Image: Washington County Museum of Fine Arts, Hagerstown
The Washington County Museum of Fine Arts in Hagerstown is inviting artists who take part in the City Park Plein Air Festival to submit finished work for a juried exhibition in the museum’s Community Art Cases. The call, billed as a $20 registration level for the juried competition, is linked to the festival’s one-day plein air gathering in Hagerstown City Park on August 8, 2026, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
According to the museum’s event listing, artists participating in the festival may enter completed artwork created during the event for consideration in the exhibition. All painting surfaces must be stamped at the Plein Air Registration Table before work begins, making the stamp a required part of eligibility for the juried competition. The museum says selected works will be shown in a museum setting, giving artists a chance to present their interpretation of the festival to visitors.
The juried show is framed as an inaugural effort. The museum says a panel of museum representatives and arts professionals will review all eligible submissions, and that selected works will be displayed from August 25 through September 22, 2026. Artists whose work is chosen will be contacted with delivery instructions by August 14, and selected pieces must be delivered by August 21. Artwork pick-up is scheduled to begin September 29.
Submission for the exhibition is electronic, with entries due by 5 p.m. on Monday, August 10. The museum also notes that on-site registration for the festival itself will be available at the Jonathan Hager House, located at 110 Key Street, beginning at 9 a.m. on August 8. Artists are welcome to spread throughout the park for the festival, but only those in the juried competition need to stamp their canvas at check-in before starting work.
The Washington County Museum of Fine Arts describes the exhibition as a way to showcase regional interpretation of a familiar public event through the lens of museum presentation. Selected works will be installed in the Community Art Cases, the museum’s display area for smaller exhibitions and rotating presentations, extending the plein air festival beyond the park into the museum’s visitor experience.
Cash awards are not guaranteed in the inaugural year, the museum says. If participation levels and sponsorship support allow, one or more cash awards may be offered, with final prize categories subject to adjustment based on participation and available funding. Regardless of whether awards are announced, selected artists will receive recognition through the museum’s promotional channels and exhibition in the juried presentation.
The museum’s notice appears alongside other August programs, including an online talk on Alphonse Mucha and a garden-night fundraiser, but the plein air juried exhibition is the main call to artists attached to the August 8 festival. The museum says the competition-level registration fee is $20, with entries submitted electronically no later than 5 p.m. on August 10, 2026.
