Open Calls
Each year as part of our festival (January 15-February 15), we offer opportunities for artists and galleries to exhibit and discuss their work and printmaking processes. We have begun to expand our programming outside of that window. Open calls can be found below.
PrintAustin 5X5 — Juried exhibition
Juried exhibition to be shown during the summer of 2026.
We’re excited to announce our first Texas only 5X5, our juried exhibition with extended artist features. Our juror is Maria Elena Ortiz. We will publish our catalog on-line and have an in-person element at the Art Center of Corpus Christi and Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls. The 5X5 will feature five artists which will be selected based on their collective submission. Each winner will be awarded a $500 stipend.
The 5X5 artists will receive:
- A stipend of $500
- Catalog of exhibition
- A podcast interview with either Hello, Print Friend or Studio Noize
- An Artist Feature in one of our weekly e-newsletter blasts during PrintAustin 2024
- Work chosen to hang in an in-person exhibition at the Art Center of Corpus Christi and Midwestern State University during the summer of 2026.
JUDGING: This is a blind jury and works will be judged on traditional printmaking techniques and innovative approaches in contemporary printmaking. While non-traditional or digital output is accepted as a print element, submissions must utilize traditional print media as their primary technique. These include lithography, relief, intaglio, silkscreen, photopolymer plate (i.e. SolarPlates), and monotype. Solely digital and photographic prints are not eligible. For questions regarding eligible media, please contact info@printaustin.org.
MEET THE JUROR
María Elena Ortiz, curator at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, comes to the Modern from the Pérez Art Museum in Miami (PAMM), where she curated discerning exhibitions such as Allied with Power: African and African Diaspora Art from the Jorge M. Pérez Collection and The Other Side of Now: Foresight in Caribbean Art. With curatorial research informed by African diaspora, Latin American, and Latinx art histories, Ortiz’s scholarship and insights are sought-after and timely; she has received international writing, curatorial, and speaking invitations from prestigious institutions including the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; the National Museum of African American Art and Culture, Washington DC; Museo de Arte Contemporaneo, San Juan; Matadero, Madrid; Museu Arte Contempoaneo, Barcelona; and Videobrasil, São Paulo.
THE CONTEMPORARY PRINT (TCP) — Juried exhibition
The Contemporary Print is presented in collaboration with The Art Galleries at Austin Community College for an exhibit at the top of 2027. Dates for exhibit and reception TBD.
JUDGING: This is a blind jury, and works will be judged on traditional printmaking techniques and innovative approaches in contemporary printmaking. While non-traditional or digital output is accepted as a print element, submissions must utilize traditional print media as their primary technique. These include lithography, relief, intaglio, silkscreen, photopolymer plate (i.e. SolarPlates), and monotype. Solely digital and photographic prints are not eligible. For questions regarding eligible media, don’t hesitate to get in touch with info@printaustin.org. NOTE: You may enter the same work into 5×5 and TCP should you enter both contests. However, should you be accepted to both exhibits, you can only accept one. There will be a $500 prize for best in show.
ABOUT OUR JUROR: coming
PRIZES: coming
Discounts: PrintAustin members will be able to pay $10 to enter vs the regular $35 fee. Find out more about membership. We have a limited number of waived registration fees regardless of membership status for artists in need should you be experiencing hardship. Please email us at info@printaustin.org if you’d like to check availability. All applications need to go through the CaFE application system.
Opening Aug 1 with an Oct 1 deadline to apply
PrintEXPO — our annual juried print fair
This call will open September 1, 2026.
This fair is held at Blue Genie, a 9,000 square foot space in Central Austin. We will be accepting registrations until October 15. The call is open to all local, regional, and international printmakers. We will notify artists by November 1.
Dates: Still to be determined.
Tenative schedule: Friday we will be open to the public from 6-10pm, Saturday, 12pm-6pm, and Sunday, 12pm-5pm. Vendors are expected to be at their booth, or within the facility, during all operating hours.
Prices: Vendors will be able to purchase wall space in a variety of formats/prices vs. the booth style shown to the left. Stay tuned as we work out these details. We know that fairs are expensive when combined with travel, lodging, and BBQ and we will keep our prices as low as possible.
Jurors: Our fair will be juried by PrintAustin’s board of directors.
STEAMROLLER
This call will open September 1.
This event will be held during PrintEXPO– date still to be determined, starting at noon and ending when all blocks are printed.
Should there be rain, we will move our operation inside and print by hand using Print Frogs.