BWAC Competitions / Calls for Entry
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MEMBER SHOW: Between Two Waterfronts: A Brooklyn Landscape
“BETWEEN TWO WATERFRONTS: A BROOKLYN LANDSCAPE”
The Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition presents
a BWAC Membership Exhibition, on view at
The Whale Building, 14B – 53rd St, Brooklyn, NY 11220
July 2, 2026 – August 2, 2026
Please read the full application prospectus carefully before submitting.
Long before Walt Whitman described Brooklyn’s “ample hills,” artists had explored the borough as a landscape of crossings, contrasts, and continual transformation.
Prospectus
Between Two Waterfronts: A Brooklyn Landscape invites artists to consider the Brooklyn waterfront as both a lived environment and a symbolic space, where land meets water, industry meets community, and histories of labor, migration, and culture are shaped by ongoing urban change.
The waterfront reflects the broader Brooklyn landscape. It is shaped by industry, development, climate pressure, and displacement, but also by resilience, adaptation, and everyday life. It is a place of contrast, industrial and residential, built and changing, visible and overlooked.
Artists are invited to respond to these evolving shorelines and what they reveal about Brooklyn’s neighborhoods, infrastructure, and communities. Work may include any medium and approach, including representation, abstraction, narrative, or experimental practices.
Curatorial Note
The “two waterfronts” may be understood both literally and metaphorically: the shifting shoreline between Red Hook and Sunset Park, and the layered emotional, historical, and cultural landscapes that exist alongside it.
While members are encouraged to consider work that relates to, complements, or creates a dialogue with the Waterfront and Brooklyn themes, thematic work is not required. A successful Members Show reflects the diversity of our membership and the many creative voices within our community.
Exhibition Dates: July 2 – August 2, 2026
Call to BWAC Membership for Submissions
- Submission Deadline: June 19, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. EST
- Call Announcement Opens: May 25, 2026
- Notification Letters Sent: Week of June 21, 2026
Eligibility
This BWAC Member Exhibition is open to artists working in all media, including both traditional and non-traditional formats. Participation is open exclusively to BWAC member artists.
All submitted artwork must be entirely original in concept, design, and execution. By "original," we mean the artist’s own creative work and expression, conceived and produced by the submitting artist. Reproductions, copies, or derivative works based on another artist’s creation are not eligible for submission.
Works must also be exhibition-ready, including framed 2-dimensional wall pieces and pedestal-ready 3-dimensional works. For any special considerations, please contact the exhibition team at EXHIBITIONS@BWAC.ORG.
Note:
- Artwork must be available for sale. NFS or POR will not be considered
- Reproductions of original works in other media (including giclée prints of paintings) will not be accepted. AI-generated artwork, whether in whole or in part, is not permitted for submission.
Submission Information
Artists may submit up to three images for consideration. Due to the limited exhibition space, at least one work from each participating member artist will be selected.
All entries must be received by June 19, at 11:59 PM EST. There is no fee to submit.
All accepted artwork must be dropped off and picked up on the dates specified in the acceptance letter. Shipped artwork will not be accepted.
Artwork Requirements
Images:
- JPEG or PNG images only
- Longest side being at least 1,280 pixels
- Resolution 72 pixels
- Weight of Artwork: In pounds (lbs.) and ounces (oz.), plus add approximately 5% for packaging to ship
Presentation Requirements
All work must be properly prepared for exhibition. 2D works must be ready to hang with secure, professional hanging hardware. 3D works must be stable, properly finished, and suitable for pedestal or floor display.
Member Exhibits Selection Committee:
All submissions will be reviewed by the exhibition’s curating team, which will select works for presentation in the show.
Sales, Commissions, and Shipping when applicable
All artwork must be offered for sale. Artists will receive 70% of the final sale price for all works sold during the exhibition. The price listed on the artist’s entry form will be used as the official sale price.
Art sales will take place both onsite and online through a QR code system. Buyers may choose to pick up their artwork at the conclusion of the exhibition or arrange for delivery for an additional fee.
SUMMER OF SOCCER: THE WORLD'S GAME
SUMMER OF SOCCER: THE WORLD'S GAME
Art Inspired by the Passion, Culture, and Spirit of Soccer
A Juried Exhibition
The Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition at
The Whale Building, 14 – 53rd St, Brooklyn, NY 11220
July 2, 2026 – August 2, 2026
As New York welcomes the world's premier international soccer tournament in 2026, BWAC invites artists to explore the energy, history, culture, and community surrounding the beautiful game. From neighborhood fields and pickup matches to packed stadiums and international competition, soccer has the power to unite people across borders, languages, and generations.
Artists are invited to capture the excitement, emotion, diversity, and universal appeal of soccer. Whether reflecting personal experiences, local soccer culture, legendary moments, or the sport's influence around the world, we seek artwork that is as dynamic, compelling, and inspiring as the game itself.
We welcome all forms of artistic expression inspired by the sport, from players and fans to movement, teamwork, identity, competition, and celebration. Paintings, photography, sculpture, mixed media, installations, digital art, and other creative interpretations are encouraged.
Umoored/Unbound
UNMOOERED/UNBOUND
Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition, in partnership with Powerhouse Arts Presents: UNMOORED / UNBOUND
a juried group exhibition, on view at Powerhouse Arts, May 21 - June 5, 2026
Please read the entire Application
Prospectus UNMOORED/UNBOUND:
“There is no comfortable foundation for an artist to stand on. Do not look for it, and if you find it, get off it.”
