried across borders, translated, censored, reclaimed, and reimagined by those who arrived from elsewhere and refused silence.

250 Years of Expression: Freedom, Dissent, and the American Voice is a juried exhibition and open call that centers in artists who believe in freedom of expression.  This exhibition acknowledges artistic expression as a form of survival, resistance, and political agency, particularly for individuals navigating displacement, exclusion, or marginalization.

 All artists, and especially Immigrant artists, are encouraged to submit work that confronts power, challenges erasure, and asserts presence. Artists may respond to freedom of expression as a contested right—shaped by borders, citizenship, language, race, labor, and state control—and as a tool for dissent, solidarity, and self-determination.

This exhibition affirms that freedom of expression is not peripheral to American culture—it is central to it. By amplifying the artists’ voices, 250 Years of Expression rejects the myth of a singular American narrative and instead embraces a chorus of voices that continue to redefine what freedom means, who it belongs to, and how it is claimed.

Diego Sanchez was born in Bogotá, Colombia, South America, and arrived in the United States in the summer of 1980. He received an MFA from the Painting and Printmaking Department at Virginia Commonwealth University. For the past thirty years, Diego has taught art classes to people of all ages at institutions including the Virginia Museum, the Visual Arts Center of Richmond, VCU, VUU, and currently, St. Catherine’s School. He was the first recipient of the Theresa Pollack Artist of the Year Award and has served as a juror for various art competitions, including the Virginia Museum Fellowship, Scholastic Art Awards, and the Visual Arts Award for the State of Maryland Arts Council.

His work has been exhibited throughout Virginia and in Italy, Belgium, Colombia, and France. Notable collections include Sidney and Frances Lewis, Pam and Bill Royal, Media General, First Market Bank, Capital One, the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, Markel Corporation, Philip Morris, and the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.

Prizes:

• 1st Place: $300, plus a solo exhibition at Artspace.
• 2nd Place: $200.
• 3rd Place $100.
• Also, at the discretion of the juror, up to three honorable mentions.

Entries & Fees:

All entries must be submitted through CaFÉ. 

$35 non-refundable proposal fee required. Proposals will not be reviewed before finalized payment is received thru CaFÉ unless the fee presents a hardship for the proposer. Please contact the exhibition committee prior to submitting your proposal if you need to request an exemption from the fee at: artspaceexhibitions@gmail.com

IMPORTANT DATES

Exhibition Dates: May 22 - July 18, 2026

Submission Deadline: EXTENDED! New Deadline Saturday, April 4, 2026. Friday, March 27, 2026, 11:59 pm, Mountain Time.

Estimated Notification of Acceptance:Tuesday, April 21, 2026

Accepted Work Received: Wednesday May 13 - Saturday May 16, 2025 (Closed Monday and Tuesday, May 11 and 12) Deliveries accepted during gallery hours, noon to 4pm

Installation of Work: May 17 - May 21

Opening Reception and Awards Presentation: Friday, May 22, 6:00 - 8:00pm. Juror Talk: 6:30pm

Show Closes: Saturday, July 18@ 4pm

Pick up Work:  Saturday, July 18,  4:00 – 6:00pm or Sunday, July 19,  noon – 2:00pm.

Return of Shipped Work: by Friday, August 7

• 1 to 3 images
• An Artist Statement
• For video entries, artists must provide display equipment if work is selected.
• Artwork size: All work must be able to get through our door, 33 inches width by 82 3/4 inches height with a diagonal of 88 inches. The height of gallery walls is 96 inches.

• 250 Years of Expression: Freedom, Dissent, and the American Voice is open to artists 18 years and above.
• Submissions are open to artwork in all genres, 2D and 3D.
• Artwork creation date should be 2022 or later.
• Only selected artwork will be included in the exhibition. No substitutions allowed.
• Selections will be made without regard to race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, age, or national origin. Every reasonable effort within the capacity of Artspace will be made to accommodate artists with disabilities or accessibility needs.