Trenton City Museum announces Juror and Call for Art for annual Ellarslie Open

(Trenton, NJ) Trenton City Museum at Ellarslie announces the 2026 juror and the Call for Art for its annual Ellarslie Open juried art show. Adam Welch, Executive Director of the Arts Council of Princeton, will jury the 2026 show. Artists are invited to submit artwork online, from April 1 through May 6, for consideration by the juror.

Showcasing contemporary work by artists from across the NJ-PA-NJ region and beyond, the Ellarslie Open, which debuted in 1983, is one of the area’s premier annual juried shows. In 2025, out of over 520 entries, 110 diverse works were selected. The 2026 show will open with an Artists’ and Members’ Reception Saturday, June 6, and will remain on view through September 6. Gallery talks and other related programming will be announced.

Cash awards are given for Best In Show Overall, five category prizes, and special sponsored awards. Artists may submit up to four pieces. Full instructions, timeline, and entry link are found at ellarslie.org/eo43.

ABOUT THE JUROR

Juror Adam Welch is the Executive Director of the Arts Council of Princeton. He serves on the Princeton University Art Museum’s Community Leadership Council and trustee of the Witherspoon–Jackson Historical and Cultural Society. Until recently, he also served as a commissioner on the Hightstown Cultural Arts Commission. An artist, critic, educator, and amateur historian, Welch joined the Arts Council of Princeton after a long tenure at Greenwich House Pottery, where he worked from 2003 to 2020. He was appointed Assistant Director in 2007 and became Director in 2010. That same year, he was appointed a lecturer at Princeton University, where he taught until 2021. Welch holds an MFA from Virginia Commonwealth University and a BFA, with a minor in Art Education, from Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, Arizona. He lives in Hightstown, New Jersey, with his wife Rachel, a fashion designer, and their two daughters, Amelie and Finley.

ABOUT TRENTON CITY MUSEUM AT ELLARSLIE

Trenton City Museum is housed in Ellarslie Mansion, an 1848 Italianate Villa in the heart of Trenton’s historic Cadwalader Park, which was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted. Ongoing and rotating shows explore Trenton’s history and culture and showcase contemporary regional fine arts. Museum hours are Friday and Saturday from 12 noon to 4 pm and Sundays from 1 to 4 pm. There is no admission charge, but donations in support of the museum’s mission and programs are appreciated. Visit ellarslie.org.

For more on Ellarslie Open 43: ellarslie.org/eo43; [email protected]; 609-989-1191.

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Caption: The Trenton City Museum at Ellarslie Mansion encourages artists to enter its Ellarslie Open Call for Art between April 1 and May 6. The show’s Prospectus and entry information available at ellarslie.org/eo43. The annual exhibition, juried this year by Adam Welch, Executive Director of the Arts Council of Princeton, will open Saturday, June 6, and run through September 6, 2026.