2025 Imprint Competition
Imprint, our annual high school student printmaking exhibition, has been a cornerstone program for the Wharton Esherick Museum for a decade. Nearly a century ago, Wharton Esherick found his true calling through printmaking; Imprint encourages young people to explore this art form and make artistic statements through it for generations to come. We currently invite art classes from the Chester, Bucks, Delaware, Montgomery, Berks, Lehigh, and Philadelphia Counties to enter each year. Our aim for this program is to inspire new generations of young artists through Esherick’s prints and legacy.
2025 THEME: Renewal
Renewal is a powerful and transformative process that breathes new life into both the physical and emotional realms. For nearly the entirety of human existence on this planet, there has been art. For just about as long as there’s been art, renewal has been a cornerstone to the artist’s creative process. As media has changed, new generations and new experiences bring new perspectives and new voices.
Wharton Esherick, himself, once said that if anyone wanted to really know him, all they had to do was look at his work. A look back over the incredible work produced over an illustrious four decade career reveals countless examples of renewal. He changed media multiple times, having dabbled in painting, drawing, ceramics, and, of course, wood! Esherick saw new possibilities in old and seemingly worthless things. Take, for example, the infamous Hammer Handle Chair, one of about 45 total pieces made out of around 800 hammer handles he won at auction.
2024 has brought continued challenges and rapid change. Having just emerged from the COVID-19 pandemic, as teachers and students navigate learning loss in our classrooms and we all collectively face a time of unprecedented political divide, we are also in the unique position to reevaluate our priorities and think about what it is we truly want and to appreciate what brings us peace and brings meaning into our lives. Embracing renewal invites a continuous cycle of improvement and reinvention, ensuring that we remain adaptable and open to the endless possibilities that life has to offer.
So, what does renewal mean to you?
Wharton Esherick, Bird in Flight From the Forest Fire, 1922.
THE COMPETITION
The jury will select pieces for an online exhibition at the Wharton Esherick Museum, opening on Saturday, April 5, 2025.
We are pleased to invite our entire community (no, you don’t have to be a teacher, student, or administrator!) to a virtual opening reception on Sunday, April 6, 2025 at 2:00 p.m. Keep an eye on our Events page for more details!
ELIGIBILITY
The competition is open to high schools in Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, Berks, Lehigh, and Philadelphia Counties. Public, private, charter, and home schools may enter. All submissions must be printed or include printed components. They may be woodblock, linoleum, soft or E-Z cut, but don’t have to be! We are eager to see you get creative with your printmaking!
DEADLINE TO APPLY
March 7, 2025
SELECTION
The works will be judged by a jury composed of museum staff and professional artists and/or art teachers. The jury will select First, Second, and Third Place winners, who will receive a cash prize as will their art departments. A Viewer’s Choice Award will be voted on through our Facebook page. While there is no cash prize for Viewer’s Choice, the print may already be one chosen by the judges or be voted into the show through the public’s participation.
Criteria for selection are creativity and craftsmanship. Prints this year should interpret the theme ‘Renewal.’
Finalists’ teachers will be notified via email by March 21, 2025 of the jury’s decisions.
A virtual opening reception will be held on Sunday, April 6, 2025 at 2:00 pm.
PRIZES
There are four awards given to selected students. They are: First Place, Second Place, Third Place, and Viewer’s Choice. An Honorable Mention may also be awarded at the jury’s discretion. First, Second and Third Place come with monetary prizes of $200, $150, and $100 which are given to the student as well as the art department of their respective school. First-place winners will also receive a free field trip to the Wharton Esherick Museum for a class of up to 16 people. For larger groups, we are proud to offer a free virtual program.
Geocentrism, Brandon Bacordo, Abington Senior High School, 1st place prizewinner Imprint 2024: Rhythms
Looking to bring printmaking into your classroom?
Check out our Making an Imprint Unit Plan for high school students.
Take your students through the full five-lesson unit, covering history, criticism, and practice, or simply pick and choose those activities that best suit your needs!
We also created a companion plan, Fellow Citizen: Digital Citizenship and the Printmaker, to help guide students through the ins and outs of copyright law, ethics, and fair use in the digital landscape.
Entry Guidelines
- All submissions must be printed or include printed components. They may be woodblock, linoleum, soft or E-Z cut, but don’t have to be! We are eager to see you get creative with your printmaking! Don’t forget to tell us what you made under “Medium and Materials” on the entry form. If you use additional materials or specific types of paper for your print, please note that as well.
- All submissions must interpret the central theme, Renewal.
- Only one print may be submitted per student. Each school may submit no more than fifteen entries.
- Photographs should be JPEG or TIFF files, at 300 dpi. Only the work should be visible in each photo.
- Artwork should have a title – be creative!
- Deadline for entries is 11:59 p.m. on Friday, March 7, 2025.
- All entries should be submitted online, using this entry form. Please be advised that submission of this form constitutes permission given to the Wharton Esherick Museum to exhibit work online and use it in publicity material for the Imprint Competition/Exhibition.
Have questions or need more information? Please email [email protected] or give us a call at 610-644-5822.