ODC Best of 2026

Ohio Designer Craftsmen presents Best of 2026, an exhibition open to all fine craft media including clay, fiber, glass, wood, metal, and 3D mixed media. 2D work must contain a fine craft element. Artists may enter up to three works (a set, such as a pair of earrings, constitutes one work). Work must be available from March 30 through November 2026.

Over $8,000 in awards are presented, including: $2,000 Challenge Award for Excellence; $2,000 Yassenoff Family Award for Excellence and Watkins Printing Poster Award; $1,000 Director Emeritus Betty Talbott Award for Excellence; $1,000 Artist Scholarship Award (available to accepted artists; must be used to attend a workshop in the artist's field); and $250 ODC Board of Trustees Emerging Craftsman Award (for artists 30 years of age or younger; requires uploading a photograph of driver's license or ID at time of application). Additional awards for excellence in specific mediums are also presented. Most awards are selected by the juror with no separate application required. The work selected for the annual poster receives the Watkins Printing Poster Award and $2,000 Yassenoff Family Award for Excellence.

Entry deadline is February 13, 2026. Jury results and award notifications will be e-mailed in early March 2026. Accepted work must be dropped off or shipped between Monday, March 30–Saturday, April 4, 2026. The exhibition opens Sunday, May 3, 2026, at the Ohio Craft Museum in Columbus, OH (1pm–4pm; awards announced at 3pm) and runs through July 3, 2026. A second venue at Kent State University Galleries in Kent, OH runs mid-August through mid-October 2026. Work pickup is November 2026 at the Ohio Craft Museum; return shipping is the artist's responsibility. Work is insured by ODC during exhibition and transit. ODC's commission for any work sold is 40%. Membership to Ohio Designer Craftsmen is required upon acceptance ($35 individual; $25 senior; $20 student). Work size is limited to 82" height, 31" width, and may not exceed 9 feet or 100 lbs. in weight.