Exhibitions are a cornerstone of MGC Community Print Studio’s (MGC) programming, which aims to provide access and visibility to artists working in a broad range of printmaking processes. Building on MGC’s legacy as a vital home for prints since 1986, we are excited that this will be our first open call print exhibition in our new home in Powerhouse Arts (PHA) in Gowanus, Brooklyn. Coinciding with PHA’s second annual Brooklyn Fine Art Print Fair, MGC is pleased to announce our 2026 National Print Exhibition, a juried competition and exhibition devoted to fine art prints, which will be part of a series of events celebrating the 40th anniversary of MGC’s founding.
Last year, the Fair’s inaugural, saw 7,500 visitors. Anticipating even larger crowds of print enthusiasts, collectors, curators, and journalists, the exhibition will provide expanded opportunities for professional community building, sales, as well as open dialog during the Fair’s four days, April 9–12, 2026. The MGC Community Print Studio National Juried Exhibition will become a recurring highlight of future fairs.
DATES:
Exhibition Dates: March 30–April 19
Brooklyn Fine Art Print Fair Dates: April 9-12, 2026
Jurors: Ann Shafer and Diya Vij
ENTRY FEE:
- $35 for maximum of 3 works
- Free for MGC Community Print Studio members
- Non-refundable.
Your contribution to MGC Community Print Studio directly supports the mission of Manhattan Graphics Center, Inc., EIN 13-3344728.
PRIZES:
Monetary and material prizes to be announced.
REQUIREMENTS:
Failure to meet any of these requirements will result in automatic disqualification.
- All accepted work must be shipped unframed
- Works must contain some form of printmaking, ie.: Intaglio, Silkscreen, Relief, Monotype, Lithography, Collagraph, or Risograph
- Works must be 2-dimensional
- Works must be dated 2023 or later
- All artwork entered must be for sale. Upon acceptance, artists will be asked to supply pricing.Artists will receive 70% of the sale price and MGC will retain a 30% commission.
- Photographs or reproductions of artwork originally produced in another medium will not be considered
- Open to artists within the United States over the age of 18 only
- Maximum paper size: 22 x 30”
- Shipping specifications will be shared with accepted artists
- No substitutions or early removal of work is permitted
- Please be advised that employees, team members, and contractors/freelancers of Powerhouse Arts, Inc., MGC community print studio, and their affiliates are not eligible to apply.
JUROR BIOS:
Ann Shafer is an independent curator, art historian, and a leading expert on intaglio printmaking by Stanley William Hayter and Atelier 17. Formerly Shafer was associate curator of prints, drawings, and photographs at the Baltimore Museum of Art, where she curated a variety of exhibitions and hosted myriad classes and visitors. She also organized the museum’s Baltimore Contemporary Print Fair in 2012, 2015, and 2017, featuring an international array of twenty presses, publishers, and dealers. In April 2022, she mounted a new, independent print fair in Baltimore, and in 2025, she consulted Powerhouse Arts on its inaugural Brooklyn Fine Art Print Fair. She hosts the podcast Platemark: prints and the printmaking ecosystem and writes a blog about favorite works of art (annshafer.com). Shafer has a BA from The College of Wooster and a MA from Williams College, both in art history. In addition to the BMA, Ann has worked at the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Williams College Museum of Art, and the National Gallery of Art.
Diya Vij is the Vice President of Curatorial and Arts Programs at Powerhouse Arts in Brooklyn, NY and is committed to critically investigating the evolving role of art in politics and civic life. Most recently, she served as the Curator at Creative Time where she commissioned and stewarded large-scale public art work, launched the public programming space CTHQ, re-launched the Creative Time Summit, and initiated the R&D Fellowship for socially engaged artists. Over the past decade, she has held programming, curatorial, and communications positions at major New York City Institutions. As the Associate Curator of Public Programs at the High Line, she organized dozens of live events and performances with artists, activists, practitioners, and healers. At the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, Vij launched and co-directed the Public Artists in Residence (PAIR) program. Additionally, she helped lead the Agency’s citywide Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiative, and played an active role in public monument efforts, as well as CreateNYC—New York City’s first strategic long-term plan for culture. She was a curatorial fellow and the communications manager at the Queens Museum from 2010–2014. She currently serves on the Boards of A Blade of Grass, the Laundromat Project and the Poetry Project and was co-curator of the Counterpublic Triennial 2023 in St. Louis, MO.
About the Program
The Artist Subsidy Program is designed to subsidize fabrication services for New York City–based artists facing financial barriers in realizing their projects. We recognize that these barriers often stem from systems of oppression—including racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, and economic inequality, which create significant obstacles for artists in accessing and participating in the arts. To address these challenges, we aim to prioritize low-income artists with other marginalized identities, specifically Black, Indigenous, artists of color, LGBTQIA+, disabled, and refugee artists.
What artists will receive
Subsidized labor costs for fabrication services, including materials, up to $10,000 in one of the six following shops:
- Print: Silkscreen, large-scale, and experimental printing
- MGC Community Print Studio: Interdisciplinary printmaking processes
- Digital Print Lab: UV flatbed printing and wide-format latex printing
- Ceramics Sculpture, 3D printing, mold making, slip casting, wheel throwing, and more
- The Alpha Workshops: Decorative paper and textiles
- Public Art: Design, model-making, or prototyping
Note that artists applying to work with Public Art are encouraged to apply with existing financial support. An additional matching amount of at least $10,000 is recommended to help ensure their project’s successful completion with the Public Art team.
Additionally, artists will receive guidance and support from our team of expert fabricators, as well as opportunities for professional development and participation in other program offerings. This package also includes promotional marketing through our Instagram and newsletter.
Who we serve
We aim to prioritize low-income artists with other marginalized identities such as Black, Indigenous, artists of color, LGBTQIA+, disabled, and refugee artists. This also encompasses artists with little to no institutional support or gallery representation. We may expand this focus to include other underserved groups as we identify them.
Eligibility:
- We will prioritize low-income artists who self-identify with marginalized identities (see above).
- Must be a New York City–based artist.
- Cannot be enrolled in a degree-seeking program (e.g., MFA, BFA)
- Cannot be represented by a gallery nor will be between February to June of 2026. Similarly, cannot be enrolled in an artist residency program between February to June of 2026.
- Must be flexible to collaboratively modify the project based on fabricator feedback and budget limitations.
- Must finish the project by June 30th, 2026.
Applications include:
- Narrative boxes to share any factors related to financial need
- Optional narrative box to share existing financial support if applying for fabrication in the Public Art Shop
- A project proposal description
- Narrative for how the subsidy will support the project
- An expected list of materials informed by Fabrication and Budge Guide here (our fabrication teams will work with the artist to allocate funds and identify materials once accepted) Please note we will require flexibility to collaboratively modify the project based on fabricator feedback and budget limitations.
- Five past work samples
- Five relevant images, sketches, or mockups for the proposed project
- PDF with work sample information
Deadline for the application is January 8th, 2026 and applicants will be notified early February.
Please learn more about the Artist Subsidy Program in our website here.
NYC (Gowanus)
April 30–May 4, 2026 | VIP Preview April 29
Application Deadline: January 9, 2026
Notifications: January 31, 2026
This application is for galleries, artist-run projects and not for profits interested in exhibiting at CONDUCTOR 2026.
Application Fee: $100 (non-refundable)
Booth payment will be invoiced separately upon acceptance.
Questions? Contact: conductor@powerhousearts.org
