Banner Detail: Prison Box, traffic jam, drawing, Morgan Woolverton for MFA’s At Play 2026

Now on display in MFA’s Virtual Gallery August 14 – October 14, 2026

Notification will be made June 25, 2026

Awards will be announced on September 1 at 5 PM

Virtual Gallery    View Sales Gallery    Participating Artists   Awards   Watch the Juror Talk   View NEW 3D Gallery

Introducing At Play

There is a moment in making where curiosity outpaces caution. Where the hand moves before the mind can second-guess it. At Play is an open call for artists working from that place. Not toward a destination, but inside a process. Making the way children do, without asking why. At Play invites submissions that emerge from states of experimentation, wonder, and freedom from outcome. No medium restrictions. No right answer. Just the work that happened when you stopped performing and started playing.

MFA exhibitions are blind juried by professional and credentialed art experts. Entry is open to all artists from around the world, with the exception of sanctioned countries. Any original 2D or 3D work that follows our exhibition guidelines will be considered. Works selected by the juror will be exhibited in Maryland Federation of Art’s (MFA) At Play Exhibition through our Virtual Gallery from August 14 – October 14, 2026.  Show Chair: Nichole Leavy

Click this icon to view and print the downloadable prospectus.

Juror: Gage Branda, Curator at the American Visionary Art Museum

Gage Branda is a Filipino-American artist and educator. He received his BFA in Sculpture from the Maryland Institute College of Art and has presented and exhibited nationally at venues including the Eleventh Hackers of Planet Earth Conference in New York, the Emerge Conference at Arizona State University, the San Jose Innovative Tech Museum, and the Strathmore Mansion. Prior to his work at AVAM, Branda taught K–12 students across Baltimore City in programs on nutrition, science, and art. He now brings insight from his diverse interests—ranging from bronze sculpture to biodesign—to the curation of the American Visionary Art Museum’s exhibitions including most recently The Strength to be Joyful: Messages from Mary Proctor.  

Juror’s Statement

For At Play 2026, I approached the submissions by looking for work that seemed to carry evidence of pleasure in its own making. I was drawn to pieces where the artist’s hand, curiosity, risk, humor, or patience remained visible, and where the finished work still held the charge of discovery. I also hold a deep respect for craft, not simply as a measure of technical skill or “how good” someone is at a particular method, but as evidence that the “how” of making was meaningful. In many of the selected works, process felt active, considered, and alive.

Because this exhibition will live primarily in a virtual gallery, I also considered how faithfully each work could meet viewers through its documentation. Clarity of image, texture, scale, color, and presence mattered, not as a substitute for the work itself, but as the way most viewers would first encounter it.

Some selected works speak to play directly, while others may not appear playful on the surface. What united them, for me, was a sense of making as joy: a willingness to follow an impulse, build a world, test a material, repeat a gesture, or let imagination lead the way.

-Gage Branda

Awards

First Place

  • Cindy Mehr, Rainbow Factory

Second Place

  • Betty Walke, Waiting for O-66

Third Place

  • Dave Kwinter,  Two Canes

Honorable Mentions

  • Shereen Diab, Noisy Milkshake
  • morgan woolverton, Prison Box, traffic jam
  • Tee Moon, She Was Assembled

Information for Accepted Artists

Exhibition Schedule

Exhibition Schedule

  • Mar 31 Online Entry Opens for Submissions
  • May 27 Entry Deadline @ 11:59 PM
  • Jun 25 Notification @ 5 PM ***New date!
  • Aug 14 Exhibition Opens
  • Sep 1 Awards Announced @ 5 PM
  • Oct 14 Last Day of the Exhibition

Liability

Liability

MFA shall not be liable for any special or consequential damages that result from the use of, or inability to use, MFA’s virtual exhibition gallery.

Sales

Sales

  • MFA’s Virtual Sales Gallery is provided to North American artists to sell their work. Only artists in the 48 contiguous United States may set a price. MFA will reimburse up to $35 in shipping costs to those artists for online sales shipments if a receipt is provided. All other artists must enter Price on Request (POR) and purchase inquiries will be referred by MFA to the artist.
  • Artists will retain 80% from sales (85% for MFA Members). MFA will retain 20% commission (15% 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. Artists will be responsible for fulfillment of sales.
  • 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 Maryland Federation of Art and are tax-deductible by the artists to the full extent of the law.

Notification

All entrants will receive notification by email. Accepted artists will also be posted on MFA’s website. 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. Please set your email account to recognize eleanor@mdfedart.org and info@mdfedart.org. Contact Circle Gallery if you do not receive notice by 6 PM on the day of notification.