Schaefer Portrait Challenge 2022

Schaefer Portrait Challenge is a triennial juried competition held since 2003, inviting Hawai'i's artists to take portraiture to new heights by exploring expressive and emotional depth in capturing the essence of their subjects. The competition encourages a broad range of interpretation and style from representational to experimental work, including self-portraits. The jurors are Carl Jennings from O'ahu, Codie King from Hawai'i Island, and Jan Sato from Maui. The Challenge offers two substantial cash prizes: The Jurors' Choice Award for $15,000, sponsored by Carolyn Schaefer, and The Gene & Ruth Freedman People's Choice Award for $5,000.

Eligibility is open to artists 18 years of age or older who are year-round residents of the state of Hawai'i. The portrait subject must be a person living in Hawai'i, and artists must have a direct relationship with the subject to include live sittings and be able to provide verification of the sitter's signature. All work entered must be original, one-of-a-kind, and newly created specifically for this exhibition between October 2018 and October 2021. Work may not have been previously shown in any other exhibit, gallery, venue, website, or on social media.

Accepted media include drawing, painting, textiles, sculpture, printmaking, and mixed media. Photography and computer-generated imagery are allowed only when used as a component in mixed media work. Two-dimensional works must not exceed 84 inches in one dimension and 144 inches in the other, and must fit through gallery doors (7 feet x 7 feet). Sculpture should not exceed 7 feet (height) x 7 feet x 4 feet in size, nor weigh more than 150 pounds. Artists may submit up to two entries with a non-refundable fee of $30.00 for each artwork. Submit 2-3 high-resolution images per entry in JPEG or JPG format, under 5MB with a minimum of 1200 pixels on the longest side. Include an artist's statement (up to 150 words) and a short bio (up to 150 words). Application deadline is October 9, 2021 at 7:59 pm HST. Artists will be notified of jurying results by October 20, 2021. The exhibition runs January 11 – March 20, 2022. Artists are encouraged to offer their work for sale; sales during the exhibition will be handled by MACC with artists receiving 70% and MACC receiving a 30% commission. Artists are responsible for incoming packing and shipping; MACC will cover return shipping. Artists must insure their work for shipping and agree to allow their work to be photographed for publication.