Juried Art Exhibits

Open to all artists, 18 years of age or older residing in the Highland Community College district, as well as all currently enrolled HCC students. Open to two-dimensional and three-dimensional original works of art in any medium. All works of art must have been completed in the last two years and not previously exhibited at Highland Gallery.

A total of eleven separate awards will be given out at the discretion of the juror. Best of Show Community, Best of Show Student, First Place, Second Place and Third Place, will carry a cash award in addition to a placement ribbon. In addition, up to six Honorable Mention awards may be decided at the discretion of the Juror. Honorable Mention recipients receive placement ribbons only.

Award winners are encouraged to be present at the Opening Reception and Award Ceremony on Monday, February 10, 2025 from 4:30 to 6 p.m. awards announced at 5:30 p.m.

Highland Gallery reserves the right to photograph and document all submitted work and to use these images for catalog, educational and /or publicity purposes.

Artists may submit a maximum of 3 entries for a nonrefundable fee of $3 per work. Entry Form and fee is due upon delivery of work with checks made payable to Highland Community College. Entry Forms must be completed, including the Artist’s Signature to be accepted. All accepted work must remain in the exhibit for the duration of the exhibition.

Two-dimensional work may not exceed five feet in any dimension, including framing presentation and materials. All mounting and matting must be white or off-white material only. All work must be framed and suitably wired and ready for installation. Paintings on stretchers must have edges painted, or framed.

Three-dimensional work designed to sit on podiums must not exceed 100 lbs, and the base must not exceed 12 inches. Three-dimensional work designed to sit on the floor may not exceed 30 inches in width or depth, or exceed six feet in height. All work must fit through a standard doorway.

Any work exceeding size restrictions, or not conforming to the above presentation requirements will be rejected. Work is not officially accepted in the exhibit upon submission as the Juror and Gallery Director must certify each work as meeting all prospectus requirements and guidelines.

Works submitted for the exhibition must be hand delivered by the artist to Highland Gallery on Wednesday, January 29, 2025, from 8 a.m. – 6 p.m. If work is submitted by any other individual on behalf of the artist, Highland Gallery must have written consent from the artist to accept submissions by that specific individual. This must be done prior to actual submission by emailing the above request to highlandgallery@highland.edu. Highland Gallery is located in the West wing of the Ferguson Fine Arts Center.

Hand-delivered packing materials cannot be retained for the artist by Highland Gallery. Please plan on a minimum of twenty minutes for submissions.

The Juror or Gallery Director reserves the right to reject any work based on inferior quality, presentation, or prospectus/guideline omission to preserve the integrity of the exhibition. Among other criteria, the Juror will consider the following when making acceptance and award decisions:

Does the submission meet the above through a resolved handling of media?

Is the submission and its message worthy of discussion?

Does the submission explore an idea or concept in a unique and intriguing manner?

All work accepted into this exhibit must be picked up by the artist on Wednesday, March 12, 2025 from 9 a.m. – 6 p.m. If work is to be picked up by an individual on behalf of the artist, Highland Gallery must have written consent from the artist to release their work to that specific individual. This must be done prior to the actual retrieval date by emailing a request to highlandgallery@highland.edu.

A photo I.D. is required by all individuals retrieving work.

All works accepted for exhibition will be reasonably insured while on Ferguson Fine Arts Center premises according to Current Fair Market Value. Highland Gallery will not be responsible for insuring works of art unclaimed after Wednesday, March 12, 2025.

The value of each submitted work must be indicated on the entry form and attaching tag. If the work is not for sale, you must still indicate the value for insurance purposes and check the N.F.S. box. Highland Gallery will retain 20% of the sale price on any work sold during the exhibition which will be contributed to SOVA, the Student Organization Visual Arts.

“The Prairie Wind” publication is a diverse collection of poetry, artwork, photography and music from the many members of the Highland community. It is produced annually by students and staff in the Humanities and Fine Arts departments at HCC. It has been published since 1992. Each issue is created by an editorial staff composed of students and volunteer community members who are guided by a team of faculty advisors.

All works officially accepted into this exhibition are automatically submitted for possible inclusion into “The Prairie Wind.” If you do not wish your work to be submitted, please check the “PW Opt Out” box on the exhibit entry form next to each submission entry.

Anyone 18 years of age or older residing in the Highland Community College district, as well as all currently enrolled HCC students. Please see the Eligibility section outlined above.

Yes, artists may submit a maximum of 3 entries for a nonrefundable fee of $3 per work. Please see the Rules of Entry section above.

Yes, Best of Show Community, Best of Show Student, First, Second and Third Place receive a cash award as well as a placement ribbon. Honorable Mentions receive a placement ribbon only. 

Your submission must be an original concept and execution created in the last two years and not a copy or reproduction of the work of another. Additionally, all work must conform to the following limitations:

• Two-dimensional work may not exceed five feet in any dimension, including framing presentation and materials.  All mounting and matting must be white or off-white material only. 
  
  
• All work must be framed and suitably wired and ready for installation.
  
  
• Paintings on stretchers must have edges painted, or framed.
• Three-dimensional work designed to sit on podiums must not exceed 100 lbs, and the base must not exceed 12 inches.
  
  
• Three-dimensional work designed to sit on the floor may not exceed 30 inches in width or depth, or exceed six feet in height.
  
