250 Years of Expression:Freedom, Dissent, and the American Voice

In 2026, as the United States marks 250 years since its founding, this exhibition insists on a necessary truth: the American voice has always been shaped by freedom of expression. In the United States, the idea has never been abstract—it has been fought for by artists, carried across borders, translated, censored, reclaimed, and reimagined by those who arrived from elsewhere and refused silence.

250 Years of Expression: Freedom, Dissent, and the American Voice is a juried exhibition and open call that centers in artist who believe in freedom of expression.  This exhibition acknowledges artistic expression as a form of survival, resistance, and political agency, particularly for individuals navigating displacement, exclusion, or marginalization.

 All artists, and especially  Immigrant artists, are encouraged to submit work that confronts power, challenges erasure, and asserts presence. Artists may respond to freedom of expression as a contested right—shaped by borders, citizenship, language, race, labor, and state control—and as a tool for dissent, solidarity, and self-determination.

This exhibition affirms that freedom of expression is not peripheral to American culture—it is central to it. By amplifying the artists’ voices, 250 Years of Expression rejects the myth of a singular American narrative and instead embraces a chorus of voices that continue to redefine what freedom means, who it belongs to, and how it is claimed.

Exhibition Dates: May 22 - July 18, 2026

Submission Deadline: Saturday, April 4, 2026, 11:59 pm, Mountain Time. ( Click here to Submit )

Estimated Notification of Acceptance: Tuesday, April 21, 2026

Accepted Work Received: Wednesday May 13 - Saturday May 16, 2025 (Closed Monday and Tuesday, May 11 and 12) Deliveries accepted during gallery hours, noon to 4pm

Installation of Work: May 17 - May 21

Opening Reception and Awards Presentation: Friday, May 22, 6:00 - 8:00pm. Juror Talk: 6:30pm

Show Closes: Saturday, July 18@ 4pm

Pick up Work:  Saturday, July 18,  4:00 – 6:00pm or Sunday, July 19,  noon – 2:00pm.

Return of Shipped Work: by Friday, August 7

About the Juror: Diego Sanchez was born in Bogotá, Colombia, South America, and arrived in the United States in the summer of 1980. He received an MFA from the Painting and Printmaking Department at Virginia Commonwealth University. For the past thirty years, Diego has taught art classes to people of all ages at institutions including the Virginia Museum, the Visual Arts Center of Richmond, VCU, VUU, and currently, St. Catherine’s School. He was the first recipient of the Theresa Pollack Artist of the Year Award and has served as a juror for various art competitions, including the Virginia Museum Fellowship, Scholastic Art Awards, and the Visual Arts Award for the State of Maryland Arts Council.

His work has been exhibited throughout Virginia and in Italy, Belgium, Colombia, and France. Notable collections include Sidney and Frances Lewis, Pam and Bill Royal, Media General, First Market Bank, Capital One, the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, Markel Corporation, Philip Morris, and the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.