On Display January 30 – February 22 in Circle Gallery

Closing Reception will be Saturday, February 22 from 4 – 6 PM

Introducing Digital Directions

Maryland Federation of Art (MFA) has been invited to exhibit artwork at the Lowe House of Delegates Building in Annapolis, Maryland. Original 2D work created through any media and following entry guidelines are eligible for entry. The selected works will be on exhibit at the Lowe House of Delegates Building (6 Bladen Street, Annapolis, MD 21401) during the 2025 Legislative Session from January 14 to April 8, 2025

Click this icon to view and print the downloadable prospectus.

Juror: Jennifer Figg: Associate Professor, 3D Foundations Area Coordinator at Towson

Jenn Figg has an interest in energy, technology and the environment. She uses a variety of materials including glass, textiles, metal, sound, video, and electronics to investigate the connections between ecology, industry, science and identity. Recent sculptures and installations explore sustainable kinetics as landscape, performance, and spiritual intervention.

Selected exhibitions and performances have been at The Phipps Conservatory in Pittsburgh, PA; the Gund Gallery at Kenyon College in OH; with Step Afrika! in Washington, DC; The Art House at the Jones Center in Austin, TX; Virginia MOCA in Virginia Beach, VA; MOCA in Cleveland, OH; the Arlington Art Center in Arlington, VA; the Columbus Center for Science and Industry in Columbus, OH; The Print Center in Philadelphia, PA; the Toledo Museum of Art in Toledo, OH, the National Museum of Glass in Eskisehir, Turkey, and Project4 Gallery in Washington, DC.

Juror Statement

As the juror for the Digital Directions exhibition, I see our collective imagination presented with an evolving visual language, one that is situated in our human experience and mediated with a host of digital tools. The works selected for this exhibition express moments of our presence in this world as we look to the skies and beyond, as we perceive our earthbound environments, and as we understand our bodies and ourselves.
The artworks in this exhibition are from across a range of disciplines, including drawings and paintings, photography, sculpture, contemporary book making, and screen-based media. The artworks are a testament to the creative mind which is further extended by a kaleidoscope of digital tools and processes. The artists learned the craftsmanship of sophisticated digital tools to transform their marks and their ideas. These tools empower the artists in their world-building, their algorithms standing in for the way paints and charcoal are applied to surfaces. Increasingly complex image processors allow for textures to be recreated and embedded, layers to be transformed and warped, colors to be edged to their chromatic limits, and three dimensional space to be shifted with numerical strategy.  Nuanced risk taking is evident throughout the exhibition, pushing the boundaries and constraints of what we know to be true. Digital photographs are altered and hyperreal spaces ask us to negotiate ourselves within the built environment. Transparencies reveal the skin we’re in, our bodies residing in the depths of saturated colors and textures. Portals are opened to realms beyond, histories repeat and are slightly altered, and microscopic details expose patterns that defy logic.
These works are part of our creative digital direction as we move into the future. For some of the works in the exhibition, the resulting digital work is the final step. For others, it is an intermediary step, which provides a ground for further mark making and metamorphosis. In every step, human consciousness and intellect drives the originality and innovation, craftsmanship, poetry and beauty, chaos and order, and transcendent vision that humans bring to the process of making.
Dr. Jenn Figg
Professor of Art, Towson University

Awards

  • Cash awards presented by the juror total $1,000.

Best in Show 

  • Choices by C. Lee

Juror’s Choices 

  • Innervisions by Sabiyha Prince
  • PEEKING (triptych) by Anna BOGH
  • Annotated Horizons by Elise Racine

Honorable Mention

  • Amsterdam Impressions by Sally Canzoneri
  • Ballers 04 – Environment Zenga by David Moon
  • Drawing a Breath by Wen Redmond

Information for Accepted Artists

Exhibition Schedule

Exhibition Schedule:

  • Sept 24 Online Entry Opens for Submissions
  • Dec 4 Extended Entry Deadline
  • Dec 19 Notification @ 5 PM
  • Jan 22 – 26 Accepted and Shipped Work Must Arrive at MFA Circle Gallery from 11 AM – 4 PM
  • Jan 30 Exhibition Opens
  • Feb 2 Virtual Awards Ceremony from 4 – 5 PM via Zoom
  • Feb 22 Last Day of the Exhibition; Closing Reception at MFA Circle Gallery from 4 – 6 PM
  • Feb 23 – 24 Pick-up Hand-Delivered Work from 11 AM – 4 PM
  • Mar 6 Shipped Work Will Be Sent

NOTE: Should Circle Gallery or any other exhibition space be closed for reasons beyond our control, MFA reserves the right to move a planned physical exhibit to our online gallery.

Delivery and Shipping

Delivery

  • All work delivered to the gallery must have the following information affixed to the non-viewing side of the artwork:
    • Artist Name
    • Address, phone number, and email
    • Title of the work, medium, and price. Be specific with medium descriptions (e.g., oil on hardboard or canvas, not oil; chromogenic print or archival inkjet print, not photography or digital print; oil pastel on paper, not pastel; etc.)
  • Work must arrive on scheduled dates.
  • Paintings must be dry.
  • Measure to ensure work meets size limitations before delivery, include outer edges of frames. Work not in compliance will not be exhibited. No exceptions.
  • All shipped work must include a bar-coded shipping label. Do not send by United States Postal Service (USPS). We prefer UPS but accept FedEx. No shipping peanuts allowed.
  • Please affix packing/repacking instructions to OUTSIDE of the shipping box.
  • Tips on shipping can be viewed on the RedDotBlog

Pickup and Storage

Pickup and Storage

  • Unless previous arrangements have been made, work placed in storage after announced pickup dates will be subject to a fine of $10 per piece, per week. Work left in storage longer than two (2) weeks shall become MFA property and may be disposed of, or used for fundraising purposes. There are no exceptions.

Liability

Liability

All work will be handled with all possible care, but pieces submitted for the exhibition are at the artist’s risk. In the event of damage or theft, MFA will not be held liable. If insurance is desired, the artist must carry it.

Sales

Sales

  • All work entered into any exhibition must be for sale unless prior agreements are made, and marked either with a price or POR for Price On Request.
  • Artists will retain 70% from sales (75% for MFA Members). MFA will retain 30% commission (25% for MFA Members) on any work sold through MFA.
  • The sale of artwork is taxable and all sales tax processing will be handled by MFA.
  • Sold artwork requiring shipment will be handled by MFA with costs collected from the buyer. Buyers will be asked if the work may be retained until the exhibit ends. If the buyer disagrees, the Gallery will let the work go, and the artist will be informed.
  • MFA asks that artists donate 20% from any sale made through a direct referral from MFA within three months. All donations are used to help defray operating costs of the Maryland Federation of Art and are tax-deductible by the artists to the full extent of the law.

Notification

All entrants will be sent notice by email. Artists who have unsubscribed from MFA emails will not receive notification. The notice to accepted artists will include specific details and could vary from the prospectus. A list of accepted artists and artwork will also be posted on MFA’s website. Please set your email account to recognize notification@mdfedart.org and info@mdfedart.org. Contact Circle Gallery if you do not receive notice by 5 PM on the day of notification.