Open Call to Artists: Penn’s Woods, a juried outdoor art exhibition

The Arboretum at Penn State is pleased to announce Penn’s Woods, a juried outdoor art exhibition to be installed throughout the H.O. Smith Botanic Gardens from June–August 2026. The exhibition will feature ten works that explore the deep history, ecology, and cultural narratives of Pennsylvania’s forests—lands once known as Penn’s Woods.

As 2026 marks the 250th anniversary of the United States, this exhibition invites artists to reflect on Pennsylvania’s pivotal role in shaping the nation’s environmental, cultural, and social identity. We are seeking proposals from Pennsylvania-based artists whose work engages with forests, wood, craft traditions, ecology, or the contemporary challenges facing these landscapes and communities.

Key details to share:

• Open to Pennsylvania-based artists

• Works must be suitable for outdoor display in a public garden setting

• Wood must be a central material or conceptual inspiration 

• Selected artists receive a $1,000 honorarium

• Exhibition dates: June–August 2026

• Submission deadline: February 28, 2026

Public gardens are powerful gathering places where art, ecology, and community intersect, and this exhibition aims to deepen those connections for visitors across the region.

Here is a direct link to our website for more information: Penn's Woods Outdoor Art Exhibition - The Arboretum at Penn State

If you are willing, we would greatly appreciate you forwarding this opportunity to your students, members, or artist mailing lists. Your support helps ensure this call reaches a broad and diverse group of Pennsylvania artists.