2026 Juried Undergraduate Exhibition

Exhibition Schedule

  • Deadline for Entries: August 31 – September 11, midnight EST
  • Jurying: September 14–17
  • Notification of Acceptance: September 18
  • Artwork Drop-off: Monday, September 28, 8 am to 5 pm, Gray Gallery
  • Exhibition Dates: October 2 – October 30
  • Awards Ceremony & Reception: TBA
  • Artwork Pick-up: Monday, November 2, 8 am to 5 pm
    Artwork that is not picked up on Monday November 2 will be considered abandoned property and disposed.

Apply online here.

Juror

Lamar Whidbee

Born and raised in Hertford, North Carolina, Lamar Whidbee is an interdisciplinary artist and Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor Associate whose practice merges visual art with therapeutic inquiry. Through painting and mixed media, he explores memory, fatherhood, Black identity, and mental health—creating work that invites reflection, emotional processing, and dialogue. Exhibitions such as Amygdala, Daddy’s Home, and Monday, along with public works like Get Well Soon at Dorothea Dix Park, extend this exploration into shared civic space.

Alongside his studio practice, Lamar provides clinical services and facilitates therapeutic art workshops in schools, museums, and community settings. His early work with Hidden Voices—teaching art alongside prison psychologists on death row and using practices such as life mapping to help individuals visually reconstruct their personal narratives—deepened his understanding of art as a tool for accountability, reflection, and healing.

He has taught as an adjunct at Duke University, UNC–Chapel Hill, and Forsyth Tech, experiences that strengthened his commitment to public pedagogy and accessible mental-health engagement.

Through his doctoral studies at NC State University in Educational Leadership, Policy, and Human Development (Counseling and Counselor Education), he aims to research and develop culturally responsive, art-informed counseling frameworks that expand pathways to healing—particularly for rural and historically marginalized communities like the one that raised him.

Awards

  • Best in Show: $500
  • Second Place: $300
  • Third Place: $200
  • Merit Awards (10): $100 each
  • Friends of the School of Art and Design Awards (2): $150 each

For collaborative works, prize money will be distributed evenly among participants. 
Award funds will be disbursed through student financial accounts.

Find instructions for applying here.

Entry Information

  • Work must have been completed between August 2025 and September 2026.
  • No entry fee. (Note: The CaFÉ system requires completion of the payment process. Applications will not finalize until you click the “submit” button on the payment page, even though no payment is due.)
  • Submit all individual entries on ONE application.
  • All media are eligible.
  • Artwork cannot be hung from the ceiling.
  • Maximum size: 4 ft. x 4 ft.
  • Accepted artwork must be ready to install.
    • Unframed work may be hung with binder clips.
    • Framed work must be wired (no sawtooth hangers)
    • Installation work will be installed by the artist.
    • Digital media (films, animations, etc.) will be installed and viewed on monitors or projected, and must be delivered via flash drive or cloud storage link.
  • Each student may submit up to 4 individual works.
  • Students may also participate as collaborators (a Team) on up to 5 additional works (submitted under a Team CaFÉ account).
  • Artists may choose to sell their work by including a sale price. The Gallery will connect the buyer to the artist to make a direct sale. The Gallery will not collect a fee or act as a financial intermediary between the artist and buyer.
  • Save a copy of your entry information for your records.

Application Requirements

Artist Information

  • Preferred Name
  • Legal Name
  • ECU Banner ID
  • ECU Email Address
  • Phone Number

Artwork Information (required for each piece)

  • Title of Work
  • Medium (materials used)
  • Dimensions (width × height × depth)
  • Images of Work: 1 image or video is required for each entry
  • Value/Price of the work
  • Is the work for sale? Yes or no

Additional Information

  • Rights & Permissions: By applying, students grant permission for accepted works to be featured online and used for educational, promotional, or publicity purposes by the School of Art and Design and the Wellington B. Gray Gallery.
  • Limitations: The School and Gallery will not reproduce artworks for sale.
  • Verification: Applications submitted by individuals who are not current ECU School of Art and Design students will be disqualified.

For questions, contact: artdesign@ecu.edu