2025 Mackinac Art Exhibition
$5,000 in Cash Prizes
Juried Exhibition Mackinac State Historic Parks announced an Art Exhibition at The Richard & Jane Manoogian Mackinac Art Museum on Mackinac Island, Michigan. Art will be chosen by a juror and displayed to the public starting May 9, 2025 until closing in October, 2025.
The juror will select a single Best of Show, second and third place, and three honorable mention awardees from the pieces displayed in the exhibition. Winners will be announced at the June 18, 2025 awards ceremony on Mackinac Island.
Award There will be a single Best of Show award which will be chosen by the juror. The winner will receive The Richard & Jane Manoogian Mackinac Art Museum Gold Medal and $2,500 cash prize. Their name will be on the list of annual Gold Medal winners, which is displayed at the museum. In addition, there will be second and third place cash prizes of $1,000 and $750, respectively, and three (3) honorable mention awards with cash prizes of $250 each. All prizes are donated by the Mackinac Arts Council and Mackinac Associates. Winners will be announced at the June 19, 2024 awards ceremony.
Guidelines The subject of the artwork must conform to the theme Iconic Mackinac.
150 years ago the many of icons of Mackinac Island prompted the creation of Mackinac National Park, the second national park in the country. This protected icons such as Fort Mackinac, Fort Holmes, Arch Rock and others, and spurred the creation of icons such as Grand Hotel and the East and West Bluff cottages, among others. We encourage artists working in all media to share with us their artistic visions of what Iconic Mackinac means to them.
All media of artwork will be accepted from living artists, including photography, paint, sculpture and others. Artwork must have been completed within the last two years. No artwork that has been selected as a finalist in previous juried exhibitions will be accepted. Artists are encouraged to submit more than one artwork, but no more than three will be accepted. Due to space limitation, entries larger than 46″ high or wide (measurements include frame) will not be accepted.
Participation is open to all artists, nationally and internationally, who are 18 years of age or older.
Sales Artwork selected for inclusion in the exhibition may be available for sale with permission of the artist.
Fee There is a non-refundable entry fee of $25 for each entry. There is a limit of three entries.
Procedures The entry form link is at the bottom of this page. All entries are accepted electronically. Entries must be a high-resolution (300 dpi and at least 3 MB but no larger than 5 MB) JPG image of the artwork. Incomplete entry forms will not be considered.
Entries must be submitted by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, February 28, 2025. Artists will be notified of the juror’s selection by Friday, March 14, 2025. Please do not call or email to inquire.
Preparation Requirements Accepted entries must be ready for presentation. Accepted pieces must be ready for hanging with wire or other appropriate mounting hardware. It is recommended that framed pieces have a glass or Plexiglas front. Additional arrangements may have to be made for three-dimensional objects. Works that are not prepared may cause disqualification from the final judging.
Rights and Reproductions Mackinac State Historic Parks reserves the right to photograph and reproduce all entries accepted for the exhibition, regardless of copyright for the sole purpose of catalog publication and publicizing the show.
Delivery of Accepted Artwork Artwork must be shipped to the Mackinac Island State Park Field Office between March 17, 2025 – April 18, 2025.
Mackinac Island State Park Field Office ATTN: 2025 Art Contest PO Box 370 1856 Fort Service Road Mackinac Island, MI 49757
Questions on shipment to Brian Jaeschke – jaeschkeb@michigan.gov or 231-436-4100.
Liability Mackinac State Historic Parks’ staff will exercise all reasonable care with your original artwork. However, Mackinac Island State Park Commission, its directors, staff, volunteers, and anyone connected with the exhibition will not be responsible for loss or damage, including damages made during the mailing process. It is suggested that artists carry their own insurance.
Agreement Submission of a work shall constitute and agreement to comply with all the conditions set forth in this invitation. The juror reserves the right to reject any work not accurately represented by the digital image. The decision of the juror is final.
Juror Juror for the show is Cindy Meyers Foley, Director and CEO of the Grand Rapids Art Museum.
Cindy Meyers Foley
Foley (she/her) has worked for 30 years to help museums become welcoming spaces that cultivate curiosity and social engagement. She is the Director and CEO of the Grand Rapids Art Museum, an institution that is committed to being a people centered institution by strategically placing people at the center of all decision making and priorities. Recent shifts include launching a Community Engagement Department, the development of a Diversity and Equity Collections Fund and opening a Creative Learning Center.
In her career in museums, Foley has been critical in the development of a several groundbreaking projects including two city wide Creativity Summits to advocate for intentional creativity in all sectors, Making Creativity Visible and Cultivating Creative and Civic Capacities two nationally recognized teacher research and professional development programs, Wonder School a museum/university laboratory preschool, and the Center for Art and Social Engagement an experimental gallery developed to activate conversation, reflection and action in relation to experiencing art that addresses social issues. Foley curated a number of exhibitions including Playground, 2002 link which included an experimental project with Miranda July, Harrell Fletcher and Yuri Ono that launched Learning to Love you More a website that crowdsourced online content to fulfil play based assignments.
Foley was appointed to the Michigan Arts and Culture Council in 2023. She has been on the faculty of the Maine College of Art, and Harvard’s Project Zero Classroom Summer Institute and regularly keynotes a variety of Museum, Art, and Education Conferences. In November 2014, she was a TEDX Columbus Speaker presenting Teaching Art or Teaching to Think like an Artist link and in 2016, she was asked to again take the TEDX Stage to present The Benefits of Boredom link. Foley received the 2018 Ohio Distinguished Educator for Art Education award.
Important Dates
June 19, 2024 Mackinac State Historic Parks begins accepting submissions.
February 28, 2025 Submission deadline. Any entries received after 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time February 28, 2025 will not be considered.
March 14, 2025 Artists notified by email of juror results.
March 17 – April 18, 2025 Ship artwork to the Mackinac Island State Park Field Office.
May 9, 2025 Iconic Mackinac exhibition opens to the public
June 18, 2025 Awards ceremony announcing the exhibition winners held at The Richard & Jane Manoogian Mackinac Art Museum.
Early October, 2025 Exhibit closes to the public for the season. However, it may reopen during various dates through late October for special group tours and events. All artwork must remain at the museum through October 19, 2025.
After Close of Exhibition 2025 Artwork can be picked up by artists. Appointments for pick-up must be made between 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. If artists wishes to have artwork returned via mail, the appropriate packaging and return postage will be requested at exhibition closing. Please ensure that packaging and postage included for return artwork is of the appropriate dimensions and denomination.
