Open Call and Juried Awards for NYC High School Students

Call Type: Curated Exhibition, Open Call and Juried Awards

Eligibility: High School students of all backgrounds with preference given to first generation immigrants and students who are children of first-generation immigrants

Awards: 1st prize $200, 2nd prize $150, 3rd prize $100, three honorable mentions each $50

Domicile: New York City

Medium: Oil, acrylic, and tempera paintings preferred. Free 11 x 14 in. canvas panels provided to first 30 applicants
or
Drawings using graphite, charcoal, pastel, pen & ink and watercolor up to 11 x 14 in.

(Matted works preferred)

Dates: Saturday, March 7, 2026 (See Application Instructions for details)

New York Artists Equity (NYAE) invites high school students to share their immigrant experience through mediums of painting and drawing. Submissions will be juried by a panel comprising curator Sophia Ma, artist Siyan Wong, and NYAE Executive Director Michael Gormley.

Student submissions will be showcased at NYAE’s Equity Gallery (located in New York City’s LES neighborhood) as part of the exhibition “Mother Warriors” which features Siyan Wong’s paintings depicting immigrant Chinese women working in garment factories, restaurants, homecare, and on the street as vendors. Inspired by the immigrant dreams of a better life and the reality of survival in an economy that dehumanizes them, Wong notes that her paintings, “make the lives of Chinese women, and the working poor, visible while directing the viewers’ gaze to their body and soul as they toil.”

By inviting students to participate in her exhibition, Wong hopes to ignite a wider communal reflection on the joys and challenges of being an immigrant in America with artworks that she adds, “offer a shared vision and speak where words cannot.”

NYAE & Equity Gallery programs are made possible in part by grants from the New York State Council on the Arts and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.

Requirements

Eligibility: NYC High School students of all backgrounds with preference given to first generation immigrants and students who are children of first-generation immigrants

Application Instructions

How to Participate

1. From abstract expression to realism, all paintings and drawings exploring the theme of the Immigrant experience in America are welcome.

2. Pick Up: Free canvas panels suitable for painting are available to the first 30 applicants. They may be picked up on Fri. Jan 30 and Sat. Jan. 31 from 1 – 5pm at Equity Gallery 245 Broome St, NYC.

Panels may be reserved in advance by a student, parent or teacher by emailing name of student and pick-up date to info@nyartistsequity.org using the subject line “reserve panel.”

1. Drop Off: Finished canvases and drawings are to be brought to Equity Gallery on Fri. Mar. 6th and Sat. Mar. 7th from 1 – 5pm. Submissions* must include an entry form (that will be provided at the time of drop off) providing contact information and a description of the artwork.

2. Opening Reception: Students, accompanied by one or two adults, are welcome to attend the exhibition opening on Thurs. Mar. 12th from 6 – 8pm. Students receiving awards will be notified in advance.

3. End of Show: All artworks are to be retrieved at Equity Gallery on Sun. Apr. 12th and Mon. Apr. 13th from 1 – 5pm. Artworks left after these dates will be discarded.

*Participating students must agree to adhere to the deadlines. Artworks must remain on site for the duration of the exhibition. NYAE reserves the right to not display works that are deemed inappropriate, offensive or not in keeping with the exhibition’s theme or aesthetic standards.

For further clarification or questions, please email info@nyartistsequity.org and/or artistsiyanwong@gmail.com.