Enrique Martinez Celaya, On Art And Mindfulness
Being an artist often means accepting uncertainty and embracing the unknown, in our lives and in our work. At a time of political, economic and technological upheaval, art serves as a powerful expression of our uncertain and liminal existence.
Unmoored/Unbound is a BWAC juried group exhibition in collaboration with Powerhouse Arts. The show will present artworks that explore themes of loss, transition, liberation, freedom and deliverance. Art of all mediums will be considered including drawing, painting, sculpture, photography, video and installation. The curators welcome existing work as well as new work made in response to the exhibition prompt. Of particular interest is work that explores how art can be a vessel for transition, lesser known sources of strength and wisdom, and the value of community in times of disruption. Unmoored/Unbound will provide viewers with inspiring and expansive accounts of how artists survive and thrive in dark and challenging times.
Exhibition May 21, 2026 – June 5, 2026
Call to All Artists for Submission
Submission Deadline EXTENDED TO April 23 2026 at 11:59 p.m. EST
Call Announcement Start: March 2, 2026
Notification Letter: April 29 2026
Eligibility
This is a Juried Exhibition for artists working in all media. This exhibition is open to all to artists working in traditional and non‐traditional formats. All artwork must be original in concept, design and execution and be ready to be exhibited (framed for 2-Dimensional wall art or pedestal ready for 3-Dimensional work.) Please contact shows@bwac.org for any special considerations.
Note:
- Artwork must be available for sale. NFS or POR will not be considered
- Reproductions of original works in other media (such as giclee reproductions of oil paintings and AI creations), will not be considered. At this time there will be no AI generated artwork allowed to be submitted either as a base or the entire art piece.
- All submissions must be hand delivered. An address will be provided in the acceptance letter.
Submission Fee
$35.00 per person (to pay for operational expenses) for up to 3 images. $5.00 for additional submissions.
All entries must be received by April 23, 2026, 11:59 PM EST
Entry fees are non-refundable.
Artwork Requirements
Images:
- JPEG or PNG images only
- Longest side being at least 1,280 pixels
- Resolution 72 pixels
- Weight of Artwork: In pounds (lbs.) and ounces (oz.), plus add approximately 5% for packaging to ship
Juror
We are happy to announce that Eric Shiner, the President of Powerhouse Arts will jury this show. He was the Executive Director of Pioneer Works in Brooklyn, and formerly Artistic Director of White Cube, New York and Senior Vice President of Contemporary Art at Sotheby’s. Prior to this, Eric was the director of The Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh from 2010 to 2016, and was the Milton Fine Curator of Art at The Warhol from 2008 to 2010.
A leading scholar on Andy Warhol and Asian contemporary art, Eric lived and worked in Japan for a total of six years and was assistant curator on the inaugural Yokohama Triennale in 2001. Eric has curated dozens of contemporary art exhibitions in cities around the globe and was the team leader on The Warhol Museum’s major Warhol retrospective that traveled to Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing and Tokyo between 2012 and 2014. Notable exhibitions include Andy Warhol | Ai Weiwei in 2015/16, Deborah Kass: Before and Happily Ever After in 2012, Armory Focus: USA at the Armory Show in 2013 and Armory Platform in 2017. He is the immediate past President of the board of Visual AIDS, a NYC-based nonprofit promoting the artistic legacy of those artists lost to and living with AIDS, and a board member of The Romare Bearden Foundation and Art at a Time Like This.
PLEASE DO NOT GO TO THE POWERHOUSE ARTS SPACE TO SCOUT IT OUT UNLESS YOU ARE ATTENDING A SCHEDULED EVENT.
Sales, Commissions, and Shipping when applicable
All artwork must be priced for sale. Artists will retain a 70% commission on all exhibition sales. The price represented on the artist entry form will be the sale price.
Art sales will be conducted onsite and online via a QR code. The buyer has the option to either pick up the artwork when the show ends or have it delivered for a fee.
For Sales to be Delivered:
- Buyer pays for an art piece including sale taxes and estimated shipping costs calculated from the size and weight information provided from the artist.
- BWAC contacts Buyer about shipping to determine if they want the artwork shipped
- If Buyer wants it shipped, then BWAC will email shipping label to Artist
- Artists will wrap their own artwork and ship out using shipping label from BWAC or deliver to Buyer
- All artwork not picked up by the buyer on the last day, June 5, 2026 will be delivered at the buyer’s expense
- Artist will receive commission payment when the work is picked up or after notifying BWAC of delivery (either shipped or hand delivered)
Directions for Online Submission
Follow the directions on the Site Login Page to create a profile, if you are new to Smarter Entry or used the system prior to August 27, 2012. Profiles created in Smarter Entry after the date above have been saved in the system. Simply log in using your email as your username.
- Select “UNMOORED/UNBOUND” to register (UNDER AVAILABLE SHOWS). You will be redirected to a secure page to pay the application fee and upload your work.
- Once you have paid your application fee, you can upload your images. Submit your images as JPG or PNG file with the longest side being no less than 1,280 pixels.
NOTE:
- Your Submission is not complete and will not be valid if you do not upload an image even if you pay. Please do not skip this step.
Contact/Questions
Direct all questions to shows@bwac.org. The curator’s results will be emailed in the week of April 29, 2026. If you have not received notification by May 1, 2026, please notify us at the email above. If accepted, your Acceptance Letter will include instructions to confirm participation, deadlines, and all the details needed for the exhibit.
Entry Agreement
With the submission of artwork into the UNMOORED/UNBOUND BWAC art show, the artist agrees to all the terms and conditions set forth in this prospectus.