CALL FOR ENTRIES
The submission deadline has passed.
The Print Center is thrilled to announce its 100th ANNUAL International Competition, to be juried by Anders Bergstrom, Joshua Chuang and Lesley Martin.
The ANNUAL is one of the oldest and most prestigious competitions in the United States, and 2025 marks two exciting anniversaries – the 100th ANNUAL and The Print Center’s 110th; we welcome you to be a part of it!
The ANNUAL is open to local, national and international artists, and The Print Center is particularly interested in highlighting the use of photography and/or printmaking in new and intriguing ways, both in content, form and process.
Any artist using Photography and/or Printmaking as critical components in their work can enter. Artists whose work pushes the boundaries of traditional photographic and printmaking practices are encouraged to enter. 2D and 3D works, including artist books, are eligible.
The Print Center honors the power of photography and print to raise and amplify a multiplicity of voices. We are committed to fostering that power to advocate for change as well as supporting artists working for equity and justice in our exhibitions and programs. The Print Center welcomes artists, audiences and participants of diverse backgrounds, races, religions, sexual orientations and gender identities. We value diversity all facets of operations and in the range of communities with which we engage. We welcome and encourage the participation of individuals of all backgrounds who are inspired by our shared purpose.
This year the ANNUAL has three exceptional jurors:
Anders Bergstrom, Artist and Director of Editions, Hauser & Wirth, New York, NY.
Joshua Chuang, Director of Photography, Gagosian, New York, NY.
Lesley A. Martin, Executive Director, Printed Matter, Inc., New York, NY.
The Jurors will select a group of 25 Semifinalists + 10 Finalists.
A wide variety of exhibition, museum acquisition, cash and material prizes are provided by supporters of the ANNUAL to be awarded to Semifinalists and Finalists, including:
- Three Solo Exhibitions at The Print Center (Finalists only)
- Art Museum of West Virginia University Purchase Award
- Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts Purchase Award
- Stinnett Philadelphia Museum of Art Collection Award
- Awagami Paper Award
- Callan/McNamara Award ($500)
- Fish/Pearce Award ($500)
- Hahnemühle Paper Award
- Olcott Family Award
- Print Center Gallery Store Contract
- The Print Center Honorary Council Award of Excellence
- Numerous additional cash and material prizes awards
- NEW! The Blake Bradford Fitler Club Artist-in-Residence Award
- NEW! MVS Project Review Award
ABOUT THE JURORS
Anders Bergstrom is a Director at Hauser & Wirth and oversees its editions program. In addition to working with Zoe Leonard and the Estate of Philip Guston, he publishes new editions and works with prints by the gallery’s stable of artists and estates. Bergstrom also organizes print-focused exhibitions at the gallery’s 18th Street location in New York City. In his own decades-long practice as an artist and practitioner of printmaking, he has been exhibited widely and his work is held in many public collections including the New York Public Library and The Metropolitan Museum of Art, both New York, NY, and the Worcester Art Museum, MA. He is represented by Dolan/Maxwell in Philadelphia, PA and Planthouse in New York. Bergstrom sits on the boards of Print Center New York and the International Fine Art Print Dealers Association.
We asked Bergstrom three questions about his career and approach to jurying. Read the interview here!
Joshua Chuang is Director of Photography at Gagosian as well as a curator, writer and photobook editor. He was formerly Miriam & Ira D. Wallach Associate Director for Art, Prints, and Photographs and Robert B. Menschel Senior Curator of Photography at the New York Public Library. Chuang has also held curatorial positions at the Center for Creative Photography and Yale University Art Gallery. Exhibitions he has organized have been shown at LACMA, Los Angeles, CA; Philadelphia Museum of Art, PA; Museo Reina Sofía, Madrid, Spain; The Walther Collection, Neu-Ulm, Germany; Jeu de Paume and Le Bal, both Paris, France; and the Fotomuseum Winterthur, Germany; among other venues. Chuang’s projects include Kikuji Kawada: Chizu (Maquette Version) (2021); Judith Joy Ross (2021); The Color of a Flea’s Eye: The Picture Collection by Taryn Simon (2021); Sun Gardens: Cyanotypes by Anna Atkins (2018); and Robert Adams: The Place We Live (2011).

Lesley Martin is the Executive Director of Printed Matter, Inc., overseeing its extensive retail offering of artist books, its highly respected programming including exhibitions, events and an active publishing program, as well as its premier annual LA and NY Art Book Fairs. Formerly, she was the creative director of Aperture and founding publisher of The PhotoBook Review. She has been a visiting critic at the Yale University Graduate School of Art since 2016, and co-founded the Paris Photo–Aperture Foundation PhotoBook Awards. Her writing has been published in Aperture, FOAM and IMA magazine, among other publications, and she has edited and commissioned over one hundred books of photography, including LaToya Ruby Frazier: A Notion of Family; Rinko Kawauchi: Illuminance; Stephen Shore: Selected Works; Zanele Muholi: Somnyama Ngonyama; The New Black Vanguard by Antwaun Sargent; Sara Cwynar: Glass Life; and Tommy Kha: Half, Full, Quarter. Martin has curated exhibitions that have traveled both nationally and internationally, including Mickalene Thomas: Muse; The Ubiquitous Image; and Aperture Remix, a commission-based exhibition celebrating Aperture’s sixtieth anniversary.
SUBMISSION DETAILS
Submission Deadline: June 16, 2025, 11:59pm (ET)
Entries are accepted online.
Entry Fee: $45 – for up to five single images or videos
The Print Center raises 100% of its operating budget each year, and fees from the ANNUAL directly support the mounting of the three Solo Exhibitions and presentation of the digital portfolios from the ANNUAL, as well as all of our other compelling and innovative programs.
