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34th Annual Juried Exhibition

One of the most prestigious juried shows in San Diego, selected artists will exhibit their work in our galleries, receive excellent exposure, and mingle with both artists and art lovers at an opening reception. Prize winners, including the recipient of the Leslie Von Kolb Memorial Award, will be announced at the opening reception.

The call for entries for the Athenaeum's 34th Annual Juried Exhibition will open April 1 through June 30, 2026. Artists may enter up to three different works for juror consideration for this exhibition, which will open July 31. Our juror this year is artist Paul Mpagi Sepuya. Entry fee per artist is $15 for members and $20 for non-members.

All entries must be submitted through the online portal: https://zfrmz.com/td5qpNYC9VU3i1E7FNQ6
The portal is open April 1 through June 30, 2026.

Deadline to Enter: Tuesday, June 30, 2026 by 11:59 p.m. PDT.
Artists will be notified via email after July 6, 2026. Please, no calls.

The 34th Annual Juried Exhibition will be on view August 1 through October 10, 2026. Prize winners, including the recipient of the Leslie Von Kolb Memorial Award, will be announced at the opening reception on Friday, July 31, which will be held from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Free and open to the public. Visit ljathenaeum.org/juried-exhibition for updates.

Exhibition dates: August 1–October 10, 2026

Opening Reception: Friday, July 31, 5:30–7:30 PM. Free admission.

Submission Deadline: Tuesday, June 30, 2026 by 11:59 p.m. PDT

Criteria:

  • Artists: Must live, work or exhibit within San Diego County or Tijuana, Mexico. Maximum 3 works/digital images per artist (jpegs, no larger than 2 MB each)

  • Media: 2-D and 3-D media (no functional or craft art), or video. 2-D work must be ready-to-hang and may not exceed 60" width or height, framed. 3-D work may not exceed 8' H.

  • Date: Pieces must have been completed within the past 5 years.

  • Awards: 1st, 2nd and 3rd places, Leslie Von Kolb Memorial Award

  • Fee per Artist: $15 for Athenaeum members; $20 for nonmembers. Payment must be submitted online at end of entry form. Fee is per artist, not per work.

 

Deadline to Enter: Tuesday, June 30, 2026 by 11:59 p.m. PDT. Artists will be notified via email after July 6, 2026. Please, no calls.

Juror:

Paul Mpagi Sepuya, Photographer and artist

Paul Mpagi Sepuya is a Los Angeles-based artist working in photography and related zine and ephemera. He is known for his New York portrait series in the early 2000s, later moving into studio-based projects that question and complicate questions of authorship, the visualzation of race and sexuality, and the structures of the photographic medium. His work is international collections including the Getty, LACMA, Guggenheim, MoMA, the Whitney Museum, the Stedelijk, Tate Modern, and Victoria & Albert Museum among others. Museum surveys have been presented at CAM St. Louis and Nottingham Contemporary, and a comprehensive hybrid artist-book and monograph of the project “Dark Room A - Z,” was published by Aperture in Fall 2024. His most recent body of work has been exhibited in“TRANCE” at Bortolami Gallery in New York, the Mercosul Biennial in Porto Alegre Brazil, and “POSITIONER”at Vielmetter Los Angeles. Sepuya is an Associate Professor in Visual Arts at UC San Diego.

Questions: Jocelyn Saucedo Larson at jsaucedo@ljathenaeum.org.

 

FAQ:

  • Tuesday, June 30, 2026 by 11:59 p.m. PDT, online only. Entries will not be accepted after the closing of the call.

  • $15 for Athenaeum members; $20 for nonmembers. Payment must be submitted online with your entries. The entry fee is PER ARTIST, not per artwork.

  • There is no paper form. All entries must be submitted through the link at http://www.ljathenaeum.org/juried-exhibition.

  • Each artist may submit up to 3 different artworks (one image per work).

  • Mail-in entries will not be accepted.

  • All artists must upload their entries through the online portal on the Athenaeum's website. Email entries will not be accepted.

  • Artists who currently live, work, or exhibit within San Diego County or Tijuana, Mexico.

  • Paul Mpagi Sepuya, Photographer and artist

    Paul Mpagi Sepuya is a Los Angeles-based artist working in photography and related zine and ephemera. He is known for his New York portrait series in the early 2000s, later moving into studio-based projects that question and complicate questions of authorship, the visualzation of race and sexuality, and the structures of the photographic medium. His work is international collections including the Getty, LACMA, Guggenheim, MoMA, the Whitney Museum, the Stedelijk, Tate Modern, and Victoria & Albert Museum among others. Museum surveys have been presented at CAM St. Louis and Nottingham Contemporary, and a comprehensive hybrid artist-book and monograph of the project “Dark Room A - Z,” was published by Aperture in Fall 2024. His most recent body of work has been exhibited in“TRANCE” at Bortolami Gallery in New York, the Mercosul Biennial in Porto Alegre Brazil, and “POSITIONER”at Vielmetter Los Angeles. Sepuya is an Associate Professor in Visual Arts at UC San Diego.

  • Yes, entries will be submitted online, and the exhibition will be held at the Athenaeum from August 1 through October 10, 2026. Winners will be announced at the opening reception on Friday, July 31, 5:30–7:30 p.m.

  • Please contact Jocelyn Saucedo Larson at jsaucedo@ljathenaeum.org if you need to make a correction.

  • Please contact Jocelyn Saucedo Larson at jsaucedo@ljathenaeum.org if you need further assistance.