  
• All work must fit through a standard doorway.
  
  
• Final selections and awards will be chosen based on meeting the above Rules of Entry as well as artistic excellence and originality. Final selections will be made by an objective Juror involved in the art field both as an artist as well as educator. Amongst other criteria, the Juror will consider the following when making their final selections and awards:

1. Is the submission and its message worthy of discussion?

2. Does the submission explore an idea or concept in a unique and intriguing manner? 

3. Does the submission meet the above through a resolved or intriguing handling of the medium?

Please see the Eligibility, Rules of Entry, and Limitations sections above

Yes, you retain all rights to your work of art. However, by your submission, you agree to grant Highland Gallery a non-exclusive, royalty-free, license to use, display and market your art for educational and publicity purposes. Please see the Publicity section above.

Yes, all accepted work will be identified by artist, title and media.

Your original artwork may be in any media, as long as it adheres to the criteria listed. Please see the Eligibility, Rules of Entry, and Limitations sections above.

Submissions, actual works of art, and completed Entry Forms, must be hand-delivered on the date listed above. If work is submitted by any other individual on behalf of the artist, Highland Gallery must have written consent from the artist to accept submissions by that specific individual. This must be done prior to actual submission by emailing the above request to highlandgallery@highland.edu. If the submission date is inconvenient, special arrangements can be made for early drop-off, but must be done at least one week in advance by contacting Highland Gallery at highlandgallery@highland.edu. No late submissions will be accepted. Please see the 2025 Calendar above.

All submissions must be hand-delivered from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 29. In case of inclement weather, where the college is officially closed, a new submission date will be posted on the Highland website at highland.edu/gallery. Please see the 2025 Calendar above.

Once the Juror has made their choices, rejected work and award winners only will be notified, accordingly, by email.

• Rejected submissions will not be included in this exhibition, and this will be conveyed in the email.
• Award winners will be informed that they have placed; but will not be given any specifics regarding the work of art or actual placement. Award winners will also need to confirm their Opening Reception and Award Ceremony attendance; which will be outlined in the email.

The exhibit will be displayed in the Highland Gallery, in the West wing of the Ferguson Fine Center of Highland Community College.

The college is located at:
2998 West Pearl City Road
Freeport IL
61032

The exhibit is Feb. 10 – March 10. An Opening Reception takes place on Monday, Feb.10, from 4:30 – 6 p.m. with Awards announced at 5:30 p.m.
This exhibit and Opening Reception is free and open to the public.

One of the primary reasons submissions are rejected is because artists are not adhering to the Rules of Entry and Limitations outlined. Specifically, matting, wiring and incorrect submission size are the primary reasons for rejected work.

Matting, Mounting, and Wiring

Although a colored matt or mount may have the look you think best for your work, white or off-white matting and mounting is the preferred (and as in this case, required) presentation for exhibiting; especially in juried exhibitions. This is done to avoid any visual distraction or elaboration from the work of art; which is after all, the most important component of your presentation.

When wiring a two-dimensional work of art for exhibit installation, it is important to do so properly. The best method, and one often required for exhibitions, is to use screw eyes or strap hangers, or hanging hardware specifically made for your frame, and braided picture hanging wire. The size of the screw eye, strap hanger, or specialty hardware and braided picture wire gauge need to be determined by the total weight of your work and presentation materials.

Copyright Infringement

Above all, your work of art should be your own creation. Although you may be inspired by imagery and ideas gained from viewing other works of art, creating a work of art that too closely approximates a work of art already in existence will most likely be considered copyright infringement unless you have the written permission of the artist to do so, or that work is in public domain. To avoid copyright infringement, create your own work. If you are heavily inspired by other’s work and want to somehow incorporate their visual components into your work you will need to change or alter their original images in substantial ways to avoid infringement. Your work of art needs to look different enough that the original work has been so modified that it can’t be recognized as a reference.

Learn more about Copyright and Fair Use.

A secondary reason for rejected work is often choosing a work that may not be ready for exhibition. This is referred to as unresolved work.

• When choosing works of art for exhibition purposes, it is important to be objective. If the exhibition has a theme then you will want to make sure you are conforming to that theme. Whether there is a specific theme or not, you will want to make sure that your work is visually ready, or resolved, for exhibition. A resolved work means that the form and content have been analyzed and you probably have made revisions based on refining these components.
• Form is the way the work of art looks, including the handling of the media and technical concerns as well as how you have organized the elements (line, shape, form, etc…) and principles of design (such as balance, area of emphasis, contrast, etc…) in the work of art.
• Content is the meaning, feeling, or message you are attempting to develop. Remember, art is communication, so your viewing audience is going to attempt to figure out what you are visually communicating.
• An unresolved work of art suggests that the artist has not taken the time to objectively analyze the work of art to make sure it is as strong and intriguing as possible.  Unresolved works of art often feel unfinished, or unbalanced, or technically underdeveloped to the average eye. 
• A resolved work suggests that the artist has taken time to analyze form and content, and made necessary revisions so the work of art no longer appears to struggle in its communication.

Although the above is somewhat subjective, most people viewing works of art are able to tell when a work of art is unresolved. They may not be able to put this into the proper words, but our eyes do not lie to us.

Please review these guidelines carefully to make sure you are meeting the Rules of Entry and Limitations.