Click here to download the Prospectus as a pdf
Eligibility
Any artist using photography and/or printmaking as critical components in their work can enter. Work submitted must have been completed in the last three years. Up to five images may be submitted and only one submission per person is allowed.
Former ANNUAL Semifinalists and Finalists are eligible to apply.
SlideRoom
Each uploaded file must be labeled with: Title, Date, Medium (e.g. etching, inkjet, gelatin silver, lithograph) and Dimensions (paper size, video duration or installation measurements). Additional information, up to 1,000 characters (including spaces), may be included, but is not required.
Accepted file formats for submission:
Images: Up to 5 MB/each: jpg, png, gif
Videos: Up to 250 MB/each: mov, wmv, flv, mp4
Do not use links from previous years – use only the current link from this prospectus. If you are having difficulty accessing SlideRoom, refresh your browser, clear browser cookies, or try an alternate browser.
Please make sure to update existing SlideRoom accounts with your current contact information. You will be notified of the status of your application via the email connected to your SlideRoom account.
For technical support, contact SlideRoom at support@slideroom.com or use the chat feature in their Applicant Help Center.
AWARDS + EXHIBITIONS
- 25 Semifinalists and 10 Finalists will be selected by the Jurors.
- All Semifinalists and Finalists are eligible for institutional acquisition, purchase, cash and material awards.
- All Finalists are eligible for a Solo Exhibition Award.
- All Semifinalists and Finalists receive online portfolios and are included in a digital presentation in The Print Center’s galleries during the Solo Exhibitions.
Museum Acquisition Awards
- Stinnett Philadelphia Museum of Art Collection Award
Selected by a curator from the Department of Prints, Drawings and Photographs at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, work will be accessioned into the Philadelphia Museum of Art's Permanent Collection. - Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts Purchase Award
Selected by PAFA's curatorial staff, work will be accessioned into the Museum’s permanent collection. - Art Museum of West Virginia University Purchase Award
Selected by Robert Bridges, Curator, work will be accessioned into the Art Museum’s collection through the Beth and Joe Hestick Acquisitions Fund.
Digital Exhibition
Images submitted by Semifinalists and Finalists will be presented onscreen at The Print Center during the Solo Exhibitions (January – March 2026).
Online Portfolios
The Print Center will mount an online portfolio exhibition for Semifinalists and Finalists, including up to five images/videos, biographical information and artist statements. Finalists may present an additional five images for inclusion (up to ten).
Newly Added!
- The Blake Bradford Fitler Club Artist-in-Residence Award
One Finalist or Semifinalist will be included in the Fitler Club’s Artist-in-Residence Program. Benefits will include artwork being displayed at the Fitler Club and complimentary club membership. - MVS Project Review Award
Mary Virginia Swanson, a highly respected author, advisor and educator, will offer a private, hour-long virtual project consultation and review. Five artists (both Semifinalists and Finalists are eligible) will be selected to receive this award.
Solo Exhibitions
Three Finalists will be selected by The Print Center to receive Solo Exhibitions at The Print Center (January – March 2026) as well as an honorarium. Selected artists will work with our Jensen Bryan Curator on the selection of works and installation design. The installation of the solo shows selected from the 100th ANNUAL will include a recounting of highlights from this program’s long and august history.
Artists are responsible for delivery/shipping to and from The Print Center, and other costs not explicitly covered by The Print Center, including framing (if required).
The Print Center provides:
- The venue, professional installation and deinstallation, gallery signage and labels, and insurance while work is on The Print Center’s premises.
- Publicity including visual branding for the exhibitions, promotion via press release to over 2,500 press outlets, mailed exhibition announcements, a webpage dedicated to the exhibitions, weekly email newsletters to 10k subscribers and social media posts on Facebook, Instagram and Bluesky to over 21k followers.
- Published Gallery Notes – a full color, professionally printed exhibition brochure, distributed free of charge and available on The Print Center’s website.
- Professional photographic documentation of the exhibitions.
Sales
If artworks are available for sale, The Print Center will facilitate the transaction, including shipping. The Print Center will receive a 50% commission on works sold. The Print Center will pay the artist’s commission 90 days from the close of sale.
Liability
The Print Center is not responsible for damage to work during shipping or delivery. Works are insured while on The Print Center’s premises.
CALENDAR
Submission Deadline: June 16, 2025, 11:59 PM (ET)
Notification of Semifinalists and Finalists by email: September 17, 2025
Solo Exhibitions and Digital Exhibition: January – March 2026 (specific dates TBD)
Online Portfolio: Launches February 2026
QUESTIONS
Please review the entire Prospectus carefully before submitting your application. If you have additional questions, visit our FAQs page for answers to some common inquiries. A step-by-step guide for navigating SlideRoom will be available soon.
For technical support while completing the application, contact SlideRoom at support@slideroom.com.
Still have questions? Contact info@printcenter.org.
ABOUT THE PRINT CENTER
For more than a hundred years, The Print Center has encouraged the growth and understanding of photography and printmaking as vital contemporary arts through exhibitions, publications and educational programs. An international voice in print, The Print Center presents a wide variety of programs including temporary exhibitions and related public lectures and events; the Artists-in-Schools Program; the ANNUAL, which is the longest running competition for photographs and prints in the country; and the Gallery Store, which offers a diverse selection of contemporary prints and photographs for sale, providing direct support to artists.
We invite you to become a Member, or find out more about how you can support The Print Center.
Click here for more information about The Print Center's ANNUAL International Competition and its history.