ewr newark liberty airport digital art exhibition 2026

250 Years of New Jersey Call for Artists

The 250 Years of New Jersey digital exhibition is part of a large-scale public art project at the airport’s Terminal A, focused on creating a transformative customer experience offering a distinctive New Jersey sense of place. The overall goal of the project is to highlight the broad spectrum of talent, opportunity, and cultures that make the Garden State so vibrant.

The next installment of this annual exhibition, featuring artwork displayed in the digital welcome banner spanning the departures area of Terminal A will be unveiled in early 2026. Artists’ names and artwork information will be included with the display and on a supporting website.

When applying, artists are encouraged to be considerate of the ridership and public nature of art in transit spaces. The PANYNJ Art Advisory Council will review the submissions received and will select approximately twenty (20) artists’ work to be included in the exhibition. In addition to the digital display of their work in Terminal A for approximately one year, the artists’ name and images of the project will be shared with the public through MANJ’s, PANYNJ’s and the State Arts Council's social media and other communication platforms.

Artists should submit up to two (2) examples of completed 2-D work to be considered for use. Work samples submitted will be the basis for the Art Advisory Council’s consideration. PANYNJ and MANJ will work with the selected artists to approve final digital image submissions and schedule the exhibition of the works in digital gallery displays in the terminal. Each selected artist will receive a $1,000 stipend in exchange for use of their work. Artists will retain copyright to their work.

For this project, we are seeking completed, 2-dimensional, still artworks in a digital format for digital display. Artists should submit images of previously completed artworks that meet the curatorial themes noted below. We are not seeking new designs, tourism-type posters or draft/idea sketches for this exhibition.

Submitted works could be high-quality digital images of paintings, drawings, prints, photographs, etc. or work in a native digital format (digital photos, drawings, paintings, etc.). Moving images (films, animations, etc.) and performative work will not be considered for this call. Upon selection notification, artists will need to provide the digital artwork in a PNG or JPG file with a height of 1080 pixels to MANJ which will then be processed and added to the digital Welcome Banner in Terminal A. Artists must consider that the work will be displayed in a public location and display of the digital gallery will be rotated with other digital media on large digital display units in the terminal. Selected Artists must work in a timely fashion with the project coordination team to ensure the final work files provided are the correct file type, of high quality for digital use, and appropriate for public display.

The Curatorial Theme for 250 Years of New Jersey is rooted in the Interpretive Framework of RevolutionNJ- New Jersey’s official commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution, which is in 2026.

This call is specifically seeking artworks that frame, highlight or address the ideals that drove the American Revolution and the implications of those ideals for today’s society.

We are seeking works that explore the following key themes:

“Revolutionary Ideals”: Liberty; pursuing happiness; equality; justice; self-determination

There is no expressed preference for a particular style of work- artistic excellence and appeal to the airport’s passengers will be the determining criteria for selection. The submitted images will be the images considered for the exhibition.

*Important note about artwork that cannot be considered:

• Work will be displayed in highly public spaces, and as such, work that could be interpreted as promotion of political issues or candidates, or that is sexual or violent in nature will not be considered.
• Works that include images or representations of violence will not be considered.
• Works including logos or business signage of existing businesses, corporations, and the like cannot be considered.
• Moving images (films, animations, etc.) and performative work will not be considered for this call.
• We are not seeking new designs, tourism-type designs/posters or draft/idea sketches for this exhibition.