Adult artists living north of the 45th parallel in Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin are invited to submit one piece of work for a non-juried exhibition at Northern Michigan University’s DeVos Art Museum. The new format will celebrate the 10th anniversary “North of the 45th Parallel” exhibition and is a departure from previous years’ juried shows. Beginning at noon Friday, June 16, artists will have 24 hours to deliver their work in person to the museum until time or space runs out. An opening reception will be held from 7-9 p.m. Saturday, June 17.

Three $500 cash prizes will be awarded for guest curator’s choice, audience choice and the acquisition award selected by museum staff and voted on by the museum’s collections committee. All submitted artwork must be no larger than 9 feet square of 27 cubic feet.

Three guest curators will meet and greet artists during the artwork dropoff and reception: Christopher Atkins, curator of exhibitions and public programs at the Minnesota Museum of American Art; Adriana Greci Green, curator of indigenous arts of the Americas at the University of Virginia’s Fralin Museum of Art; and Steven Bridges, assistant curator at Michigan State University’s Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum.

This idea for the non-juried exhibition was inspired by “State of the Art/Art of the State at the Cameron Art Museum in Wilmington, N.C., which referenced Walter Hopps’ 1978 Museum of Temporary Art in Washington, D.C. Both Hopps and the Cameron Art Museum hoped to find innovative ways to give more artists more access to curators and exhibition opportunities. 

The “North of the 45th Parallel” exhibition is aligned with this spirit of access. Each year, the entry pool has represented a wide range of backgrounds, from full-time working artists with MFA degrees to self-taught artists who have never shown their work publicly. Hundreds of artists from the defined region have exhibited a wide range of media, from painting to performance.

The exhibition will be featured at the DeVos Art Museum through Sept. 8. For more information and entry requirements, visit nmu.edu/devos or call 906-227-1481.