Compete 2026 International FL3TCH3R Exhibit: Socially & Politically Engaged Art
Opportunity Description
International Deadline: June 30, 2026 – Artists from around the world are invited to participate in the 13th annual “13th Annual 2026 International “FL3TCH3R Exhibit: Social & Politically Engaged Art” to be presented at Fischman Gallery in downtown Johnson City, Tennessee. This prestigious international juried exhibition will be held from August 7 thru September 27, 2026.
The exhibition, renowned for its exploration of contemporary social and political movements, will feature a diverse array of artworks that address pressing global issues. The 2024 juror, Meaghan A. Dee is an Associate Professor and Chair of Graphic Design as well as a Senior Fellow at the Institute of Creativity, Arts, and Technology at Virginia Tech. Meaghan is both a practicing graphic designer and design educator bringing expertise and vision to the selection process.
Art has long served as a site of witness, dissent, and imagination; a space in which artists make visible the tensions, contradictions, and urgencies of public life. Across time and place, social and politically engaged art has challenged systems of power, confronted histories of violence and exclusion, and insisted on the possibility that visual culture can do more than reflect the world as it is. It can interrupt, question, expose, mourn, provoke, and propose.THE FL3TCH3R EXHIBIT is rooted in that belief.
VENUE
Fischman Gallery
133 N Commerce
Johnson City, TN 37604
Phone: (423) 430-8441.
ELIGIBILITY
THE FL3TCH3R Exhibit is open to all artists and designers 18 years of age and older residing in the United States or any other country as long as entry fee is paid in U.S. dollars. All work must be original. Work submitted should reflect current issues that affect contemporary culture and investigate societal and political concerns.
MEDIA, DIMENSION, & PRESENTATION REQUIREMENTS
Submissions will be accepted from the following categories: audio/sound, ceramics, digital, fiber, glass, graphic design, jewelry/metals, mixed media (2D), mixed media (3D), painting, performance/installation (via video), photography, printmaking, book arts, sculpture, video/film, medical/health care and other.
Open to all 2D, 3D, performance/installation (via video), sound/audio, and film/video art are eligible. Specific categories include: Ceramics, Digital, Fiber, Glass, Graphic Design, Jewelry/Metals, Mixed Media (2D), Mixed Media (3D), Painting (All), Performance/Installation (via video), Photography, Printmaking, Sculpture, Sound/Audio, Video/Film, Medical/Healthcare Professionals’ submissions in any category… see more
JUROR
The 2026 juror is Jessica “JB” Burke, an artist and educator based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Burke, who prefers to go by J.B., is a contemporary realist and Associate Professor of Art at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Her drawings have been featured in numerous solo and group exhibitions, including presentations at the Mint Museum, the Florida State University Museum of Fine Arts, the KEPCO Plaza Gallery Museum, and most recently Art Basel Miami Beach through Aqua Art Miami. Her work has also appeared in publications including Manifest’s International Drawing Annual (INDA) 13, Hi-Fructose Magazine, Hyperlux Magazine, 3×3 Illustration International, and Creative Quarterly: The Journal of Art and Design.. see more
AWARDS
More than $2,000 in awards will be presented during the exhibition reception and juror talk on First Friday, September 4 th, at 6:30 p.m. at Fischman Gallery.
> Best of Show
> Award of Excellence (2)
> Sammie L. Nicely
> Fischman Gallery
> Avery Healthcare & the Arts
> Jack Schrader
> Robert Alfonso
> Anita DeAngelis & Steve Jackson Sr. Cultural Arts
> Other awards (TBA)
ENTRY FEE
Entries online must be received by June 23rd, 2026 with non-refundable entry fee of $40 for up to three works/titles entered and for each additional piece, add $10.00 per artwork/title. The Extended Deadline is June 24th-30th, 2026 with payment of $45 non-refundable entry fee for up to 3 pieces plus $10 per additional artwork/title.
APPLY ONLINE
Visit us online for complete details and to Apply.
DATES
- Deadlines: Now Through June 23, 2026; June. 24-30, 2026
- July 15, 2026: =Notification to Accepted Artists
- July. 31, 2026 Deadline for receipt of shipped works
- July 19 -31, 2026 Accepting hand deliveryof Artwork at Fischman Gallery
- Aug 7-Sept. 27, 2026 The FL3TCH3R Exhibit open First Friday @ Fischman Gallery- Aug 7- 6:30-9pm
- Sept 4, 2026 Juror’s Artist Talk – Fischman Gallery 6:30-7:30PM,
- Sept 4, 2026 7:30 pm reception & awards presentation – Fischman Gallery
- Sept 27, 2026, 2026 FL3TCH3R Exhibit Closes
- Sept 28-Oct 3, 2026 Return of hand delivered works; Sat/Sun (9am-3pm) Mon/Th/Fri (11am-4pm) EST or by appointment
About:
Established in memory of Barbara and Wayne Dyer’s son, Fletcher, a BFA senior at ETSU who passed away in 2009 in a motorcycle accident, the FL3TCH3R international juried exhibit focuses on work with strong social and/or political content. FL3TCH3R Exhibit entries “should reflect current issues that affect contemporary culture and investigate societal and political concerns”.
In addition to providing an opportunity for socially relevant expression, the FL3TCH3R Exhibit supports the annual Fletcher H. Dyer Memorial Scholarship for an ETSU Art & Design student.
Over the years of the exhibit, over 1,500 entries have been considered from 17 countries, including the U.S.
The FL3TCH3R EXHIBIT
P.O. Box 954
Johnson City, TN 37605
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